North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission

The close ties and good collaboration between OSPAR and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) was again highlighted during the NEAFC Annual Meeting 13-16 November 2018. The cooperation between the two organisations through the mechanism of the collective arrangement agreement progressed through the concrete agreement to issue a joint advice request to ICES to develop scientific advice on deep-sea elasmobranchs. The information on distribution, status and threats affecting the deep-sea sharks, rays and chimaeras will be considered by the organisations as a basis for future action. The two organisations furthermore agreed to continue the shared work on jointly identifying Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas by initiating a process for a regional workshop with UN Convention on Biological Diversity.