Preface

The motivation for DEEP SEA 2003, An International Conference on the Governance and Management of Deep-seas Fisheries, was the realization by a number of States, intergovernmental organizations, industry groups and civil society organizations that, as a result of technological development and market demand, deepwater fisheries are being exploited at increasingly unsustainable levels. In tandem with this was the recognition that existing regulatory regimes, based primarily on the 1982 Law of the Sea agreement^[1], are proving incapable of effectively regulating these fisheries, many of which occur exclusively as high-seas stocks and others as transboundary resources.

The idea for the conference was first mooted among participants to a preparatory meeting for a Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission held in Reunion in February 2001, most notably, participants from the FAO and the Ministry of Fisheries in New Zealand. During the following two years discussions were held in Wellington, Canberra and Rome and the concept for the Conference was brought to the floor of the twenty-fifth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in February 2003, by the delegations of New Zealand and Australia. The COFI supported the concept of the Conference, which was to have as primary sponsors the Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia with funding support from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra and the technical cooperation of the Fisheries Department of the FAO, Rome. The COFI requested that the Conference organizers report the outcome of the Conference to the twenty-sixth session of COFI, to be held in 2005.

An underlying objective of DEEP SEA 2003 was to embrace all disciplines and interests involved in deep-sea fishing - those of the industry, governments and international regulators, marine legal scholars, fisheries scientists, national and international environmental groups as well as staff employed by regional fisheries management and intergovernmental organizations. This, the conference achieved, through a programme of structured theme sessions within a framework of formal reporting and ultimately a synthesis in the form of a report back to the Conference that provided the prognoses of a carefully selected group of thinkers from government, academia and industry.

The conference participants, representing individuals from 36 countries, indeed presented a broad cross section of expertise. It was the hope of the Steering Committee that those attending the Conference would do so in a personal capacity so as to minimize any constraints on the free exchange of views and ideas, unrestricted by the need to remain within the bounds of institutional policies or ideologies. In this context it was gratifying to the Conference Programme and Steering Committees to see the successful fusion of ideas and experiences, views and counterviews, which emphasized the complexity of what had been undertaken by the meeting.

It had been recognized that with the four and a half days scheduled for the conference, discussions and treatment of topics, issues and problems would necessarily be synoptic and thus it would be difficult to address problems in detail. Thus, it was decided to take advantage of the presence of so many specialists with interests related to deep-sea fisheries to hold several workshops to address topics of specific relevance to the Conference theme. Four such workshops were organized and held concurrently just prior to DEEP SEA 2003 in Dunedin at the University of Otago, from 27 to 29 November, so allowing a day at the end for most participants to arrive in Queenstown, 3 hours distant by coach.

This report attempts first to summarize the presentations and discussions of DEEP SEA 2003 and to identify where the Conference thought future action, both at the national and international level, was needed to address problems that characterize the management of existing, and future, deep-sea fisheries. Thus, our objectives were to address all aspects of the problems of the fisheries - those relating to ecosystem biology and habitat issues; the protection of biodiversity and conservation of deepwater fauna and their habitats; knowledge of the population and fisheries biology of deepwater and slope fisheries resources; resource management including the improvement and evaluation of stock assessment techniques and harvesting strategies; the technology and fishing tactics of deepwater fisheries; national, regional and international strategies and policies for governance of the deep seas; management protocols including the need for development of new international arrangements and means of facilitating their implementation; and the identification of programmes for the implementation of the required strategies

The Steering and Programme Committees put considerable effort into developing a programme that specifically considered the needs of coordination and synergy of research and management efforts targeted at deep-sea fisheries. We concluded that the Conference greatly succeeded in providing a constructive debate that has made a significant contribution towards mapping the future directions required for successful governance and management of the world’s deepwater fisheries.

The advent of DEEP SEA 2003 was possible only through the generous support of a number of sponsors, who provided either direct financial support to the activities of DEEP SEA 2003 or made available staff whose work in Conference organization was essential to the Conference’s success. In this regard, the New Zealand Seafood Council deserves particular recognition for agreeing to allow Dr Kevin Stokes to participate as a Steering Committee member and Programme Committee Convenor, and for Ms Sandra Diesveld to ably serve as the central support to the Conference Secretariat. The activities of these stalwarts were held together by the enormous efforts of Ms Eidre Sharp-Brewer through her responsibilities as Conference Director. A complete list of the Conference sponsors and members of the Steering and Programme Committees is given in Appendix I.

We are most grateful to Mr Jonathan Peacey, Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, for preparing the foundation draft of this report.