Amendments To The Agreement On The International Dolphin Conservation Program, (amending Annex IV, adopted at Meeting #35)

Filename: 8865-2017-Amendment-1998-DolphinConservation

Amendments To The Agreement On The International Dolphin Conservation Program, (amending Annex IV, adopted at Meeting #35)

https://www.iattc.org/Meetings/Meetings2017/AIDCP-36/PDFs/Docs/_English/...

AMENDMENT TO ANNEX IV OF THE AIDCP

At their 35th meeting in Mexico City, Mexico, on 18 July 2017, the Parties approved the recommendation made by the International Review Panel at its 61st meeting “that the Secretariat draft and present a text proposal to amend paragraph 5 of Section III from Annex IV of the AIDCP in order to ensure that the established limitations in terms of Dolphin reallocation are applied to all those that have exceeded their DMLs, regardless of the date on which this happened”.

The Parties agreed that such an amendment would strengthen the AIDCP and that the requested proposal would be presented at the meeting of the Parties in October.

As the background for the recommendation of the IRP, it should be recalled that, in 2017, a vessel exceeded its DML, and the flag Party reallocated 18 additional dolphins to it from the total reallocated to its fleet, arguing that Annex IV.III.5 of the AIDCP prohibits reallocating dolphins to vessels only if they exceed a DML before 1 April, whereas this vessel did so after that date.

The Secretariat considers that the objective set by the IRP can be achieved by means of a simple amendment, which would be to remove the reference to the deadline of April 1.

Paragraph 5, as amended, would read as follows: [deletions in brackets]

5. No vessel may be eligible to receive an additional allocation of DML by a Party unless it has on board all of the required dolphin safety gear and equipment throughout the year; and no such upward allocation may be made for a vessel which has exceeded its initial DML [prior to April 1,] unless due to force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, as agreed by the Meeting of the Parties, in consultation with the IRP.