RFMOs that are responsible for the management of deepwater fisheries and the protection of biodiversity face similar problems. Where fisheries target slow-growing late-maturing species, which may consist of populations with poorly understood and unpredictable recruitment, then the requirements for appropriate management action should be similar across the RFMOs. Some deepwater species are widespread and can be found in all the major oceans; in other cases, fisheries may be for a species that is onlytargeted in the waters of a single RFMO, e.g. Patagonian toothfish. Here, management responses will be specific to that species. In both cases, management methods must address the vulnerabilities of the stocks to depletion given that the usual requirements for confident decision making in management are lacking. In the case of protection of biodiversity, certain norms have been developed over a relatively short period of a few years. There is common recognition that much deepwater benthic fauna is highly vulnerable to damage by fishing gear that makes bottom contact. In these cases RFMOs have been confronted with the need to define VMEs and to operationalize the definition. Associated with this concept is that of a SAL Thus, once it is concluded that aVME is encountered, RFMOs need protocols to decide if an encounter with the VME by fishing gear constitutes a SAL Different standards have been adopted reflecting the different circumstances of the RFMOs. The need to record encounters with VMEs has required the development of reporting arrangements and new observer responsibilities for taxonomic identification of often confusing benthic fauna groups. RFMOs have had to implement procedures when vessels encounter VMEs, principally a move-on requirement based on unavoidably arbitrary requirements of trigger thresholds, distances to be moved and subsequent fishing requirements that appear to fully satisfy few. This has been complemented by implementation of closed areas. International guidelines such as that of FAO Deepsea Guidelines provide direction that is commonly accepted but, as usual, further work is required.
展开▼
