WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES COMMISSION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 STATE 004638

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIS PHSA SENV KSCA XB XV ZN AQ AS CA CH CW FM FJ
FR, FP, GQ, JA, KR, KS, RM, NR, NC, NZ, CQ, PS, PP, RP, WS, BP, TW,
TN, US, NH, BH, ID, EC, ES, MX, SG
SUBJECT: WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES COMMISSION
ADOPTS CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT MEASURES AT ITS 5TH
ANNUAL MEETING

REF: A. A. 08 STATE 5966

B. B. 08 STATE 119766

C. C. 08 STATE 120163


1. (U) SUMMARY. The fifth meeting of the Western and Central
Pacific Fisheries Commission was held in Busan, Korea from 8
) 12 December 2008. The meeting focused on conservation and
management measures for the region,s two major fish stocks -
yellowfin and bigeye tuna, adopting a suite of measures for
purse seine and longline fisheries to reduce the fishing
effort and total catch of bigeye tuna, and by association
yellowfin tuna, by 10 percent during 2009 and 30 percent
before the end of 2011. The members negotiated and adopted a
number of other conservation and management measures at this
meeting, including measures for South Pacific swordfish,
large-scale driftnets and sea turtles. The Parties revised
measures currently in place for sharks and for Cooperating
non-Members (CNMs) were revised and adopted a resolution on
the development aspirations of Small Island Developing
States. The Commission welcomed six CNMs for 2009: Belize, El
Salvador, Indonesia, Mexico and Senegal and approved
Ecuador,s application under the condition the country would
provide the United States with information regarding presumed
illegal fishing by Ecuadorian vessels in U.S. waters. A
number of officers were appointed and a new Commission
Chairman, Ambassador Satya Nandan of Fiji, was elected for a
two-year term. END SUMMARY


2. (U) PARTICIPANTS. The Fifth Regular Session of the
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) was
held in Busan, Korea from 8 ) 12 December 2008.
Representatives from American Samoa, Australia, Canada,
China, Cook Islands, European Community, Federated States of
Micronesia, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Guam, Japan,
Kiribati, Korea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New
Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Marianas Islands, Palau,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Chinese Taipei, Tonga, the United States, and Vanuatu
attended the meeting. Belize and Indonesia participated in
their capacity as Cooperating non-Members, and the Executive
Secretary of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and
a variety of fishing industry and environmental conservation
organization representatives observed the proceedings. A
number of participants also attended two days of preliminary
meetings to discuss Cooperating non-Member applications and
conservation and management measures for yellowfin and bigeye
tuna. The Finance and Administration Committee also convened
prior to the opening of the plenary session of the
Commission.

BIGEYE AND YELLOWFIN TUNA


3. (U) Developing a conservation and management measure
(CMM) for yellowfin and bigeye tuna was the Commission,s
main focus during 2008. The Chairman,s initial drafts were
taken from the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) and Third Implementing
Arrangement the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) have
adopted to regulate fishing activities in their domestic
waters. (NOTE: The PNA is a collection of eight Pacific
Island States that have formed a sub-regional agreement on
the terms and arrangements for licensing tuna purse seine
fishing vessels.
Tuna management in the Western and Central Pacific is
complicated by the fact that the majority of the tuna are
found in waters under the jurisdiction of Small Island
Developing States (SIDs). Although the Convention Area

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SUBJECT: WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES COMMISSI
includes Party,s exclusive economic zones (EEZs),the
responsibility for managing resources within those waters is
the sovereign right of a coastal State. The Commission
provides the venue for international cooperation to manage
the highly migratory fish stocks throughout their range.
Further, conservation measures adopted by the Commission and
those adopted by Parties for their EEZs must be compatible.
Given the economic importance of the tuna resources to SIDs,
there is great pressure within these islands to continue to
issue access licenses or otherwise develop domestic fleets or
industries. This has led to conflict in recent years as some
SIDs have asserted that the Commission is responsible only
for managing the high seas and that measures adopted for
their EEZs are sufficient and no additional measures that may
limit fishing activities in their EEZs will be acceptable.
WCPFC5 made some progress on these issues; however, balancing
sovereign rights and economic and social growth with the need
for international cooperation to conserve marine resources
will continue to challenge the Commission during coming
years. END NOTE.)


