Regional Fisheries Management Organisation
Encyclopedia
A Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO), sometimes called regional fisheries organisation (RFO), is an international organisation dedicated to the sustainable management of fishery
resources in a particular region of international waters
, or of highly migratory species.
RFMOs may focus on certain species of fish (e.g. the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna) or have a wider remit related to living marine resources in general within a region (e.g. the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
). This wide diversity of mandates and areas of application, and also effective implementation of regulations, opens up opportunities for illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing vessels.
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
resources in a particular region of international waters
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
, or of highly migratory species.
RFMOs may focus on certain species of fish (e.g. the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna) or have a wider remit related to living marine resources in general within a region (e.g. the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the Antarctic Treaty System...
). This wide diversity of mandates and areas of application, and also effective implementation of regulations, opens up opportunities for illegal, unreported and unregulated
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Illegal fishing takes place where vessels operate in violation of the laws of a fishery. This can apply to fisheries that are under the jurisdiction of a coastal state or to high seas fisheries regulated by regional organisations....
fishing vessels.
External links
- RFMO on the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans Canada General information and map of RFMOs
- RFMO on the Ministry of Fischery New Zealand Information, Problems and possible improvements
- Informal framework for sharing information from tuna RFMOs
- For information on IATTC (Inter-American Tropical Tuna CommissionInter-American Tropical Tuna CommissionThe Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission is an international commission that is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other marine resources in the eastern Pacific Ocean.-History:The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission was created by the Convention for the...
) http://www.iattc.org