At last year’s meeting, it was agreed that a five-year work plan for the Scientific Committee should be developed for consideration by the Scientific Committee in 2017 (SC-CAMLR-XXXV, paragraphs 13.8 to 13.20). It was agreed that the work should be led by the Chair of the Scientific Committee with input from the conveners of its working groups and that it should be made available for consideration by each working group prior to submission to the Scientific Committee.
This document represents the first stage in the development of the five-year work plan and draws on recommendations arising from SC-CAMLR-XXV and the 2016 Scientific Committee symposium (SC-CAMLR-XXXV/12). In particular, the plan has used the template of the five-year work plan of the ATCM CEP and considers a range of work ‘themes’ which arose from the SC symposium as priorities for the Scientific Committee. These broad themes are as follows:
- Target Stock- Assessments to estimate sustainable yield in established/assessed fisheries
- Target Stock-Development of management advice consistent with Article II for data-limited fisheries
- Ecosystem based management of Southern Ocean krill resources
- Minimisation of risks of change to the ecosystem by CCAMLR fisheries – Vertebrate by-catch and VME in CCAMLR fisheries
- Spatial management of impacts on the Antarctic ecosystem
- Data acquisition and management.
Within each theme, a range of tasks have been identified along with science topics to be considered in order to carry out the tasks. A timetable of work within each theme has then shown under which working group the tasks will fall. These tasks are based largely on table 1 of SC-CAMLR-XXXV along with consideration of discussion arising from SC-CAMLR-XXXIV/14.
It is intended that the final document will become a ‘living document’ that can be revised annually as the priorities of the SC develop and unforeseen issues that require action from the SC may arise. It is intended that the document will also be publically available in order to promote a greater public understanding of the priorities and work of the Scientific Committee.