CMM_2009-06_Regulation_of_Transhipment

SIXTH REGULAR SESSION
Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
7-11 December 2009
CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT MEASURE ON THE REGULATION OF
TRANSHIPMENT
Conservation and Management Measure 2009-06

The Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stock in the
Western and Central Pacific Ocean,
Acknowledging that effective conservation and management of highly migratory fish stocks is
dependent on the provision of accurate reporting of catches of such stocks in the Convention Area;
Recognizing that transhipment at sea is a common global practice, but that unregulated and
unreported transhipment of catches of highly migratory fish stocks at sea, in particular on the high
seas, contributes to distorted reporting of catches of such stocks and supports IUU fishing in the
Convention Area;
Recalling Article 29(1) of the Convention which provides that in order to support efforts to ensure
accurate reporting of catches, the members of the Commission shall encourage their fishing
vessels, to the extent practicable, to conduct transhipment in port.
Recalling also Article 29(2) and (3) of the Convention that transhipment at a port or in an area
within waters under the national jurisdiction of a member of the Commission shall take place in
accordance with applicable national laws, and that the Commission shall develop procedures to
obtain and verify data on the quantity and species transhipped both in port and at sea in the
Convention Area and procedures to determine when transhipment covered by the Convention has
been completed;
Recalling further Article 29(4) of the Convention that Transhipment at sea in the Convention Area
beyond areas under national jurisdiction shall take place only in accordance with the terms and
conditions set out in article 4 of Annex III to the Convention, and any procedures established by
the Commission pursuant to Article 29(3). Such procedures shall take into account the
characteristics of the fishery concerned;
Recalling further that Article 29(5) of the Convention prohibits transhipping at sea by purse seine
vessels operating within the Convention Area, subject to specific exemptions which the
Commission shall adopt in order to reflect existing operations;
Recognizing the importance of economic benefits from port operations to Small Island Developing
State CCMs;
Noting that those CCMs with a real interest in undertaking monitoring, control and surveillance
activities in the high seas require access to information about transhipment activities in the
convention area before they occur.
Desiring to establish procedures to obtain and verify data on the quantity and species transhipped in

the Convention Area to ensure accurate reporting of catches, and enhance stock assessments of
highly migratory fish stocks.
Adopts in accordance with Article 10 of the WCPFC Convention:
SECTION 1 – GENERAL RULES
1. This measure shall commence as soon as possible and no later than July 1, 2010 1.
2. The provisions of this Measure shall apply to all transhipment in the Convention Area of all
highly migratory fish stocks covered by the Convention. CCMs that tranship outside the
Convention Area highly migratory fish stocks covered by the Convention taken in the
Convention Area shall provide the information related to those activities, as required in
paragraphs 10, 11 and 12. Highly migratory fish stocks covered by the Convention shall not be
transhipped at sea by purse seine vessels outside the Convention Area consistent with paragraph
25 of this measure.
3. The provisions of this Measure shall not apply to transhipment of highly migratory fish stocks
where fish is taken and transhipped wholly in archipelagic waters or territorial seas.
4. Transhipment in a port or in waters under the national jurisdiction of a CCM shall take place in
accordance with applicable national laws. With the exception of Section 2 (which applies
article 29(5) of the Convention), nothing in this Measure shall prejudice the application of
national laws when transhipment occurs in areas under the national jurisdiction of a CCM,
including the application of more stringent requirements.
5. A CCM may notify the Executive Director of its designated port or ports for transhipment. The
Executive Director shall circulate periodically to all members a list of such designated ports.
“Port” includes offshore terminals and other installations for landing, transshipping, processing,
refuelling or resupplying;
6. Nothing in this Measure shall derogate the obligations on flag states to ensure compliance by
vessels flying their flag while operating on the high seas. Each CCM shall take necessary
measures to ensure that vessels flying its flag comply with this Measure.
7. For the purposes of this Measure, CCMs are responsible for reporting against vessels flying
their flag except where the vessel is operated under charter, lease or other similar mechanisms,
as an integral part of the domestic fleet of a coastal state in the Convention Area. In such case,
the chartering state shall be the CCM responsible for reporting against the vessel.
8. Pursuant to paragraph 7, chartering CCMs and flag CCMs will cooperate for the appropriate
management of the vessel to ensure compliance.
9. For a carrier vessel that is flagged to a non-CCM and is included on the WCPFC Interim
Register of non-Member Carrier and Bunker Vessels, the vessel master shall be responsible for
reporting against the vessel unless it is operating under a charter arrangement.
10. A WCPFC Transhipment Declaration, including the information set out in Annex I shall be
completed by both the offloading and receiving vessel for each transhipment in the Convention
Area, and each transhipment of catch taken in the Convention Area. Where required in this
Measure the Transhipment Declaration shall be sent to the Executive Director.

