Regional bodies involved in the management of deep-sea fisheries

Regional fishery bodies (RFBs) are intergovernmental bodies through which States cooperate on the management of fisheries in specific regions. Some RFBs have a mandate to adopt measures that are binding on their Members. These bodies are referred to as regional fisheries management organisations or arrangements (RFMO/As) and are a subset of RFBs. A regional fisheries management arrangement (RFMA) is any form of arrangement through which States adopt conservation and management measures that does not provide for the establishment of an organization. While many RFBs have a mandate over waters under national jurisdiction, some have competence areas that extend to the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Some RFBs deal with specific stocks only, for example, tuna and tuna-like species, or deep-sea stocks.

The RFMO/As with a mandate to manage deep-sea fisheries in the ABNJ cover most of the fished high seas areas of the world, and include the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO), South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), and the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA). 

Some of the older RFMO/As were established originally with a mandate confined to target stocks. However, many of these bodies have now amended their constituting texts to ensure incorporation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and the precautionary approach to ensure that populations, species, ecosystems and habitats associated with fisheries can also be protected, while allowing sustainable use of the living marine resources. More recently established RFMO/As (such as SEAFO, SIOFA, and SPRFMO) have incorporated such principles from the outset in their constituting texts.

A special management body established by multilateral treaty is the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has a wider mandate than the management of fisheries only. The objective of the CCAMLR is the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources, including their rational use. The Convention applies conservation principles that are based on the maintenance of ecological relationships between harvested, dependent and associated species, and the prevention or minimization of irreversible changes to the marine environment. As such, the CCAMLR is also involved in the conservation and sustainable management of deep-sea species.

Other RFBs

Not all RFBs have a mandate to take binding measures for the management of fisheries, although it is likely that all support management by, for example, providing advice or scientific support to fisheries management. In areas where RFMO/As are absent, advisory RFBs can play a crucial role in supporting regional fisheries management. Some scientific bodies, such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), have a mandate to provide scientific advice in support of the management process of RFMO/As. For example, ICES provides such advice in the North Atlantic for NEAFC.

FAO support to RFBs

FAO provides support to RFBs in a number of ways, and a number of RFBs have been established within the constitutional framework of FAO. Some of these bodies have a management mandate and can take decisions that are binding on their members (those established in accordance with Article XIV of the FAO Constitution, e.g. GFCM), while others have an advisory mandate (those established in accordance with Article VI of the FAO Constitution, e.g. CECAF, WECAFC). For a few RFBs that have been established outside the FAO's constitutional framework, FAO provides depositary functions. FAO also supports the Regional Fishery Body Secretariats Network (RSN), which is a network of RFB Secretariats. FAO also cooperates with RFBs in providing technical assistance support to regions and countries, and provides secretariat services for those RFBs under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution.

Body

RFB/RFMO/ RFMA/Other

Relationship with FAO

Operates under

Adopted

In force

Amended

Secretariat

Management 

CCAMLR

Other (has a remit that is more general than fisheries)

Convention

1980

1982

Hobart, Australia

Yes

GFCM

RFMO

Article XIV FAO Constitution

Agreement

1949

1952

1963, 1976, 1997 (2014)

Rome, Italy

Yes

NAFO

RFMO

Convention

1978

1979

1980, 1987, 1996, 2007

Halifax, Canada

Yes

NEAFC

RFMO

Convention

1959

1963

London, United Kingdom

Yes

Convention on future multilateral cooperation

1980

1982

2004
2006

NPFC

RFMO

Convention

2011

Tokyo, Japan

Yes 

SEAFO

RFMO

Convention

2001

2003

Swakopmund, Namibia

Yes

SIOFA

RFMO

Agreement

2006

2012

La Réunion

Yes

SPRFMO

RFMO

Convention

2010

2012

Wellington, New Zealand

Yes

WECAFC

RFB

Article VI FAO Constitution

FAO Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean in Bridgetown, Barbados 

No (advisory to members)

CECAF

RFB

Article VI FAO Constitution

FAO Regional Office for Africa in Accra, Ghana 

No (advisory to members)