8th Session of the Compliance Committee (CoC08)

The Eighth Session of the Compliance Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 14 to 16, and 19 March 2011, chaired by Mr Roberto Cesari. Delegates from 24 Members of the Commission, 3 Cooperating non-Contracting Parties and 2 Observers and invited experts attended the Session.

In response to concerns about the clarity of the current Country Based Compliance Report template, the Committee agreed to modify the template for use in preparing reports for the next Committee meeting.

Following discussions on the implementation of IOTC Conservation and Management Measures by each CPC, the Committee recommended to the Commission that letters outlining areas of non-compliance be developed and distributed to relevant CPCs and for these letters to be based on the list of issues identified during the meeting.

The Committee’s deliberations in relation to Resolution 09/03 On establishing a list of vessels presumed to have carried out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the IOTC area, concluded with the Committee recommending that the Commission consider delisting both the Parsian Shila and the Rwad 1 from the IOTC IUU list.

The Committee was unable to determine if the Lingsar 08 should be delisted from the IUU list, but recommended that the Commission consider delisting the Lingsar 08 from the IOTC IUU list during the inter-sessional period, if Indonesia were to provide documentation certifying a change of ownership.

The Committee recommended that the Commission consider the additional information to be tabled by Sri Lanka at the 15th Session of the IOTC, before making a decision on the possible listing of the Suratha, Lakshani, Sulara 3, Chandra Kala, Lek Sauro, Madu Kumari 2, Anuka Putha 1, Sudeesa Marine 5, Rashmi, Chmale, Sriyani Duwa, Dory II, and the Randika Putha 1, on the IOTC IUU list.

Similarly, the Committee recommended that the Commission consider the additional information to be tabled by Iran at the 15th Session of the IOTC, before making a decision on the possible listing of the Payam, on the IOTC IUU list.

The Committee recommended that the Commission provide guidance concerning the status of the information provided by observers participating in the IOTC at sea transhipment program, in particular, the confidentiality rules to be applied, and the procedure to be followed upon receiving information from observers regarding irregular activities by fishing vessels involved in transhipment operations.

The Committee received four applications for the status of Cooperating Non-Contracting Party and recommended that the Commission considers renewing the status of the Maldives, South Africa and Senegal, while for the first time, considers granting the status to Mozambique.