At its eighth annual session, the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO) agreed on accepting a footprint for bottom fisheries and the regulation of still un-fished areas by the adoption of technical measures to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs).
It approved thresholds to trigger the "move-on rule" in case of possible encounters with VMEs, for both fixed gear and trawlers.
14 October 2011: The South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO) has adopted a number of conservation measures, making progress on the protection of vulnerable marine ecoystems (VMEs), and the implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Port State Agreement. SEAFO could not reach consensus, however, on a precautionary total allowable catch for the pelagic armourhead.
At its eighth annual session, held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 10-14 October 2011, SEAFO agreed on accepting a footprint for bottom fisheries and the regulation of still un-fished areas by the adoption of technical measures to protect VMEs. Concerning thresholds to trigger the “move-on rule” in case of possible encounters with VMEs, the SEAFO Commission approved: the provisions of the existing Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, for fixed gear; and the thresholds recently adopted by Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), for trawlers.
With regard to compliance, SEAFO adopted a new Port State Measure in line with the FAO Port State Control Agreement. According to the EU, its application will be essential for the conservation of species under the SEAFO Convention and for international efforts to fight Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fisheries. [EU Press Release]