5. (U) Just prior to the Commission meeting in December, the
United States developed and circulated a US paper expressing
views on the need to adopt measures that are enforceable,
result in a real and measurable conservation benefit and are
equitable across all of the Commission members, cooperating
non-members and participating territories (&CCMs8). The US
Views paper also laid out specific management options to
achieve the required reductions in fishing mortality across
fleets, taking into account currently available compliance
and enforcement tools. Japan also circulated a paper
promoting a system that would allow each Party to
independently determine the measures they would implement to
reduce fishing and catch of bigeye tuna by initially 10
percent. Japan,s position appeared to be motivated by their
opposition to fisheries closures, both temporally and on fish
aggregating devices (FADs),and a desire to use their
existing port sampling program to monitor catch of bigeye
tuna, only reducing fishing where and if necessary. The
United States stressed the need to adopt Convention Area-wide
measures to facilitate monitoring and enforcement and
increase the effectiveness of the CMM. In the end, the
Parties adopted a combination of the PNA measures adopted for
their domestic waters and the Japanese and U.S. proposals.


6. (U) PURSE SEINE MEASURES. Management measures for the
purse seine fishery were divided into near term (2009) and
midterm (2010-2011) activities. For 2009, all fishing for
bigeye tuna is capped at 2001-2004 levels, fishing in
association with fish aggregating devices (FADs) is
prohibited for 60 days in waters between 20 degrees North and
20 degrees South latitude, 20 percent observer coverage is
required for all fleets and Japan is required to reduce their
total catch of bigeye tuna by 10 percent. Starting in 2010
the Third Implementing Arrangement will come into force,
meaning that purse seine vessels fishing in PNA waters will
be prohibited from discarding unwanted tuna, fishing in two
of the high seas pockets, or fishing on FADs between 1 July
and 30 September. Unless otherwise decided at the next
Commission meeting, fishing in other parts of the Convention
area (high seas and waters of non-PNA members) will be
subject to a 60 day FAD closure, a high seas pockets closure
and 100 percent observer coverage on vessels fishing between
20 degrees North and 20 degrees South latitude. During the
2009 and 2010/2011 FAD closures, vessels will be required to
return and stay in port unless a fisheries observer is on
board to verify that the vessel did not fish in association
with FADs. During the next two years, the Commission will
consider developing a vessel day scheme (similar to the PNA
VDS) to limit fishing on the high seas and will attempt to
conduct research to identify fishing methods or gear that
effectively reduce catch of juvenile bigeye tunas.


7. (U) LONGLINE MEASURES. Most CCMs are required to reduce

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their longline catch of bigeye tuna by 10 percent every year
for the next three years, to achieve a 30 percent reduction
in catch before the end of 2011. CCMs that historically
caught less than 2,000mt of bigeye tuna will not have to
reduce their catch each year and will instead have a 2,000mt
limit. Participating territories and SIDs will not have to
limit their longline catch of bigeye tuna. Furthermore, the
Commission agreed that China would not be required to reduce
its bigeye catch, but instead would be capped at current
catch levels. Longline fleets, such as that of the United
States, which land exclusively fresh fish and catch 5,000mt
or less, will take a 10 percent reduction in 2009, but will
not be required to make further reductions during 2010 or

2011.

