SPRFMO COMPLIANCE

Article 27 of the Convention requires that the Commission shall establish appropriate cooperative procedures for effective monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing and to ensure compliance with this Convention and the conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission.

This includes, for example:

the establishment and maintenance of a Commission record of vessels authorised to fish in the Convention Area, the marking of vessels and fishing gear, the recording of fishing activities, and the reporting of vessel movements and activities by a satellite vessel monitoring system that shall be designed to ensure the integrity and security of near real time transmissions, including through the possibility of direct and simultaneous transmissions, to the Commission and flag State;
an inspection programme for Contracting Parties, both at sea and in port, including procedures for Contracting Parties to board and inspect each others’ vessels in the Convention Area, and procedures for notification of inspection vessels and aircraft of Contracting Parties that may participate in the programme;
regulation and supervision of transhipment;
non discriminatory market-related measures, consistent with international law, to monitor transhipment, landings, and trade to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing including, where appropriate, catch documentation schemes;
reporting on violations detected, progress and outcomes of investigations, and enforcement actions taken;
addressing IUU fishing activities, including by identifying vessels engaging in IUU fishing activities, and by adopting appropriate measures to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing, such as the development of an IUU vessels list, so that owners and operators of vessels engaging in such activities are deprived of the benefits accruing from those activities.

These activities are covered by a number of Conservation and Management Measures, including in particular:

Under CMM 10 (CMS), Members and CNCPs submit an annual Implementation report, indicating how it has implemented the conservation and management measures and compliance and enforcement procedures adopted by the Commission. The Secretariat compiles information received from Members and CNCPs including their Implementation Reports, data collection programmes of the Commission and, where appropriate, any suitably documented information provided by other relevant sources, and prepares a Draft Compliance Report. The Commission adopts a Final Compliance Report which includes a compliance status for each Member and CNCP with respect to the implementation of their obligations under the Convention and CMMs.

Implementation Reports
Draft Compliance Reports (login required)
Final Compliance Reports

Under CMM 04 (IUU Vessel List) the Commission adopts a list of vessels presumed to have carried out Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Activities in the SPRFMO Convention Area, known as the IUU Vessel List.

IUU Vessel Lists

Under CMM 06 (Commission VMS) the purpose of the Commission VMS is to continuously monitor the movements and activity of fishing vessels that are on the Commission Record of Vessels and are authorised by Members or CNCPs to fish for fisheries resources in the SPRFMO Convention Area in a cost-effective manner in order to, inter alia, support the implementation of SPRFMO CMMs. At each annual meeting the Secretariat provides a report on the implementation and operation of the Commission VMS.

Commission VMS Implementation and Operation Reports

Under CMM 07 (Port Inspections) the Secretariat maintains a register of designated ports to which foreign fishing vessels may request entry pursuant to CMM 07, and a list of port State points of contact for the purpose of receiving requests to use their ports and for the receipt of inspection reports. The Secretariat reports annually on implementation of CMM 07.

Under CMM 11 (Boarding and Inspection) SPRFMO has adopted the Boarding and Inspection Procedures detailed in the 1995 UN Fishstock Agreement, Articles 21 and 22. The Secretariat maintains a list of information submitted in accordance with UNFSA Article 21.r

At Sea Boarding and Inspection Information