Report of the NAFO Performance Review Panel - Northwest Atlantic ...

NAFO Performance Review 2011 13Performance Review Panel Assessment and Recommendations:1. NAFO has incorporated the ecosystem approach in the 2007 NAFO AmendedConvention. The value of the ecosystem approach is reflected in the Preamble andcommitments to the ecosystem approach are also provided for in the guidingprinciples, objectives and duties of the Commission and Scientific Council.2. Contracting Parties are obliged to take account of the impact of fishing on nontargetspecies and the marine ecosystem; the need to protect marine biodiversity;the adoption of measures to minimize the harmful impact of fishing on livingmarine resources and ecosystems; the need to minimize pollution and wasteoriginating from fishing vessels as well as minimize discards, catch by lost orabandoned gear, catch of species not subject to a directed fishery and impacts onassociated or dependent species.3. NAFO is to be commended for incorporating the ecosystem approach to fisheriesin its 2007 Amended Convention.3.2.2. Data collection and sharing18. Long-term conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources require the adoption ofconservation and management measures based on a good understanding of the state of the fish stocksand marine ecosystems of which they are part. The conduct of marine scientific research, thecollection and sharing of reliable and timely statistical, biological, ecological and environmental dataand information regarding fishing activities and the impact of fishing and other activities on marineecosystems are therefore indispensible for effective fisheries management. Article 61(5) of UNCLOSobliges States to collect and share data with respect to areas under national jurisdiction, in thefollowing terms: ‗Available scientific information, catch and fishing effort statistics, and other datarelevant to the conservation of fish stocks shall be contributed and exchanged on a regular basisthrough competent international organizations, whether sub-regional, regional or global, whereappropriate and with participation by all States concerned…‘. Article 119(2) provides for the sameobligation of States on the high seas using essentially the same language as Article 61(5).19. The UNFSA elaborates on the obligation laid down in UNCLOS regarding the collection and sharingof data. Article 10 provides that States, in cooperating through RFMOs, are to ‗agree on standards forcollection, reporting, verification and exchange of data…‘ (para. (e)), and to ‗compile and disseminateaccurate and complete statistical data, as described in Annex I, to ensure that the best scientificevidence is available, while maintaining confidentiality where appropriate‘ (para. (f)). States are alsoobliged to ensure that their vessels provide necessary information in order to fulfill their obligationsunder the Agreement (Article 14(1)). To that end, States are required to, in accordance with Annex Ito the UNFSA:Collect and exchange scientific, technical and statistical data with respect to fisheries forstraddling and highly migratory fish stocks;Ensure that data are collected in sufficient detail to facilitate effective stock assessment and areprovided in a timely manner to fulfill the requirements of RFMOs; andTake appropriate measures to verify the accuracy of such data.20. Annex I to UNFSA sets out in detail the standard requirements for the collection and sharing of data,which include catch and fishing effort statistics and other fishery-related information, such as vesselrelatedand other data for standardizing fishing effort, from fisheries for straddling and highlymigratory fish stocks on the high seas as well as in areas under national jurisdiction.