December 15, 2023.
AMSA held a series of round table discussions over the past several weeks to discuss the work of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to expand existing reporting requirements for lost and discharged fishing gear and develop new requirements for marking fishing gear. We thank everyone who participated in these round table discussions. The input from these discussions was exceptionally valuable and highlighted several key themes that will support Australia’s engagement during the negotiations at the IMO.
As indicated during the roundtable meetings, the next negotiations will take place at the 11th session of the Pollution Prevention and Response Sub-Committee (PPR 11), to be held from 19-23 February 2024.
AMSA’s ongoing preparations for this meeting will look to build on the themes identified during our consultation to date, including the roundtables. These include, but are not limited to:
- The IMO requirements are simple/flexible enough to cover the array of fishing operations and align with existing marking and reporting requirements so the industry is not required to mark gear twice or report losses to multiple authorities.
- Any requirements should consider and build on existing data on fishing gear losses, with data collected providing meaningful information on factors that contribute to gear losses.
- The importance of protecting commercial and private information, including vessel identifications, the exact locations where gear is lost, and the date/time when gear was lost.
- The need for the work of the IMO to result in global change and commitment to address gear losses through consistent implementation that will not disadvantage the Australian industry and that will help address gear found on Australia’s shores that does not come from the Australian industry.
- Recognising the low level of gear lost by the Australian fishing industry, partly because of high retrieval rates, the need to consider how the new reporting requirements will capture retrieved gear.
- Any measures to address fishing gear loss and discharges must be justified and informed by data.
- The importance of ongoing industry engagement to inform Australia’s implementation of the new requirements.
To build on the above themes and ensure we have the necessary details to inform Australia’s position for the upcoming negotiations, we invite you to complete the attached questionnaire. The questionnaire should take approximately 10 minutes to complete and cover aspects of the reporting requirements that will be part of negotiations at PPR 11. Please return completed questionnaires to imoenvironment@amsa.gov.au by COB 29 January 2024.
All advice provided through the questionnaire, round tables and prior consultation will be used to inform Australia’s position during negotiations at the IMO. We will touch base after PPR 11 to provide a summary of the outcomes of the negotiations.
If you have any questions or would like to provide more general advice to inform Australia’s position, please email us at imoenvironment@amsa.gov.au