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Except paragraph 13(c) this Measure shall enter into effect 1 January 2011.

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11. CCMs shall report on all transhipment activities covered by this Measure (including
transhipment activities that occur in ports or EEZs) as part of their Annual Report in accordance
with the guidelines at Annex II. In doing so, CCMs shall take all reasonable steps to validate
and where possible, correct information received from vessels undertaking transhipment using
all available information such as catch and effort data, position data, observer reports and port
monitoring data.
12. Notices to the Executive Director under paragraphs 24 and 35.a.iii shall be given via a means of
two-way communication by data (e.g., telex, facsimile, email). The CCMs responsible for
reporting against both the offloading and receiving vessels are responsible for providing notices,
but may authorise the vessel or the vessel operator to provide notices directly. Notices must
include the information set out in Annex III.
13. Each CCM shall ensure that vessels they are responsible for carry observers from the WCPFC
Regional Observer Programme (ROP) to observe transhipments at sea as follows:
a. for transhipments to receiving vessels less than or equal to 33 meters in length, and not
involving purse seinecaught fish or frozen longlinecaught fish, 100% observer coverage
starting on the effective date of this Measure, with the observer(s) deployed on either the
offloading vessel or receiving vessel;
b. for transhipments other than those covered by subparagraph (a) and involving only trollcaught or pole-and-line-caught fish, 100% observer coverage starting 1 January 2013,
with the observer(s) deployed on the receiving vessel.
c. for transhipments other than those covered by subparagraphs (a) and (b), 100% observer
coverage starting on the effective date of this Measure, with the observer(s) deployed on
the receiving vessel.
14. Observers shall monitor implementation of this Measure and confirm to the extent possible that
the transshipped quantities of fish are consistent with other information available to the
observer, which may include:
a. the catch reported in the WCPFC Transshipment Declaration;
b. data in catch and effort logsheets, including catch and effort logsheets reported to coastal
States for fish taken in waters of such coastal States;
c. vessel position data; and
d. the intended port of landing.
15. Observers shall have full access to both the unloading and the receiving vessel in order to ensure
that proper verification of catches can occur. The Commission shall develop guidelines for the
safety of observers in moving between vessels as part of the ROP.
16. Receiving vessels shall only receive product from one unloading vessel at a time for each
observer that is available to monitor the transhipment.
17. Any scheme or process developed and agreed by the Commission for the cross endorsement of
observers from other RFMOs as part of the ROP shall apply to this measure.
18. The Commission shall provide appropriate financial and technical assistance to developing
states, in particular small island developing states, in the implementation of this Measure
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including in accordance to Article 30.
19. The measure shall be reviewed periodically in response to other measures and decisions taken
by the Commission and taking into account the implementation of this and other measures.
1A – Transhipment to and from non-CCM Vessels
20. CCMs shall take measures to ensure that vessels do not tranship to or from a vessel flagged to a
non-CCM unless that vessel is authorized by a decision of the Commission, such as:
a. a non-CCM carrier vessel that is on the WCPFC Interim Register of non-CCM Carrier
and Bunker Vessels established under CMM 2009-01; or
b. a non-CCM fishing vessel that is licensed to fish in the EEZ of a CCM in accordance
with a decision of the Commission.
21. To retain any authorisation from the Commission relevant to paragraph 20, a non-CCM vessel
shall not tranship to or from a non-authorised non-CCM vessel.
22. In cases where transhipment involves a non-CCM vessel specified in paragraph 18 20.a, any
required communications to the Executive Director, including pre-transhipment notices and
transhipment declarations that are required under various sections of this measure, shall be
responsibility of the vessel master of the carrier vessel or chartering CCM.
1B – Force Majeure or Serious Mechanical Breakdown
23. Unless otherwise stated, the restrictions in this measure shall not prevent a vessel from
transhipping in cases of force majeure or serious mechanical breakdown that could threaten the
safety of the crew or result in a significant financial loss though fish spoilage.
24. In such cases, the Executive Director must be notified of the transhipment and the
circumstances giving rise to the force majeure within 12 hours of the completion of
transhipment. The CCMs responsible for each vessel shall provide the Executive Director with
a WCPFC Transhipment Declaration consistent with the requirement under paragraph 10 within
15 days of the transhipment.
SECTION 2 – TRANSHIPMENT FROM PURSE SEINE FISHING VESSELS
25. In accordance with Article 29 (5) of the Convention, transhipment at sea by purse seine vessels
shall be prohibited except in respect of exemptions granted by the Commission for:
a. existing group seine operations composed of small purse seine boats (fish hold capacity
of 600 mt or less) flagged to Papua New Guinea and Philippines that meet the following
conditions:
i. operate in tandem with freezer carrier boat/s to freeze the catch or if operating
closer to base with ice carrier boat/s to store the fish,
ii. operate as one group together with their support vessels such as freezer carrier
boat/s and/or ice carrier boat/s.
iii. undertake transhipment when refrigerated or other ice carrier boats dock
alongside catcher boats and tranship fish from the catcher boats
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b. transhipment activities involving New Zealand flagged domestic purse-seine vessels
where the fishing activity, transhipment and landing of fish all take place within New
Zealand fisheries waters in accordance with New Zealand’s existing legal and
operational framework for monitoring and control of transhipment activity and the
verification of catch.
26. CCMs seeking to apply an exemption for a vessel(s) that meets the conditions set out in
paragraph 25, shall submit a written request to the Executive Director by 1 July of a given year
that includes, at a minimum, the following information:
