Attendance at the High Seas Task Force Workshop on Measuring RFMO Performance and Flag State Performance Criteria

Dr Parkes represented the UK at the High Seas Task Force Workshop on Measuring RFMO Performance and Flag State Performance Criteria held at the OECD on the 28-30th September 2005. Considerable work had already been done on developing criteria by which the performance of RFMOs can be evaluated. These range from highly specific initiatives, based on detailed criteria aimed at measuring one element of the effectiveness of measures adopted by RFMOs, such as the assessment carried out by Birdlife International (Small, 2005), to the broader checklist approach proposed by Caddy (Caddy, 1996). The objective of the HSTF performance assessment was to move forward the existing multilateral debate. The criteria and the assessment to be determined needed to be clear, simple and objective, and developed following broad consultation with key stakeholders.