WG-EMM recently requested that SC-CAMLR consider developing a communications strategy.  With the advent of the web-based technology for rapporteurs and Members to jointly develop reports of meetings, the Secretariat has indicated that it would be possible to use a similar approach for developing and adopting reports on specific topics, such as fishery reports, and making them rapidly available.  It is proposed that the Scientific Committee develop an expanded set of reference documents as part of its strategy for communicating the history and status of its science to the Commission, the wider scientific community and the public. It is also proposed that the Secretariat’s web-based approach for developing meeting reports be used as the basis for developing these reference documents.  This proposal does not aim to have a number of documents developed quickly but more to identify documents that might be useful and then provide mechanisms for interested Members and the Secretariat to develop these as time and resources permit.  Fishery Reports and CCAMLR’s Approach to Management could be the first documents to be edited and updated using this approach.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number and complexity of issues that the Commission (and Scientific Committee) has been compelled to address. Without planned and targeted approaches to give adequate attention to issues, CCAMLR has found it a challenge to progress many of these issues concurrently. Australia recommends that, given discussions held during the CCAMLR Symposium, and more broadly in the Commission and Scientific Committee, it is timely for the Commission to consider ways to more effectively plan and organise the work of the Commission. Australia proposes that the Commission initiate discussions on this topic, including by considering options for undertaking a priority-setting exercise. As such, Australia recommends that the Commission: agree that an improved approach to planning and organising the work of the Commission would be useful; and encourage Members to consider options, including proposals for a priority-setting exercise, with a view to the Commission agreeing on a process at CCAMLR XXXV.

SC-CAMLR increasingly needs to make reference material available to the Commission for ongoing discussions over many years.  Much reference material arising from Working Group discussions is placed into ‘Fishery Reports’ or the annual reports of the meetings.  However, some reference material is preferred not to be in the public domain, therefore not in those reports.  Other material may be provided by Members and needed for ongoing discussions over many years.  In both cases, there is currently no suitable repository to enable ready access during deliberations of the Commission.  By example, in 2014, the SC-CAMLR agreed to place MPA planning reference documents on the CCAMLR web site with Members Only access, but the place on the web site where this was to be achieved was not clear (SC-CAMLR-XXXIII, paragraphs 5.48).  It is proposed that a ‘Reference Material’ section be placed under the ‘Science’ tab on the CCAMLR web site.  The ‘Reference Material’ section would be for Members Only, only visible to Members logged in to the site.  The Reference Material section would then have child pages representing major classes of reference material.  At present, it can be foreseen that there are currently two main classes of reference material, but more could be erected as needed:

1. Spatial Planning Domain reference material, and
2. Data Layers. 

A description and visualisation of the proposal is provided.

CCAMLR Science was launched over 20 years ago with the aim of providing mechanism to publicise the science done in CCAMLR and to raise the profile of CCAMLR within the international scientific community.  A reduction in the number of papers submitted to, and published in the journal, has prompted a review of options for the future of CCAMLR Science. In particular, it may be timely to review the role CCAMLR Science might play as part of an overall strategy to achieve the original aims of the Scientific Committee.