The South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) fourth annual meeting opened in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. DSCC Legal Adviser Duncan Currie is attending.
Two key tasks are a) to push back against some creeping restrictions on transparency (which is key to accountability) and good governance of fisheries organisations, and b) to press for protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) using the United Nations resolutions on deep-sea bottom fishing. The fishing industry is pushing for more relaxed rules, including to get rid of the ‘move-on rule’ which requires vessels to stop fishing when they bring up evidence of VMEs.
Read the DSCC intervention at the meeting here.