The EU is set to object to measures restricting the use of drifting fish aggregating devices (DFADs), which were adopted at the sixth special session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) on 5 February.
These measures were presented by 11 coastal states (Indonesia was the initiator of the proposal) and were adopted by a two-thirds majority (16 out of 23 votes) in this regional fisheries organisation of which the EU is a member (see EUROPE 13115/4).
An EU Council document, dated 29 March, explains the EU’s future approach: the EU presented, during this meeting in February, a proposal for a “modern and strong management measure that would have covered both anchored and drifting FADs”. A group of 11 coastal States submitted an alternative proposal, “adopted as IOTC Resolution 23/02, following a two/third majority vote taken by secret ballot”. This Resolution provides for a 72-day closure period (ban on the use of operational DFADs in 2024) and a limit of 200 FADs.
However, according to the EU, this Resolution “introduces provisions that are either practically not implementable or that, if implemented, would result in a disproportionate burden on the purse seine fleets operating in the area, without any specific scientific advice to support them”.
The European Commission therefore proposes that the EU should oppose IOTC Resolution 23/02 and present for adoption at the 27th session of the IOTC (8-12 May 2023) “a revised management measure on drifting fish aggregating devices”. Several third countries, including Somalia, Kenya and the Seychelles, have also announced their willingness to object to the IOTC resolution.
Link to the EU Council document: https://aeur.eu/f/658 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)