OTHER CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT MEASURES


8. (U) SEA TURTLES. After addressing concerns of Australia,
New Zealand and battling resistance from the European
Community to adopt any measure that referenced the use of
circle hooks, the United States developed a proposal to
address fishery induced sea turtle mortalities. The adopted
measure requires WCPFC vessels to implement safe handling and
release practices, including the use of dip nets, de-hooking
devices and line cutters to safely free sea turtles that
become entangled in fishing gear. Most notably, the measure
requires longline vessels fishing for swordfish with
shallow-set hooks to use circle hooks or whole fish bait.
This measure makes WCPFC the first regional fishery
management organization to require the use of modified
fishing gear, such as circle hooks, to reduce fishery
interactions with sea turtles. As an alternative to these
measures, CCMs may develop alternative mitigation plans that
can be implemented after they are reviewed and approved by
the Scientific and Technical and Compliance Committees.


9. (U) SHARKS. The shark CMM previously in place, applied
only to vessels greater than 24m in length. The 4th Regular
Session of the SC concluded that shark bycatch does not
differ significantly between vessels that are greater than
24m and vessels that are less than 24m. Consequently, the
U.S. delegation proposed revisions to the shark CMM to ensure
it would apply to sharks caught in association with all
fisheries managed under the Convention. The revised measure
also recognized the continued use of sharks in subsistence
and artisanal fisheries and called for the SC to provide
guidance on establishing a research plan to assess the status
of key shark species in the Convention Area.


10. (U) HIGH SEAS DRIFTNET FISHING. The 4th Regular Session
of the Northern Committee Meeting (NC4) recommended the
Commission adopt a CMM prohibiting the use of large-scale
driftnets on the high seas in the Convention Area (reftel B).
The Commission adopted a U.S. proposal that prohibits the
use and possession of this gear on the high seas of the
Convention Area. Although a number of international
instruments exist that regulate the use of large-scale
driftnets, this new WCPFC measure enables Parties to utilize
the Commission,s high seas boarding and inspection scheme to
board and inspect vessels suspected of carrying or using this
gear. In the absence of an appropriate flag state
enforcement response, vessels documented violating this CMM
can then be forwarded to the Commission for consideration of
inclusion on the WCPFC,s Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) vessel list.

11. (U) SWORDFISH. The previous measure caped the total
number of vessels that may fish for swordfish south of 20
degrees South latitude. The newly adopted CMM in addition,
sets annual limits on CCM,s total catch of South Pacific
Swordfish. This measure was highly controversial and
eventually led to the EC agreeing to allow the Commission,s
scientific services provider (the SPC,s Oceanic Fisheries
Program) to review data currently available, pursuant to an
appropriate confidentiality agreement and in cooperation with

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12. (U) APPLICATIONS. CCMs met prior to the Commission
meeting to discuss the 2009 cooperating non-member
applications from Belize, Ecuador, El Salvador, Indonesia,
Mexico and Senegal. Following a presentation from the
Commission,s legal advisor, Belize, Ecuador, El Salvador and
Indonesia described their fishing effort in the Convention
Area (Mexico and Senegal did not attend.) Belize, El
Salvador and Indonesia were accepted as CNMs with little
discussion within the Commission. Following a thorough
evaluation of their applications, and consultations to
resolve outstanding questions regarding current and intended
fishing effort and how the CMMs would apply to their vessels,
Mexico and Senegal were accepted. During discussions
regarding Ecuador,s application, the United States noted
that despite numerous requests through the last year and a
half, Ecuador has not taken steps to address presumed IUU
fishing activities by a number of their vessels within U.S.
waters. A number of other Parties also raised concerns about
Ecuador,s involvement in illegal fishing activities. After
participating in numerous bilateral discussions with the
United States, Ecuador was granted CNM status on the
condition it provides the United States with information by
February 15, 2009, regarding fishing activities of Ecuadorian
vessels in U.S. waters. If it does not provide all the
requested information to the satisfaction of the United
States, its CNM status will become null and void. Belize
also requested support from members to become a full Member
of the Commission. Discussions regarding their request will
be progressed intersessionally by the Executive Director.


