E - Iccat

PWG REPORT
ANNEX 11
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE
PERMANENT WORKING GROUP FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF
ICCAT STATISTICS AND CONSERVATION MEASURES (PWG)
1. Opening of the Meeting
The meeting of the PWG was opened by the Chair, Mr. Taoufik El Ktiri (Morocco).
2. Appointment of the Rapporteur
Ms. Diana Kramer (United States) was appointed as Rapporteur.
3. Adoption of Agenda
The Agenda was adopted with no modification and is attached as Appendix 1 to ANNEX 11.
4. Consideration of the Report of the IMM Working Group (Tokyo, April 2012)
The Chair of the 7 th Working Group on Integrated Monitoring Measures (IMM) presented results and
outstanding issues from the Working Group meeting in Tokyo in April 2012 (see ANNEX 4.1) that were
referred to the 18 th Special Meeting of the Commission for further consideration. Resulting discussions of these
issues are included in the paragraphs to follow.
5. Consideration of the effectiveness and practical aspects of implementation of:
5.1 Catch Documentation and Statistical Programs; eBCD
The eBCD contracting company, TRAGSA presented the current status of the eBCD program, followed by
technical demonstrations. TRAGSA presented the following timeline:
− January 2013: First fully functional release.
− February 2013: Training sessions to trainers.
− February - March 2013: Stress and vulnerability tests.
− April 2013: Production start.
During initial discussions, some CPCs expressed concerns over a potentially overly ambitions timeline for full
implementation of the eBCD system as originally proposed in a joint Japan-EU “Draft Recommendation by
ICCAT Supplementing the Recommendation on an Electronic Bluefin Tuna Catch Document (eBCD) Program”.
A revised proposal was then tabled by Japan, the EU, the U.S., and Turkey. The proposal set an adjusted timeline
for implementation of the eBCD system for Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, creating a transitional
phase between 16 May 2013 through February 2014, during which both paper and electronic BCDs would be
accepted, and a full transition to the eBCD system by 1 March 2014. CPCs will report experiences with
implementation of the eBCD prior to the 2013 annual Commission meeting, and CPC experiences with the
transition will be reviewed at that meeting. The Recommendation by ICCAT Supplementing the Recommendation
by ICCAT on an Electronic Bluefin Tuna Catch Document (eBCD) Programme was approved and forwarded to
the Commission for final adoption (see ANNEX 5 [Rec. 12-08]).
5.2 Catch Certification Scheme for Tuna and Tuna-Like Species
The Chair referred to the “Draft Recommendation by ICCAT on a Process Towards the Establishment of a Catch
Certification Scheme for Tuna and Tuna-Like Species”, proposed by Japan and the United States. Japan
explained that originally there had been two separate proposals, one from Japan and the EU on traceability, and
another from the U.S. on catch certification. The two documents were subsequently combined into one
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