Proposals for Improved Management of CCAMLR’s Krill Fisheries: SISO Observers

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 51-06 (2019): General measure for scientific observation in fisheries for Euphausia superba, to require that at least one observer on every vessel be appointed under the Scheme of International Scientific Observation (SISO).  This proposal includes elements from CCAMLR-42/33 Rev. 1 submitted to CCAMLR-42 by the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand; and CCAMLR-43/40 submitted to CCAMLR-43 by the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom.