Submissions for new research proposals and data collection programmes on D. mawsoni in Subarea 48 have recently become widely dispersed with little co-ordination or integration into existing programmes and their objectives. Without regional co-ordination, research in this area is unlikely deliver the objectives of the Commission, across the whole of Area 48.
Co-ordinated by WG-SAM and/or FSA, a high level strategic approach will allow the formulation of research hypotheses and associated objectives that allow proponents to design their proposals and provide a structure against which the research and results can be subsequently evaluated. A time schedule, in the form of a project plan with milestones, would allow the Scientific Committee to evaluate where gaps were not being addressed, evaluate success or failure, and also enable Scientific Committee to inform Commission as to progress towards meeting its objectives for management of the Convention Area.