Brussels, 16/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 April, the European Commission proposed that the European Union sign the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, to show that the EU supports the creation of the regional organisation that would be established as a result of the Convention, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO). In 2006, the governments of Australia, Chile and New Zealand took the initiative of launching international negotiations on establishing a regional fisheries organisation, to address the gap in the international conservation and management of non-highly migratory species and protection of biodiversity in the marine environment in the high seas areas of the South Pacific. The European Union has fishing interests in the South Pacific. The text of the Convention was agreed in November 2009 and has been open for signature since 1 February 2010. “It is advisable for the Union to sign the Convention in the very near future in order to show leadership and strong support for the establishment of this RFMO (regional fisheries management organisation),” the Commission proposal says. (L.C./transl.rt)