Institutional structure of an EMS in the EPO

As requested by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) at its 10th meeting (2019) in its Recommendation 3.1, which was endorsed by the Commission, and in compliance with Resolution C-19-08, paragraphs 9 and 10, the staff prepared, and subsequently presented at the 11th meeting of the SAC, Document SAC11-10 “An electronic monitoring system for the tuna fisheries in the eastern Pacific Ocean: Objectives and Standards”. That document contained information on the potential of an Electronic Monitoring System (EMS), a description of its potential components, a comprehensive evaluation of the minimum standards for these components, and the actions that would be required for its implementation. On that basis, Document EMS-01-01, which was submitted to the 1st Workshop on Implementation of an Electronic Monitoring System, held in April 2021, included several recommendations made by the staff on the minimum standards and actions to be agreed upon to successfully implement an EMS for tuna fisheries in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). As complement to these recommendations, Document EMS-01-02 (Rev.) proposed a workplan, consisting in the holding of several workshops that would focus on the various EMS components and subcomponents and analyze them in a logical and chronological order. At its 98th meeting, held in August 2021, the Commission adopted Resolution C-21-02, which established the Terms of Reference for these workshops. In accordance with the agreed workplan, this 2nd workshop is being held to address a number of organizational issues relating to the institutional structure as well as to the goals and the scope of an EMS for tuna fisheries in the EPO. The conclusions and recommendations reached at this w orkshop will necessarily impact and guide the exploration of other objectives and actions to be considered in future workshops (e.g., EM data to be generated, EM review rate, EM coverage). The purpose of this document is to focus on the first category of these issues, that is, the institutional and functional components of the EMS in the EPO.