From the 28th of November to the 3rd of December 2024, Fiji hosted the 21st Annual Meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), observed by five representatives of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS).
Progress at this year’s meeting was mixed with notable wins on crew conditions, swordfish management, minimum standards for electronic reporting (ER) and electronic monitoring (EM), and climate change. However, many important decisions were deferred to the following year. This blog summarises some of the key achievements and disappointments of the meeting. For more details on each item discussed and adopted in the Commission, please check the meeting report, which will be posted here in March or April.
Over five days, the members of the WCPFC discussed 15 proposals and various reports developed by members, intersessional working groups, and subsidiary bodies. Last year, a major milestone was achieved with the adoption of a revised tropical tuna measure. With this out of the way, members focused on the much-anticipated work of the intersessional working group of crew labour conditions as well as issues relating to non-tropical tuna stocks such as South Pacific Albacore, bycatch species including seabirds, sharks, and cetaceans, and compliance.
Stagnation and Unresolved Challenges
On bycatch, essential progress fell short, with only small, albeit relevant, steps taken. No progress was made on strengthening seabird bycatch mitigation as major fishing nations blocked any advancement, calling for more science and information. Members tasked New Zealand to lead this work and to provide supporting data for the adoption of such a measure. This work comes at a critical time as seabird populations in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean are dramatically declining, with most species classified as endangered or vulnerable by the IUCN (see here for more information). Delaying action on this work risks further worsening the decline of these iconic species.
Discussions on sharks focused on the ‘alternative measure’ section within the current shark measure. Under this measure, shark finning is prohibited, and fins need to be naturally attached. However, members were allowed to implement alternative measures for a period of three years from 2022-2024, such as (i) storing fins and the corresponding shark carcass in the same bag but not attached; (ii) binding the fins with rope or wire to the corresponding shark carcass; or (iii) adding identical and uniquely numbered tags to each shark carcass and its corresponding fins. Under the current measures, these alternative measures were up for review to assess and confirm their effectiveness against shark finning and compliance against the prohibition in the long term this year. Canada proposed deleting these alternative measures, voicing concerns about their effectiveness (see here). This proposal did not receive the support from all members, predominantly members interested in longline fisheries. Nevertheless, compromise was reached to include option i) only until July 2025 and strengthen the reporting requirements for members using the remaining two alternative measures, which should improve available data concerning the effectiveness of these measures when the new measure is reviewed in 2027.
The US and the Republic of Korea proposed expanding the coverage of the current Cetaceans measure to include the longline fishery. The current cetacean measure only applies to purse seiners. However, members with a strong interest in longline fisheries watered down this proposal, and all reporting language regarding longliners was removed. The only addition to the existing proposal is a new prohibition on longline and purse seine vessels to retain, sell, and tranship cetaceans.
Progress
A standout achievement of this year’s Commission meeting was the adoption of the first binding minimum standards for crew labour conditions by an RFMO. In the last decade, the poor working conditions on board fishing vessels have received much-needed attention. The proposal for this measure was first put forward in 2020 by Indonesia, with subsequent work led by Indonesia and New Zealand. This measure is an important step forward in the right direction to protect the fishing crew. The measure includes, inter alia, important reporting requirements and procedures that should be followed in the case of a crew member’s death, a serious illness or injury, or if fallen overboard. Another key element is that members are required to update their national legislation and align them with international standards. The Cook Islands was one of the key countries advocating the adoption of this measure, stating that “sustainable fisheries and human rights are intrinsically linked and can’t be separated”. Disappointingly, the measure will not take effect until 1 January 2028, although this gives ample time for Members to prepare for its implementation under domestic regulations.
A proposal led by Australia to commence work on a management procedure for Southwest Pacific Swordfish was adopted after some last-minute adjustments to language to accommodate the EU’s concerns on preliminary work required before developing a management procedure. Australia will lead the work on the management procedure following several years of attempts to make progress on this stock.
Progress was also made on electronic monitoring, adopting interim electronic monitoring data standards. The WCPFC was the last tuna RFMO to do so. The new standards are expected to bring the WCPFC more closely in line with those adopted for the Eastern Pacific Ocean by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and other tuna RFMOs. The Commission also agreed that Australia would lead intersessional work to develop voluntary guidelines on high seas boarding and inspection.
Additionally, a climate change work plan was adopted, including the terms of reference for a climate change vulnerability assessment. As part of this assessment, the vulnerability of selected measures against climate change will be analysed. This work is a necessary step to climate change ‘proof’ fisheries management.
Moving Forward
Under the leadership of Executive Director Rhea Moss-Christian, the WCPFC Secretariat has taken a more outward-looking stance. This is especially important in the context of the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), which will likely influence RFMOs. The members supported the recommendation of the Secretariat to observe upcoming Preparatory Commission meetings of the BBNJ to ensure that WCPFC is aware of this work. The Commission also agreed to strengthen cooperation with IATTC, including the development of compatible harvest strategies for South Pacific Albacore, the range of which crosses the convention areas of both RFMOs.
Overall, adopting a binding measure on crew labour conditions was, by far, the biggest win of this year’s regular session. The Commission made incremental progress across a range of other areas of its work, but advances in managing bycatch and associated species were lacking, undermining the WCPFC’s mandate to protect marine biodiversity beyond its most commercially valuable stocks.