a. Details about the vessel(s) as they are required to appear on the WCPFC Record of
Fishing Vessels under CMM 2004-01;
b. The vessel’s history of prior transhipment exemptions,
c. The main species and product forms that would be transhipped,
d. The areas where transhipments would take place, to as much detail as possible,
e. The period of exemption being requested, and
f. An explanation for the exemption request.
27. The Executive Director shall compile all requests for transhipment exemptions and circulate
them to all CCMs at least 30 days in advance of the regular annual session of the Technical and
Compliance Committee (TCC). The TCC shall review the requests and make recommendations
to the Commission regarding the application of the exemptions in paragraph 26.
28. Taking into account the recommendations of the TCC, the Commission, during its regular
annual session, shall consider each request and may adopt exemptions in accordance with
Article 29(5) of the Convention. The Commission may attach to each granted exemption any
conditions or requirements that it determines necessary to achieve the objectives of the
Convention, such as limitations on areas, time periods or species, the fishing vessels that may be
transhipped to, and any additional requirements necessary for the purposes of monitoring,
control and surveillance.
29. CCMs shall only authorize those purse seine vessels that that have received an exemption by the
Commission to engage in transhipment outside of port. CCMs shall issue vessel-specific
authorizations outlining any conditions or requirements identified by the Commission or CCM,
and shall require that vessel operators carry such authorizations on board at all times.
30. The flag State CCM of any such authorized purse-seine vessel that is required to be on the
WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels shall notify the Executive Director that the vessel is
authorized to engage in transhipment outside of port, in accordance with the Commissiongranted exemption and shall indicate in such notification any limitations, conditions or
requirements on its authorization.
31. The Executive Director shall maintain and make publicly available, including on the
Commission’s website, the list of purse seine vessels that have been granted exemptions and are
authorized to tranship outside of port, as well as any corresponding conditions or provisions
attached to their exemption.
32. All purse seine vessels, including those that receive an exemption to tranship at sea under the
process described in paragraphs 26 24 to 30 28 shall be prohibited from commencing
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transhipping on the high seas in the Convention Area.
SECTION 3 – TRANSHIPMENT FROM FISHING VESSELS OTHER THAN PURSE
SEINE VESSELS
33. Transhipment from longline, troll and pole and line fishing vessels in national waters shall be
managed in accordance with relevant domestic laws and procedures pursuant to paragraph 4.
34. There shall be no transhipment on the high seas except where a CCM has determined, in
accordance with the guidelines described in paragraph 37 below, that it is impracticable for
certain vessels that it is responsible for to operate without being able to tranship on the high
seas, and has advised the Commission of such.
35. Where transhipment does occur on the high seas:
a. the CCMs responsible for reporting against both the offloading and receiving vessels
shall, as appropriate:
i. advise the Commission of its procedures for monitoring and verification of the
transhipments;
ii. indicate vessels to which the determinations apply.
iii. notify the information in Annex III to the Executive Director at least 36 hours
prior to each transhipment.
iv. provide the Executive Director with a WCPFC Transhipment Declaration within
15 days of completion of each transhipment; and
v. Submit to the Commission a plan detailing what steps it is taking to encourage
transhipment to occur in port in the future.
36. The Commission, through the TCC, shall review the application of the exemptions by relevant
CCMs after a period of 3 years and every 2 years thereafter to establish whether monitoring and
verification has been effective. After review, the Commission may prohibit transhipment on the
high seas by any vessel or vessels in relation to which monitoring and verification of
transhipment on the high seas is proven to have been ineffective, or establish or vary any
conditions for transhipping on the high seas.
37. The Executive Director shall prepare draft guidelines for the determination of circumstances
where it is impracticable for certain vessels to tranship in port or in waters under national
jurisdiction. The Technical and Compliance Committee shall consider these guidelines, amend
as necessary, and recommend them to the Commission for adoption in 2012. In the meantime,
CCMs shall use the following guidelines when determining the practicability of high seas
transshipments
a. The prohibition of transhipment in the high seas would cause a significant economic
hardship, which would be assessed in terms of the cost that would be incurred to
transship or land fish at feasible and allowable locations other than on the high seas, as
compared to total operating costs, net revenues, or some other meaningful measure of
costs and/or revenues; and
b. The vessel would have to make significant and substantial changes to its historical mode
of operation as a result of the prohibition of transhipment in the high seas;
38. When adopting the Guidelines referred to in paragraph 37, the Commission shall consider
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whether to prohibit transhipment in areas of high seas in the Convention Area entirely
surrounded by the exclusive economic zones of members of the Commission and Participating
Territories. This consideration will include a review of the catch and effort reported for fishing
vessels in these areas, the information from Transhipment Declarations in these areas and the
role of the areas in supporting IUU activities.
ANNEX I
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN WCPFC TRANSHIPMENT DECLARATION
1. A unique document identifier
2. the name of the fishing vessel and its WIN,
3. the name of the carrier vessel and its WIN
4. the fishing gear used to take the fish
5. the quantity of product 2 (including species and its processed state 3) to be transhipped
6. the state of fish (fresh or frozen)
7. the quantity of by-product 4 to be transhipped,
8. the geographic location 5 of the highly migratory fish stock catches
9. the date and location 6 of the transhipment
10. If applicable, the name and signature of the WCPFC observer
11. The quantity of product already on board the receiving vessel and the geographic origin 7 of that
product.

