Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fisheries Bodies gathered in the 3rd Meeting of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global Dialogue, which was organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, with the organization support of the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK) in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 25 to 28 October 2022.
The dialogue was to identify opportunities and approaches for coordination and collaboration between Regional Seas Originations and Regional Fishery Bodies and identify their role in facilitating and monitoring progress towards global goals and targets for the ocean.
Other effective area-based conservation measures, the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, the FAO Committee on Fisheries, the 3rd cycle of the World Ocean Assessment, the development of regulations for deep-sea mining and regional environmental management planning under the International Seabed Authority were discussed in the meeting.
Participants presented the ongoing progress made in enhancing regional coordination and collaboration. On behalf North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) and North Pacific Fisheries Organization (NPFC), the NOWPAP representative presented the cooperation among the three organizations. NOWPAP and PICES have organized joint sessions on harmful algal bloom and microplastic pollution in previous PICES annual meetings. They will explore cooperation on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures and assess non-indigenous species using environmental DNA in the future.
Participants brainstormed how to enhance cooperation under the upcoming global biodiversity framework, ABNJ and the plastic pollution convention. They proposed regional roadmaps for further cooperation. In the breakout session related to the Pacific Ocean, it was suggested that NOWPAP share its scientific research findings with regional fishery bodies.