14. (U) COOPERATING NON-MEMBER MEASURE. Following the
contentious discussion regarding CNMs that occurred during
the 4th Annual WCPFC meeting (reftel A),the Chairman tasked
the Parties to improve and clarify the process for evaluating
CNM applications. During the 2008 meeting of the TC),Palau
proposed changes to the current CNM measure and presented a
flow chart outlining the specific steps for evaluating
applications. TCC revised Palau,s flowchart to reflect the
measure that was currently in force and tasked Canada with
revising the CNM measure based on comments submitted by CCMs.
Canada presented a well balanced proposal at the Commission
meeting and led efforts to adopt a revised measure that inter
alia, requires CNMs to accept high seas boardings and
inspections, encourages CNMs to voluntarily limit their catch
or number of vessels fishing in the WCPFC Convention area
given the status of the stocks and requires CNMs to respond
in a timely manner to allegations of IUU fishing.

MONITORING, CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE

15. (U) VESSEL MONITORING SYSTEM (VMS). Before adopting the
service level agreement to officially establish the &Pacific
VMS8, the Commission worked to resolve outstanding issues
with the Commission VMS Standards, Specifications and
Procedures (SSPs). Agreement could not be reached on how to
handle reporting in the event of a breakdown of a VMS, so
the SSPs were adopted with the understanding that this issue
would be discussed at TCC5 and hopefully resolved at WCPFC6.
Subsequently, the Commission adopted the service level
agreement for the Pacific VMS and an implementation date of
April 1, 2009 was established for the Commission,s VMS to
become operational. The WCPFC and FFA Secretariats executed
that agreement shortly thereafter. The Finance and
Administration Committee (FAC) reviewed estimates of the cost
structure for the VMS program and recommended an increase in
funds to allow 600 additional vessels (double the original
estimate) in the Commission,s VMS program during the first
year.

16. (U) REGIONAL OBSERVER PROGRAM. The Commission adopted
the recommendations of the ROP Intersessional Working Group
(IWG-ROP) and decisions of the TCC including recommendations
on interim minimum standards, data to be collected by

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observers, the role and function of audits, the authorization
process for national observers, and the need to extend the
mandate of the IWG-ROP. The Commission is tentatively
planning a meeting of the IWG-ROP for March 2009 in Guam.
During 2009 the IWG-ROP will further consider issues related
to vessel size, program costs, observer safety and issues
related to the definitions of &principally8,
&occasionally8, &adjacent8 and &impartial8, which will
determine if a fleet will be allowed to carry fisheries
observers from the national observer programs of its flag
state.


17. (U) IUU VESSEL LIST. The 2009 WCPFC IUU vessel list
contains two vessels: Jinn Feng Tsair (Chinese-Taipei) and
Daniela F (Venezuela). Although the TCC4 considered eight
vessels for potential listing, two of which were placed on
the Provisional IUU list, no new vessels were added because
the concerned Parties reached bilateral agreements to address
the presumed IUU activities.

FINANCE AND ADMINSTRATION COMMITTEE

18. (U) In determining the funds necessary to support the
work of the Commission, the Finance and Administration
Committee (FAC) recommended expanding the Secretariat staff
to include a second VMS program operator and a data quality
officer. The FAC also recommended augmenting the budget to
reflect 600 more vessels in the WCPFC VMS in 2009 than were
accounted for in the original budget. The FAC recommended
extended the contract of the current Director, Mr. Andrew
Wright of Australia, for an additional four years. Guided by
Australia and the United States, the FAC created a template
for a strategic plan to assist Parties in identifying
priorities for the Commission andCanada agreed to coordinate
the development a strategic plan. Mr. Terry Toomata of Samoa
was re-elected as FAC chairman and Mr. Lui Xiaobing of China
was selected as co-chair. The total budget approved by the
Commission for 2009 was $4,209,155 with the United States
paying $385,623, or approximately 9% of the total budget.
OTHER ISSUES

19. (U) SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES. The Parties adopted
a resolution recognizing the special needs of developing
island States and territories. This resolution prompts the
Parties to consider options to accommodate and assist SIDS
and territories in their aspirations to develop domestic
fisheries. Specifically, CCMs are asked to take concerted
efforts and consider innovative options to reduce or
restructure their fleets to open fishing capacity for SIDS,
development, and to cooperate with SIDS in investments in
fishing vessels as well as shore-side facilities. The
resolution also outlines a number of principles that should
be taken into account when adopting conservation and
management measures so as not to unduly or disproportionately
burden SIDS or territories.

