News

ANCORS Principal Research Fellow, Lee Cordner has accepted an invitation from the Cebrowski Institute at the US Naval Postgraduate School to participate as a speaker and panellist in an Annual Workshop titled “Globalization and Maritime Security” in Washington DC, 29-31 July 2008. Lee will be speaking on “Oceans and Maritime Policy Implications of a Changing World”.

For more information about the Annual Workshop please click here.

ANCORS has won a major four-year, $1.5 million nationally competitive research grant that could have a significant impact on marine fisheries in Indonesia. The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

The University team is led by Associate Professor Ron West, a leading Australian fisheries scientist and includes Professor Martin Tsamenyi and Dr Mary Ann Palma, experts in ocean law and policy. The CSIRO (Marine and Atmospheric Research) and the Indonesian Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) will be collaborators in the research.

Please read full story here.

The Ocean Yearbook, a major publication of the International Ocean Institute in cooperation with the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at Dalhousie Law School, recently released Volume 22 (2008) which included the following articles by ANCORS Staff:

Dr Clive Schofield (with May Tan-Mullins) "Maritime Claims, Conflicts and Cooperation in the Gulf of Thailand" pp. 75 - 116; and

Dr Robin Warner "Protecting the Diversity of the Depths: Environmental Regulation of Bioprospecting and Marine Scientific Research Beyond National Jurisdiction" pp. 411 - 443.

ANCORS Principal Research Fellow, Lee Cordner has been appointed Conference Chair at the Port and Maritime Security Summit to be held in Sydney 2-3 October 2008. He will also speak on “Key Principles for Knowing, Regulating and Enforcing Maritime Security”.

For full details on the Conference, please click here.

Senior Research Fellow, Quentin Hanich, was invited to present the findings of the study ‘Closing the Gap: Building Capacity in Pacific Fisheries Governance and Institutions' to the 67th Annual Forum Fisheries Committee that is meeting this week in Koror, Palau. The Forum Fisheries Committee is the governing body for the Solomon Islands based Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and comprises representatives from each of the 17 member governments.

Governance and institutions must function effectively if sustainable development and growth are to occur within the Pacific Islands region. In 2007, the FFA and the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), supported by funding from AusAID, contracted Mr Hanich, Feleti Teo and Professor Martin Tsamenyi to research governance and institutional gaps within the region that undermine the effective management and development of the region's fish stocks.

Following an intensive round of interviews throughout the Pacific islands region by all three consultants, Mr Hanich authored a comprehensive report that discussed relevant governance and institutional gaps and recommended a number of potential capacity building responses.

Mr Hanich is continuing his research in this field and hopes to complete a PhD on this topic in 2009.

The report is available for download here.

Dr Robin Warner has been invited to participate in an interdisciplinary seminar on approaches to improving governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction to be held 20-21 March 2008 in Monaco . The seminar has been organised by the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in partnership with the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation, the Agence des Aires Marine Protegees and the Maritime and Oceanic Law Centre, Universite de Nantes. The seminar aims to foster interaction between the different disciplines involved in high seas governance, science, law, economics and public policy, and consider new approaches to the sustainable management of high seas resources and conservation of high seas biodiversity. A summary of debates and proposals discussed during the seminar will be provided to stakeholders involved in upcoming international negotiations on the high seas including the second meeting of the UN Working Group on the conservation of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, the Global Forum on Oceans, the Conference of the Parties meeting to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

Dr Robin Warner will give a keynote address at the “Security in the South Pacific Region – Civil Disorder and the Military: A Legal Minefield” conference organised by the University of Canterbury and the Armed Forces law Association of New Zealand on 4-6 April 2008 in Christchurch New Zealand. Her conference paper is entitled “Joining Forces to Combat Maritime Crime: ADF Experience in Cooperative Maritime Surveillance and Enforcement and its Potential Application to the South Pacific Region.”  Other speakers will address civil disorder and the military from an AFP Perspective, the use of lethal force by military forces in law enforcement operations, regional security cooperation in the South Pacific and the role of the military in combating terrorism and transnational crime.

In a front page article, The Canberra Times referred to a recent study by ANCORS Director Professor Martin Tsamenyi and ANCORS Research Fellow Mr Quentin Hanich for the fisheries law enforcement program of the World Conservation Union and the World Bank. Professor Tsamenyi and Mr Hanich studied corruption within Pacific Island fisheries and recommended measures to curb such practices which ultimately threaten global fish stocks.

The news item appeared at The Canberra Times today, 29 January 2008. Read the full text of the news item here.

Ms Jane Mbendo, a PhD candidate at ANCORS presented a paper at the first CLIOTOP Symposium at La Paz , Mexico , 3 – 7 December 2007. She presented a paper entitled “Challenges of Managing Tuna in the Western Indian Ocean Region.” CLIOTOP (CLimate Impacts on Oceanic TOp Predators) is a ten year programme implemented under the international research programme GLOBEC, a component of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). CLIOTOP is devoted to the study of oceanic top predators within their ecosystems and is based on a worldwide comparative approach, i.e. among regions, oceans and species. It requires a substantive international collaborative effort. For full details, please click here.

On 11 December, 2007 Professor Martin Tsamenyi, Director of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong, along with the Australian Customs Service hosted a senior delegation from the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. The delegation was led by Dr Purwanto, Secretary to the Director General of Surveillance and Control. Discussions focussed around research and capacity building activities to do with fisheries management and maritime security of mutual interest to Australia and Indonesia.

The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC and ANCORS have come up with ways to address key issues concerning the interpretation of regulations relating to marine species under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), in particular "Introduction From the Sea".

Processes for monitoring trade in CITES Appendix II-listed fauna and flora are well-established for terrestrial species and marine species caught within national waters; countries exporting such products need to demonstrate that the level of trade is sustainable and not negatively impacting populations of the species concerned. Once this has been established, they issue a non-detrimental finding (NDF).

However, the situation is less clear-cut for marine species caught in international waters. The latter are termed "Introduction From the Sea" (IFS), which is defined under CITES as "transportation into a State of specimens of any species which were taken in the marine environment not under the jurisdiction of any State". Currently it remains unclear when precisely the "Introduction" of a species takes place, and therefore which regulatory authority needs to issue IFS certificates and a NDF, and how and when this should be done.

In August, TRAFFIC and ANCORS held a workshop to discuss ways round the problems associated with interpretation of IFS. In particular, participants examined what constitutes "transportation into a State" and used this to determine precisely where and when "Introduction" occurs. "Clear definition of 'Introduction' and other terms is essential to ensure that CITES regulations are widely applicable to marine species caught in international waters," said Glenn Sant, TRAFFIC's Global Marine Programme Leader.

The workshop concluded that it is preferable to consider "Introduction" as the point when product is landed on a vessel. The flag State of the vessel should then be responsible for issuing IFS certificates and NDFs, as well as subsequent export or re-export permits (and determining that the product was taken legally), until the product is landed or transhipped to a vessel flagged under a different State. "We hope our deliberations will help take this important debate forward," said Sant. Full outcomes of the workshop can be found in this downloadable pre-print of an article soon to appear in the TRAFFIC Bulletin.

Workshop participants: Frank Meere (facilitator/independent consultant), Gerry Geen (commercial fisher and consultant), Mary Lack (independent consultant), Professor Martin Tsamenyi (Director ANCORS), Glenn Sant (TRAFFIC Global Marine Programme Leader) and Quentin Hanich (ANCORS).

Read proceedings of joint TRAFFIC/ANCORS Workshop.

ANCORS Director Professor Martin Tsamenyi and ANCORS Research Fellows Mr Quentin Hanich and Dr Mary Ann Palma will be participating in the 4 th Meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to be held in Guam from the 3 to 7 December. Professor Tsamenyi will be providing legal counsel to the Chair of the Commission, Mr Glenn Hurry, while Mr Hanich and Dr Palma will be participating in the Australian and Philippine delegations respectively. All three staff are experts in the policy and governance issues relating to the Conservation and Management of the Western and Central Pacific tuna fisheries and have consulted and advised on these matters extensively.

The Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean entered into force in June 2004 and established the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Commission meetings bring together all of the world's largest distant water fishing States with coastal States from the Pacific island region plus Indonesia , Philippines , Australia and New Zealand . Commission meetings discuss and decide upon binding conservation measures to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the region's highly migratory fish stocks.

Further information about the Commission, can be found at http://www.wcpfc.int/

ANCORS Director Professor Martin Tsamenyi and ANCORS Research Fellow Quentin Hanich will be facilitating a workshop of regional governments to support the implementation of a plan of action to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in South East Asia.

The Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices Including Combating IUU Fishing in the Region (RPOA) was adopted at a meeting of regional fisheries Ministers in May 2007. It describes a number of agreed measures to strengthen current fisheries management and compliance arrangements in South-East Asia and ensure long term sustainable fisheries into the future.

The workshop will be held in Bangkok from 13-15 November. It is intended to develop actions in a number of priority areas including monitoring, control and surveillance, identifying information needs regarding the impacts of illegal fishing, and eliminating the incentives for illegal fishing activity.

ANCORS is pleased to announce the release of "GIS for Coastal Zone: A Selection of Papers from CoastGIS 2006." The book is edited by Colin D Woodroffe, Eleanor Bruce, Marji Puotinen & Ronald A Furness and contains selected papers from the 7th International Symposium on GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zone Management, held at the University of Wollongong, 13 – 16 July, 2006. The book is the 16th in the Wollongong Papers on Maritime Policy Series, a regular publication of ANCORS. For details and to place order, please click here.

Mr Graham Peachey, CEO Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has accepted an appointment to the ANCORS Advisory Board from 1 November 2007. Mr Peachey brings important experience and connections with the maritime sector that will be of benefit to the development of ANCORS as a centre of excellence in maritime related intellectual endeavour for Australia and the Region.