4.3(b)(ii) Observer Coverage Exemption – Japan Flag Purse Seine Vessels Fishing North of 20°N

An exemption is granted for tuna caught by Japan flag large-scale purse seine vessels that are on the ISSF Proactive Vessel Record (PVR) and operate north of 20°N, provided that:

1. Each year, vessels wishing to qualify for this exemption notify ISSF about the months when they plan to be fishing north of 20°N. If the exemption is granted to them, it will only cover these months.

2. Within one month after the end of each fishing trip, the vessel-owning company sends a trip catch report for each vessel covered under this exemption to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC, the science provider to WCPFC).

3. The trip catch reports in paragraph 1 must consist of the two data sets below, in a format agreed by SPC:

i) Set-by-set estimated catches and discards for target tunas (Albacore, Bigeye, Yellowfin and Skipjack) and non-target species (e.g., sharks, turtles, yellowtail). The set-by-set information shall indicate fishing day, time of set, latitude and longitude, and school type.

ii) Final Outturn Data (FOT). These are total trip catches by target species and size categories, corrected with sampling data. The size break downs shall be <1.8 Kg, 1.8-3.5 Kg, 3.5-10.0 Kg and >10.0 Kg.

4. For the purpose of verifying compliance with this measure, ISSF will contact SPC  quarterly to determine which vessels are submitting the reports in paragraph 3. Vessels that have not submitted complete reports for the past three months according to their fishing plan in paragraph 1 will no longer qualify for this exemption.

For the purposes of this measure, large-scale purse seine vessels are those with at least 335 m³ fish hold volume.