CANADA'S PRIORITIES FOR THE ST. JOHN'S CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001172

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAN, OES/OA, AND OES/OMC
NOAA FOR NMFS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EFIS PGOV CA
SUBJECT: CANADA'S PRIORITIES FOR THE ST. JOHN'S CONFERENCE
ON HIGH SEAS FISHERIES

REF: A. OTTAWA 1142 (NOTAL)

B. OTTAWA 983 (NOTAL)


1. Sensitive but Unclassified.


2. (SBU) Summary: As the host of the Conference on the
Governance of High Seas Fisheries and the UN Fish Stocks
Agreement, May 1-5 in St. John's, Newfoundland, the
Government of Canada will be pursuing recommendations for
concrete measures to strengthen Regional Fisheries Management
Organizations (RFMOs). Canadian officials say they do not
wish to re-examine the rules and norms by which RFMOs
function, but rather, how the organizations can ensure
compliance among member and non-member states. Fisheries
issues are a hot-button issue in St. John's, Newfoundland,
and there is some GOC concern that local media will portray
the conference as yet another failure by Canada to limit
foreign overfishing on the Grand Banks by favoring diplomacy
over concrete measures. The conference appears to be a
priority for Prime Minister Paul Martin, who reportedly plans
to address the conference. End Summary.

STRENGTHENING RFMOS
--------------


3. (SBU) According to Alan Kessel, Deputy Legal Adviser and
Director General of the Bureau of Legal Affairs, Foreign
Affairs Canada, 16 ministers have already confirmed their
attendance at the St. John's conference. Kessel said that
including non-governmental organizations (NGOs),there will
be about 45 delegations attending the meeting, most
representing signatories to the United Nations Fishing
Agreement (UNFA). Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Geoff
Regan will lead the Canadian delegation, and Prime Minister
Martin may open the conference (see below).


4. (SBU) Kessel explained that for the GOC, the key issue
is how to strengthen RFMOs and the UN Fishing Agreement under
existing rules. Rather than decide new regulations for high
seas fishing, Kessel said, the conference will focus on
elements of successful RFMO governance. Representatives of
several RFMOs, such as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
Organization (NAFO),International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),and others will also
attend the conference. Kessel said that better coordination
of fisheries science research among nations and RFMOs will be
one of the key topics for consideration at the conference.


5. (SBU) The meeting will not specifically focus on flags
of convenience, Kessel said, although illegal, unregulated
and unreported fishing (IUU) in general will be a major
theme. According to Kessel, the GOC sees IUU fishing as a
global problem, and the conference will be a way to advance
the issue as such. The RFMOs and UNFA signatories, in the
GOC's view, need to bring local fishermen around the world
into a worldview in which they, the fishermen, see themselves
as global conservation stewards. Kessel said the GOC hopes
that the conference will produce a realistic strategy for all
nations, not just UNFA signatories, to begin to communicate a
global view of fisheries conservation to their local
stakeholders.

Newfoundland: A Good Place to Start
--------------


6. (SBU) The message of global conservation that the GOC
wants other nations to carry around the world will face a
skeptical local audience in Newfoundland and Canada's
maritime provinces. Local fishers are nearly unanimous in
blaming the collapse of groundfish stocks in the 1990s on
foreign overfishing on the Grand Banks, along with the GOC's
failure to control the foreign fishing fleets. Provincial
leaders and some members of the federal Parliament consider
NAFO to be ineffective, and want Ottawa to implement
"custodial management," or unilaterally extend its fisheries
enforcement beyond the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
to encompass virtually all of the Grand Banks.


7. (SBU) Kessel conceded that it will be difficult for the
Canadian federal government to control local expectations for
the conference in St. John's. No matter what the outcome,
local media may well portray the event in terms of the GOC
attempting (and failing) to limit foreign overfishing on the
Grand Banks. Managing the fishery and the political climate
are both difficult tasks, Kessel noted, adding that Canadian
Navy frigates will be conducting fisheries patrols on the
Grand Banks this year.

Comment: A Global Issue for Canada?
--------------


8. (SBU) Unless an election campaign forces a change,
Kessel said, Prime Minister Martin is expected to address the
opening of the St. John's conference. He noted that Martin
has spoken about fisheries and oceans conservation to a range
of world leaders, including President Bush, French President
Jacques Chirac, and Russian Federation President Vladimir
Putin. Just as U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair has brought
African development and HIV/Aids to the G-8, Kessel said,
Martin is apparently planning to bring oceans and fisheries
to the forefront of global environmental issues. It is far
from clear, however, how such an undertaking will be received
by the Prime Minister's domestic political audience.

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DICKSON