2

Tuna and tuna-like species
Whole; gutted and headed; gutted, headed and tailed; gutted only, not gilled; gilled and gutted; gilled, gutted and tailed; shark fins.
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Non tuna and tuna-like species
5
Geographic location of catch means sufficient information to identify what proportion of the catch was taken in the following areas:
High seas, outside the WCPFC Convention Area, EEZs (listed separately). Location of catches not required for receiving vessel.
6
Location of transhipment is to be in decimal Latitude and Longitude to the nearest 0.1 degrees and accompanied by a description of
the location, such as high seas, outside the convention area or within a named EEZ.
7
The origin of product shall be reported by RFMO area and will include the quantity of product from each different area.
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ANNEX II
TRANSHIPMENT INFORMATION TO BE REPORTED ANNUALLY BY CCMs
Each CCM shall include in Part 1 of its Annual Report to the Commission:
(1)

the total quantities, by weight, of highly migratory fish stocks covered by this measure that
were transhipped by fishing vessels the CCM is responsible for reporting against, with
those quantities broken down by:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

(2)

offloaded and received;
transhipped in port, transhipped at sea in areas of national jurisdiction, and
transhipped beyond areas of national jurisdiction;
transhipped inside the Convention Area and transhippedoutside the Convention Area;
caught inside the Convention Area and caught outside the Convention Area;
species;
product form; and
fishing gear used

the number of transhipments involving highly migratory fish stocks covered by this
measure by fishing vessels that is responsible for reporting against, broken down by:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

offloaded and received;
transhipped in port, transhipped at sea in areas of national jurisdiction, and
transhipped beyond areas of national jurisdiction;
transhipped inside the Convention Area and transhipped outside the Convention Area;
caught inside the Convention Area and caught outside the Convention Area; and
fishing gear.
ANNEX III

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN NOTICES TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
1. the name and WCPFC Identification Number (WIN) of the offloading vessel,
2. the name and WIN of the receiving vessel,
3. the product (including species and its processed state) to be transhipped,
4. the tonnage by product to be transhipped,
5. the date and estimated or proposed location 8 of transhipment (latitude and longitude to a tenth
of a degree with a margin of error of 24 nautical miles), and
6. the geographic location of the highly migratory fish stock catches 9 10

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Location of transhipment is to be in decimal Latitude and Longitude to the nearest 0.1 degrees with a margin of error of 24
nautical miles and accompanied by a description of the location, such as high seas, outside the convention area or within a named
EEZ. Notice can be updated if location changes.
Not required for receiving vessels
10
Geographic location of catch means sufficient information to identify what proportion of the catch was taken in the following areas:
High seas, outside the WCPFC Convention Area, EEZs (listed separately). Location of catches not required for receiving vessel.
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