20. (U) BLUEFIN TUNA. The North Committee (NC4) postponed
agrement on a recommended measure to cap both the total
fishing effort and the fishing mortality rate of Pacific
bluefin tuna until the Commission meeting (reftel B).
Unfortunately, prior to the meeting Korea circulated a
written notification that they were currently unable to agree
to such a measure. It is not clear if this measure will be
re-tabled at the 2009 NC meeting. In the interim, some
outreach to Korea will be necessary to better understand its
concerns and ensure its future cooperation in such efforts.

21. (U) TRANSHIPMENT. The Commission has been continually
challenged by differences between the coastal states, whose
ports and shore side facilities would benefit economically
from a total prohibition on at-sea transhipment, and distant
water fishing nations for which certain fishing operations
are established and based on their ability to tranship
at-sea. The proposal tabled by the Marshall Islands
contained a number of contentious elements, such as
prohibitions against transhipping in the high seas pockets,
transhipping frozen fish at sea between 20 North and 20 South
latitude and transhipping to carrier vessels flagged to

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SUBJECT: WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES COMMISSI
non-CCM nations -- an activity that is currently allowed by
the Commission. In an attempt to produce a consensus
document, there was significant movement on a number of these
controversial issues towards the end of the meeting; however,
there was not enough time to resolve other details of the
draft measure. The Commission therefore decided to develop
a revised measure intersessionally and adopted a one-year
extension of the exemptions currently in place for at-sea
transshipment agreeing that further extensions would be
unacceptable.


22. (U) COMPLIANCE WORKING GROUP (C2M2). Australia proposed
and will lead an intersessional Compliance with Conservation
and Management Measures Working Group (C2M2) that will
recommend to TCC5 options for an effective structure and
process for a WCPFC Compliance Monitoring Scheme. Draft
terms of reference were tabled at WCPFC5, but there was not
sufficient time to agree on them. The United States will
provide further comments on the draft terms of reference for
the C2M2 Working Group, and will participate in its work.


23. (U) CHAIRMANSHIP. There were three candidates for WCPFC
Chairman: Mr. Masanori Miyahara of Japan, Mr. William
Gibbons-Fly of the United States and Mr. Satya Nandan of
Fiji. Following discussion in heads of delegation meetings,
the Commission elected, by consensus, Ambassador Satya Nandan
for a term of two years. It was agreed that at the expiry of
this term, non-FFA States will provide a candidate or
candidates for the position of Chair for the consideration of
the Commission. Ms. Sylvie LaPointe of Canada was selected
to serve as Vice-Chair during Mr. Nandan,s two year term.


24. (U) OFFICERS. Mr. Naozumi Miyabe of Japan was elected
chair of the Scientific Committee and Mr. Keith Bigelow of
the United States was elected Vice-Chair. Mr. Masanori
Miyahara was re-elected as the Chairman of the Northern
Committee and Mr. Benjamin Tabios of the Philippines was
elected to serve as Vice-Chair.


25. (U) NEXT MEETINGS. The next annual meeting of the WCPFC
will be held in French Polynesia December 7-11, 2009. The
provisional schedule for the subsidiary bodies of the WCPFC
will start with a meeting of the IWG-ROP program in Guam
17-21 March 2009. The Scientific Committee will meet August
10-21, 2009 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The Northern Committee
will meet September 15-17, 2009 in Japan and the Technical
and Compliance Committee will meet October 1-6, 2009 in
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.


26. (U) CONTACT INFORMATION. Please direct related questions
or comments to Ms. Sarah McTee, Office of Marine
Conservation, by phone (202-647-3941) or via the
Department,s classified or unclassified email system at
McTeeSa@state.gov.
RICE