REGISTRATION AND CREDENTIALS

Participants should register for the meeting as soon as possible using the Registration Form.

Online registration does not ensure individuals will be entitled to attend a SPRFMO meeting. As per the Rules of Procedure (Regulation 2), the names of all designated representatives and any alternative representatives, as well as names of experts and advisors are expected to be advised to the Secretariat as much in advance of the meeting as possible. Designating the Head of Delegation and the Alternative Representative is of great importance as they will be the only two people in the delegation to have emails sent with the working documents during the meetings. A template Letter of Credentials is provided here for guidance, which should be completed and sent to the Secretariat as far in advance of the meeting as possible. Please note that, as per the Rules of Procedure, the COMM12 will be open to accredited delegates only.  

For assistance and meeting related enquiries please contact Coordination and Communications Officer, Ms Susana Delgado, on [email protected]. 

MEETING DATES AND VENUE

The 12th SPRFMO Commission Meeting (COMM12) will be held in Manta, Ecuador, from  29 January to 02 February 2024. The 11th meeting of the Finance and Administration Committee (FAC11) will session on 25, 26, 27 and 30 January 2024. The 11th Compliance and Technical Committee (CTC11) will session from 23 to 26 January 2024. A Management Strategy Evaluation workshop will be held on 27 January. The annual meeting will be held in-person only (no remote/virtual participation). 

The venue will be the Wyndham Manta Sail Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

ACCOMMODATION (updated 20 November 2023)

Accommodation is available at the Wyndham Manta Sail Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. To access the preferential rates, participants need to identify as SPRFMO meeting participants. Contact the hotel using either of the following ways:

• Email: [email protected] and [email protected]. 
• Whatsapp messaging on: +59 39 87777722.

The following preferential accommodation prices are offered for delegates attending the SPRFMO meetings:

• Room type: Deluxe Single Room
  Rate: US$ 99 + 22%*  
• Room type: Executive Single Room
  Rate: US$ 139 + 22%*   

*These prices include breakfast and transport from the Manta Airport to the venue but participants need to make those arrangements with the hotel directly.

If you have difficulties contacting the hotel, please email the host contact point, Ms Dana Zambrano, on [email protected], and keep the Secretariat in copy on [email protected].

VISA

Most people don't need a visa to enter Ecuador as per the Ecuador Visa Policy. This implies that they can simply travel to Ecuador and get a stamp on their passport with the date of arrival & number of days they can stay. You can stay for a maximum duration of 90 days within a period of 365 days with this stamp.

That being said, each delegate is responsible for finding out whether they require a visa to travel to Ecuador, including stopovers, as well as making their visa applications. The Secretariat is not involved in any stage of participants travel.

A list of the countries that require a visa to travel to Ecuador follows: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, India, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Venezuela.

Upon request, the Secretariat can issue one letter per delegation to support visa applications or internal administrative procedures for the delegation. In order to issue such an invitation letter, delegations are required to send the Secretariat the list of their delegates, providing the following details for each of them:

• Name (as per passport)                                   
• Nationality
• Date of Birth                      
• Sex                                          
• Occupation                        
• Organisation/Agency     
• Passport number
• Passport expiry (with at least 6 months left before expiry)

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Ecuador eliminated its COVID-19 entry requirements. International travelers are no longer required to present COVID-19 vaccination cards or proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering Ecuador.

PROPOSALS 

Members intending to submit proposals to create or amend SPRFMO Conservations and Management Measures or regulations are reminded that these should be received by the Secretariat by 10 December 2023. To help Members in this process, the Secretariat has created a section on the website that contains the word versions of the cover page template (summary of the proposal) and of all CMMs and SPRFMO basic documents ready for download.

MEALS

Breakfast is included in the cost of the hotel room. The host will provide lunch for meeting participants on meeting days.

SOCIAL EVENTS (updated 05 January 2024)

The host is offering three social events within the framework of the annual meeting:

• Sunday 28 January. "Sunset Party" starting at 12pm, at a private residence in Santa Marianita beach. Transfer, lunch and drinks will be provided.
• Monday 29 January. "Welcome cocktail" starting at 7pm, at Oro Verde Hotel. Transfer from the venue will be provided. 
• Tuesday 30 January. "Oceana Side Event" starting at 6pm, at the venue hotel. 
• Wednesday 31 January. "Dinner for Heads of Delegation" (with invitation only). 
• Thursday 01 February. "UN-DOALOS Side Event" starting at 6pm, at the venue hotel.
• Thursday 01 February. "Social Padel Tournament" starting at 8:30pm at the padel courts next to the venue hotel.

LANGUAGE

All meetings will be conducted in English. English-Spanish interpretation will be available. 

SECURITY 

Recording: The Secretariat may record the sessions for report writing purposes. Attendees are advised, however, that recording at the meeting (audio or video) and dissemination of material under discussion is prohibited.

ELECTRICITY AND POWER

Ecuador operates on a 120V supply voltage and 60Hz.

For Ecuador there are two associated plug types, types A and B. Plug type A is the plug which has two flat parallel pins and plug type B is the plug which has two flat parallel pins and a grounding pin. 

Type A  

Type B