User menu
The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC),
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the need to implement the “FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing”, which was adopted at the 24th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries in 2001;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Bigeye Tuna Statistical Document Programme is currently being implemented;
EXPRESSING GRAVE CONCERN that a significant amount of catches by the IUU fishing vessels are believed to be transferred under the names of duly licensed fishing vessels;
RECOMMENDS, in accordance with Article IX of the IOTC Agreement, that:
Contracting Parties, and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties (hereinafter referred to as the “CPCs”) should ensure that their duly licensed large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels have a prior authorisation of at sea or in port transhipment and obtain the validated Statistical Document, whenever possible, prior to the transhipment of their tuna and tuna-like species subject to the Statistical Document Programme. They should also ensure that transhipments are consistent with the reported catch amount of each vessel in validating the Statistical Document and require the reporting of transhipment.
CPCs that import tuna and tuna-like species caught by large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels and subject to the Statistical Document Programme should require transporters (which include container vessels, mother vessels, and the like) that intend to land such species in their ports, to ensure that Statistical Documents are issued, whenever possible before the transhipment. Importing CPCs should obligate the transporters to submit necessary documents, including a copy of the validated Statistical Document and other documents, as required under domestic regulation, such as the receipt of transhipment, to the importing CPCs’ authorities immediately after the transhipment.
