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SCTB13
Dear Colleagues,
It is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the 13th meeting of
the
Standing Committee on Tuna and Billfish, to be held in Nouméa, New
Caledonia, from Wednesday July 5th to Wednesday July 12th inclusive.
This 13th SCTB meeting occurs at a time when efforts to develop
a regional arrangement for the conservation and management of highly migratory
fish stocks in the western and central Pacific Ocean, through the MHLC process,
appear to be nearing conclusion, and the guidelines for the provision of
scientific advice to this arrangement are under active consideration. For your
information, the terms of reference and guidelines for participation in SCTB are
provided in Attachment 1.
A provisional agenda for seven
working days of SCTB 13 is attached for your comment (Attachment 2). This agenda
provides for a day to cover introductory and overview
issues, leaving more than four days for the activities of the Statistics Working
Group and the five Species Research Groups (skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye,
albacore and billfish/by-catch), and a final day to consider common themes and
conclude the meeting. It is possible that the 6th MHLC, scheduled for April
13-19th in Honolulu, may propose additional items for SCTB to consider.
Experience at SCTB 12 suggested that the work of the Research Groups in the
available time would be assisted by concentrating efforts on several groups,
with Bigeye and Billfish / By-catch again proposed as priorities for SCTB 13 The
time allocation in the provisional agenda reflects those suggested priorities.
The very useful national fisheries reports should continue to be prepared for
presentation on the first day of SCTB 13, according to guidelines provided in
Attachment 3. The group coordinators are in the process of developing working
agenda and soliciting contributions for their respective groups. More detailed
information regarding the organization of the meeting will be posted in future
on the listserver.
At this stage, it is hoped to obtain an indication of your interest in
attending the meeting, and any comments that you may have on the proposed
agenda. Your response by fax or email would be appreciated. With expected
external funding support, it is noted that it may be possible to support the
participation of one person from Pacific Island countries.
The meetings will be
held at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
Simultaneous interpretation and translation services will be provided in
English/French. Details of available accommodation will be provided in due
course, and accommodation arrangements can be made by the Secretariat on
confirmation of your travel arrangements.
Note that Monday July 3rd and Tuesday
July 4th have been reserved for small-group meetings of data correspondents and
collaborators on the bigeye stock assessment project. Tim Lawson and John
Hampton respectively are convening those groups, and will be in contact with the
participants in due course.
Thursday July 13th has also been set aside for a
second meeting of the heads of regional fisheries agencies.
Finally, I would note that the report of the 12th meeting of the SCTB has
been distributed with the hard copy invitation, and is also available on the SPC/OFP
website (www.spc.int/oceanfish/).
Yours sincerely,
Lourdes Pangelinan, Director General
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