This page contains the external meetings attended by SPRFMO staff and officials on behalf of the organisation in 2017.
- 15 - 17 November 2017, Santiago, Chile. FAO/CPPS Workshop "Fortalecimiento de la coordinaci n regional para la lucha contra la pesca INDNR en aguas bajo jurisdicci n nacional de los Estados miembros de la CPPS (Strengthening the regional coordination to fight IUU fishing in waters under national jurisdiction of CPPS member States) (meeting website). Johanne Fischer attended and gave a presentation on Los mecanismos de coordinaci n y herramientas para el combate a la pesca illegal en la Organizaci n Regional de Ordencxi n Pesquera del Pac fico Sur (SPRFMO) (The mechanisms of coordination and tools for the fight against illegal fishing in SPRFMO). The workshop had the objective to advance the creation of a regional coordination mechanism among CPPS member States to fight against transboundary IUU fishing, accurately monitor the fisheries and manage the marine resources.
- 4-6 October 2017, Malta. Our Oceans Conference (report). SPRFMO was represented by Johanne Fischer (Executive Secretary). Since 2014, the Our Ocean conferences have invited ocean leaders to commit to change for the conservation of oceans while also providing an important global platform for exchanging views, coordination and networking. In 2017, the conference focused on marine pollution, marine protected areas, maritime security, sustainable blue economy, sustainable fisheries and climate change. Regional fisheries played a major part in the 2017 conference, and several SPRFMO Members communicated significant commitments and efforts of more than 100 million Euros under the agenda item for sustainable fisheries, i.e., Australia, Chile, European Union (also Spain and Portugal), Korea, Chinese Taipei and USA. In addition, several IGOS and RFMOs made substantive promises and important announcements related to sustainable fisheries, e.g. FAO, ILO, IOC, GFCM, GEF, and ICES. These and other commitments have been compiled in a pdf document and an interactive map.
- 26-27 August 2017, Woods Hole, USA. FAO Workshop on potential impacts of climate change on deep-sea ecosystems and the implications for the management of deep sea fisheries. SPRFMO was represented by Luoliang Xu (China) and Dr Martin Cryer (New Zealand). The aim of the meeting was to produce a FAO technical report addressing the following questions: What are the major climate change features affecting the deep ocean and its associated biodiversity? What impacts might these features have on the functioning of deep sea ecosystems? How might climate impacts affect deep sea fish and fisheries? Which regions and fisheries might be most vulnerable?
Which VME indicator species are most vulnerable (in terms of type, locations, depths etc.)? What essential ocean variables are important to monitor in order to assess the risks to deep sea species and communities due to climate change? - 13 - 14 July, 1 August, 15 August, 13 November and 15 November 2017, Wellington New Zealand (see COMM6 INF05). New Zealand Bottom Fishing Stakeholder Workshops. The Secretariat was represented by Craig Loveridge (Data Manager), and occasionally by Johanne Fischer (Executive Secretary) and Osvaldo Urrutia (Commission Chairperson). The main scope of these meetings was to gather and document stakeholder views on the nature and content of a revised conservation and management measure for bottom fisheries in the SPRFMO Area.
- 23-25 May 2017, Hobart, Australia. The 3rd SPRFMO Scientific Committee workshop: Deepwater working group. The SPRFMO Data Manager attended this meeting. The report is available as SC5-Doc08.
- 28 February 2017, Wellington, New Zealand. 6th and final meeting of the New Zealand VME Stakeholder Advisory Group. SPRFMO was represented by Craig Loveridge (Data Manager). This group provided a forum for exchanging ideas and information related to New Zealand s South Pacific VME project, which also carries relevance to SPRFMO (refer NZ paper COMM5-INF05).
- 7-9 February 2017 at FAO, Rome, Italy: ABNJ Deep Seas Project Steering Committee (report). SPRFMO was represented by Dr. Jianye Tang (China) (report) and Mr.Timothy Costelloe (Cook Island) (report). The Project on sustainable Management and biodiversity Conservation of Deep Sea Living Resources in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction has the objective to achieve efficiency and sustainability in the use of deep-sea living resources and biodiversity conservation in the ABNJ, through the systematic application of an ecosystem approach for: (i) improving sustainable management practices for DSFm taking into account the impacts on related ecosystems; (ii) improving the protection of VMEs and components of EBSAs; and (iii) testing improved area-based planning tools for deep-sea ecosystems.
For information about the external meetings attended by staff and officials in previous years, please check the list below: