Proposals for Improved Management of CCAMLR’s Krill Fisheries: Vessel Monitoring Systems

We propose revising several conservation measures at CCAMLR-44 to improve monitoring of the krill stocks and the vessels participating in the krill fisheries.  Improving krill fisheries management is especially necessary because Conservation Measure (CM) 51-07 was allowed to expire at CCAMLR-43, which in turn allowed an increased harvest of krill in the 2024/25 fishing season.  The increase resulted in the fishery reaching closure for the first time, with an unprecedented spatial concentration of krill fishing in Subarea 48.1.  Combined, these effects threaten to undermine the precautionary, ecosystem-based management of the krill fishery.  This paper proposes updating CM 10-04 (2022): Automated satellite-linked Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), to require that VMS reports and messages be sent to the Secretariat no later than one hour after receipt for all vessels participating in CCAMLR fisheries.  This proposal includes elements from CCAMLR-41/36 Rev. 1 submitted to CCAMLR-41 by the United States and Australia; CCAMLR-42/29 Rev. 1 submitted to CCAMLR-42 by the United States, Australia, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand; and CCAMLR-43/43 submitted to CCAMLR-43 by the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom.