The meeting, initiated by ICCAT and supported by the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project implemented by FAO and funded by the GEF, brought together scientists from the five t-RFMOs and national experts. The goals of the meeting were to (1) establish a sustained dialogue across t-RFMOs on the issues of EAF and its implementation, (2) understand common challenges in its implementation and (3) identify case specific solutions.

The second Project Steering Committee meeting (PSC) of the ABNJ Deep Seas Project, held in Rome, Italy from 7-9 February 2017. 

The study describes the governance landscape in ABNJ within the Western Indian Ocean and the South East Pacific. It aims to understand what progress has been made towards a collaborative and integrated Cross-sectoral approach to area-based planning in ABNJ, and what potential challenges and opportunities exist when considering such an objective within these regions. The results of this study are designed to contribute to the GEF ABNJ Deep Seas Project, part of which focuses on developing and testing area-based planning methodologies in ABNJ within the Western Indian Ocean and the South East Pacific. The study combined a desk-based review of legal instruments and institutional arrangements with interviews from representatives of global and regional institutions identified through the literature review and in close collaboration with partner organizations from the two regions.

This document reviews the international policy and legal instruments, institutional arrangements and processes relevant to deep-seas fisheries management and biodiversity conservation, and describes the inter-linkages and overlaps between them. It covers relevant international treaties and non-binding instruments adopted by a range of international organizations and other treaty bodies. The document explains the key provisions of these instruments, with a particular focus on identifying those provisions that require implementation through legislation at the national level in order to be effective. A summary of requirements or aspects of the international instrument that should be reflected in national legislation is also provided.

24-27 January 2017, Wellington, New Zealand. The objective of the workshop was to advise on proposed studies of survival rates for promptly discarded sharks caught by WCPFC fisheries. These studies should assist in evaluating the effectiveness of WCPFC no-retention measures and in better estimating fishing mortality in assessments.