FAO Deep-sea Fisheries Project (2022–2027) Update to the North Pacific Fisheries Commission

The “Deep-sea Fisheries under the Ecosystem Approach” (DSF) project is one of five projects in the GEF-7 ABNJ Common Oceans Program “Global Sustainable Fisheries Management and Biodiversity Conservation in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ)”. The objective of the project is to ensure that DSF in the ABNJ are managed under an ecosystem approach that maintains demersal fish stocks at levels capable of maximizing their sustainable yields and minimizing impacts on biodiversity, with a focus on data-limited stocks, deepwater sharks and vulnerable marine ecosystems. The DSF Project is implemented by FAO and executed by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). The Programme, and the DSF Project, are scheduled to run for five years from 2022 to 2027.

The DSF project focuses on four key areas of work:

• Component 1- Governance – strengthening and implementing regulatory frameworks
• Component 2 – Strengthening effective management of DSF
• Component 3 - Improving understanding and management of cross-sectoral interactions with DSF
• Component 4 – Knowledge management, communication and monitoring and evaluation
 

The DSF project is being delivered in collaboration with project partners, which include: the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO), the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA), the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Southern Indian Ocean Deepsea Fishers Association (SIODFA), the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States of America.
The NPFC has been cooperating with FAO and its ABNJ project since the beginning of the Commission and has contributed to this project as one of the project partners. Second phase of the project was launched in 2022, and NPFC provided a co-financing (in-kind contribution) partnership letter (30 September 2021) to join the project.
This information note aims to highlight project initiatives of relevance to the NPFC Commission meeting.