Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean

PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the EU, the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.  

LEGAL BASIS: Article 43, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU).

CONTENT: on 17 April 2007 the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the Community, a Convention on a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) in the South Pacific for fishery resources not yet covered by an existing RFMO.

The negotiations were successfully concluded in Auckland, New Zealand, on 14 November 2009 by the adoption of a draft text of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, which is open for signature for a period of 12 months from 1 February 2010. The Convention was signed on behalf of the Union on 26 July 2010, subject to its conclusion.

The objective of the Convention is to ensure, through its effective implementation, the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources in the Convention area.

Since vessels flying the flags of Member States of the Union fish resources in the Convention area, it is in the Union's interest to play an effective role in the implementation of the Convention.

It is therefore proposed to approve the Convention.