2022 External meetings

This page contains the external meetings attended by SPRFMO staff and officials on behalf of the organisation in 2022.

Virtual Seminar on the New FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment: On 08 December 2022 the Compliance Manager participated in an IMCS Network webinar to explore the potential operational MCS implications posed by the new FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment.
Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop: Planning for the 7th GFETW for Fisheries MCS practitioners is underway. As a member of the IMCS Network, SPRFMO (Compliance Manager) participated in a virtual meeting of the Steering Committee on 22 November 2023 where an update on progress, and a draft workshop agenda, was presented. The Compliance Manager will participate in the week long workshop in Halifax Canada from 30 July to 04 August, 2023. Interested participants from SPRFMO Members and CNCPs can complete the GFETW Pre-registration form.
2022 Report on RFMO Compliance Processes: Virtual presentation/overview by PEW representatives (Robin Davies/Gerald Leape) to the Executive Secretary and Compliance Manager on 12 October 2022 of the PEW-ISSF facilitated 2022 report entitled "Approaches to Evaluate and Strengthen RFMO Compliance Processes and Performance: A Toolkit and Recommendations". This report was completed in July 2022 after analyzing the outcomes from 3 previous virtual meetings during 2020-2021 on RFMO Compliance topics. The report has been presented various RFMOs meetings and informally on the margins of COFI35. Webinars are planned for November 2022 and further presentations at other RFMO venues.
European Commission Fisheries Data Collection Liaison (DCF) Meeting: The Data Manager virtually attended the DCF meeting and gave a brief presentation during the long-distance fisheies discussions on SPRFMO's fisheries and data collection procedures.
9th meeting of the Regional Fishery Body Secretariats; Network (RSN9): RSN9 met on 2, 3 and 9 September at FAO Headquarters in advance of and after the COFI35 meeting. The RSN9 meeting provides a valuable opportunity for the secretariats of regional bodies to exchange views and experiences on a wide range of topics that impact the administrative and functional operations of their secretariats, and to review developments in global ocean and fisheries management that might impact their organisations. Topics discussed this year included IUU fishing, climate change adaptation, MPAs and OECMs, recent developments in the discussions over the BBNJ agreement, safety at sea and decent working conditions in fisheries, CITES listings and regional fishery body performance review methodologies. The RSN reviewed and revised its terms of reference, and for the first time formalised its Membership procedures. The SPRFMO Executive Secretary attended this meeting and was also able to engage with other secretariats in the margins including, but not limited to, representatives from CCAMLR, ACAP, IATTC, NPFC and WCPFC. Unfortunately a bout of COVID19 prevented the Executive Secretary from attending the associated COFI35 meeting.
UN Workshop on Bottom Fishing: This workshop discussed the implementation of UN resolutions as they pertain to sustainable fisheries, addressing the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of deep-sea fish stocks. Ms Kerrie Robertson (Chairperson of Intersessional Bottom Fishing Working, Cook Islands) attended virtually and presented the experience of SPRFMO in addressing the impacts of bottom fisheries on vulnerable marine ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of deep-sea fish stocks, in particular through the implementation of relevant paragraphs of resolutions 64/72, 66/68 and 71/123. A report on the meeting and the meeting documents are available here.
FAO's Technical Consultation on Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment: The FAO hosted this meeting from 30 May to 3 June 2022. This meeting was a follow-up to previous meetings including the earlier "Experts Consultation" were a draft "Voluntary Guidelines" document prepared by the FAO Secretariat was reviewed and revised for presentation to the larger, Member-led, group during these Technical Consultations. The resulting final version from the Technical Consultations will be presented at the 35th session of COFI for endorsement. The Secretariat was represented by the Compliance Manager who participated virtually via Zoom. More information and the related working documents can be found at the FAO IUU site under the Tools & initiatives Tab (Transshipment).
IMCS Network Executive Committee and Business Meeting: SPRFMO joined the IMCS Network following approval by Commission at the 2022 annual meeting. The first IMCS business meeting since attaining membership was held as a 2-hour virtual on 31 May 2022 and was attended by the Compliance Manager. The agenda included updates on the Network's financial status, updates on Network activities for 2021 and discussion on new and ongoing business for 2022 (e.g., 7th GFETW, Strategic Plan updating, Communication Strategy, Emerging issues and Long Term funding).
Pan-Pacific Fisheries Compliance Network (PPFCN): The PPFCN is an informal group of RFMO Compliance Officers supported by the International Monitoring, Control, Surveillance (IMCS) Network that was formed late in 2020. An Operational Framework providing guidance for the group has been established. To help foster better networking between RFMO colleagues in the Pacific, the group convenes virtually for short sessions 4-5 times per year. The Compliance Manager is the principal SPRFMO participant (and is also the current Chairperson of the PPFCN). Two meetings were held virtually in 2022 (24 February and 28 April).
Regional Coordination Meeting on the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures: Southwest and East Pacific Region (Hosted by Fiji; 2-6 May; Invitation and Provisional Agenda link). This meeting is one of four global Regional Coordination Meetings being held on the implementation of the PSMA in advance of the PSMA Strategy Ad-Hoc WG meeting in 2023. The Secretariat presented on the implementation of the PSMA in respect to the SPRFMO Port Inspections CMM 07-2022 and participated in discussions. The outcome of the four PSMA Regional Coordination Meetings was compiled as document PSMA_StrategyWG1/2023/3 for presentation to the PSMA Strategy ad hoc Working Group.

For information about the external meetings attended by staff and officials in previous years, please check the list below: