Ecuador has requested that the CCAMLR XXXVII consider granting it status as a non-Contracting Party (NCP) cooperating with CCAMLR by participating in the Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) for Dissostichus spp. Ecuador as made similar requests to CCAMLR-XXXV, and CCAMLR-XXXVI, which have recognised cooperation to date, and resulted in the grant of limited access to the eCDS to Ecuador The Secretariat has prepared this paper to outline the background of Ecuador’s requests to the Commission assist SCIC and the Commission in its consideration this whether the application(s) and supporting information meets the requirements of Conservation Measure (CM) 10-05 and Annex 10-05/C.

This paper summarises information held by the Secretariat in relation to IUU fishing and vessel activity relevant to CCAMLR from October 2017 to August 2018. Details are provided of an attempted landing of toothfish from CCAMLR-IUU listed vessel STS-50, its unauthorised departure from several ports, and combined international efforts leading to seizure of the vessel and prosecution of the Master by Indonesian authorities. Instances of unidentified fishing gear retrieved in the Convention Area are detailed in Table 1. Communication to non-Contracting Parties and responses received are detailed in Table 2. Proposed updates, amendments inclusions and removals to IUU Lists and vessel particulars are explained with recommendations to SCIC and the Commission.

The ICG on Sustainable Finance (ICG-SF) met by correspondence during 2018. It made three proposals: (i) Create a Working Capital Fund, and change the Financial Regulations governing the way that this fund and the General Fund would be managed (CCAMLR-XXXVII/07); (ii) change the structure of the notification fees for new, exploratory and krill fisheries, and increase them annually in line with CPI (inflation) to generate a sustainable finance stream into the future (CCAMLR-XXXVII/08); and (iii) set up a General Capacity Building Fund, funded by voluntary contributions and surpluses in the General Fund, and set up an ICG to establish the terms of reference for this fund during 2019.

At last year’s meeting the Scientific Committee requested that SCAR consider the establishment of a krill expert group to bring together those scientists working on krill and to have a linkage to CCAMLR. Prof. Dr. Bettina Meyer (Germany), on behalf of the Scientific Committee, was tasked to initiate the SCAR Krill Action Group (SKAG) (SC-CAMLR IIIVI Paragraphs 10.9- 10.11).

SCAR Krill Action Group (SKAG) was endorsed by Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) during its Davos Meeting in June. SCAR approved funding of 4700€ for SKAG to be spent for supporting young scientist in their activities for the initial two-year period (2019 and 2020).

The first SKAG planning meeting was held on 16^th July 2018 at British Antarctic Survey following the WG-EMM. The meeting was attended by the members of SKAG executive group and a representative from ICED to discuss and agree on a broad plan for its activities.

The aim of SKAG is to become the major conduit between CCAMLR and the wider krill science community, and provide a forum to guide research directions, promote collaboration, improve understanding of krill biology and ecology, and assist in providing critical scientific information relevant to krill fishery management.

The group highlighted a need to renew the efforts to assess the status of krill stocks, especially its recruitment, reproduction, and their distribution, given the rapid change in the environment in the last few decades. Understanding of krill behaviour and the timings of krill transport across different subareas are also still limited. The important role for SKAG will also be to provide expert advice on krill biology in relation to the review of CM 51-07. Interaction between SKAG and Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean Program (ICED) was also discussed.

To implement its important goal, the group need to facilitate the attendance of a diverse range of krill experts to annual SKAG meetings to be held in association with WG-EMM meetings. The SKAG therefore requests the SC-CAMLR a travel funding of 13000 AUD (8000€) to support krill experts to attend the SKAG meeting who would not normally attend WG-EMM.

The Republic of Korea proposes that vessels that have received a fishery closure notice are required to immediately acknowledge the receipt of such a notice, and the Secretariat alerts the flag state if such acknowledgement is not received within a specific time frame to be agreed by the Commission. The amendment has been made as paragraph 1bis. The Republic of Korea believes that this new addition will serve as a belt-and-braces measure that complements the implementation of paragraph 2 of CM 31-02.

The Secretariat’s existing Strategic Plan runs from 2015 to 2018. A new strategic plan for 2019–2022 is presented, and details two types of tasks: thematic tasks, which seek to deliver specific objectives within the four years of the plan, and will involve contributions from all departments; and departmental tasks, which will largely be delivered by individual departments according to their key responsibilities and roles.

The Commission is invited to approve the plan.

This paper proposes an administrative realignment of the boundary between Statistical Subarea 88.1 and Statistical Subarea 88.2 in order to harmonise with the exploratory fisheries for Dissostichus mawsoni in those subareas and with other conservation measures in force. The proposal would move the boundary of Subareas 88.1 and 88.2 from 170°W to 150°W with small-scale research units (SSRUs) 882A and B being renamed SSRUs 881N and 881O. This proposal would simplify the administrative complexity that currently adds an administrative burden on Members and the Secretariat in respect of fishery notifications, vessel movements, catch reporting and the Catch Documentation Scheme for Dissostichus spp. (CDS) (Conservation Measures (CMs) 21-02, 10-04, 10 05). Minor changes to CMs 41-10 and CM 41-09 would be required but these would have no material impact on the operation of fisheries in these areas.

The Secretariat recommends that the Commission endorse these changes for inclusion in revisions to the conservation measures.

This paper reviews the procedure established by the Secretariat to monitor catch and effort in the context of results from the 2017/18 fishing season.

Since 2002, CCAMLR has been working on the development of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with the aim of conserving marine biodiversity in the Convention Area. Consistent with this goal and taking into account the singularities of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and South Scotia Arc region, the delegations of Argentina and Chile propose the establishment of an MPA in the Planning Domain 1 (D1MPA), to protect representative habitats for marine living resources, preserve ecosystem processes, protect vital areas for zooplankton, fish, mammal and bird life-cycles, and maintain reference areas for scientific research and monitoring. This proposal is consistent with Conservation Measure 91-04 (2011) and the recommendations and scientific conclusions discussed since 2012 by the Commission, Scientific Committee and its Working Groups, including those of the Domain 1 Expert Group.