Solène Guggisberg on Best Practices for Regional Fisheries Management Organizations
On 2 November 2018, Solène Guggisberg published a blog post on the Nereus program website on some best practices for regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs). She examines the procedure set up by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) to avoid that Member States opt out of conservation and management measures.
This procedure limits the justifications on which States can base their opt-out to situations where a “the decision unjustifiably discriminates in form or in fact against the member of the Commission or is inconsistent with the provisions of this Convention or other relevant international law”. Moreover, an objecting State must adopt equivalent measures. Finally, a Review Panel will automatically be established to verify that the objection respects these strict conditions. The procedure was used for a second time earlier this year. It is a best practice which should be replicated, as much as possible, by other RFMOs, in order to ensure the sustainable management of the resources under their mandate.