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RECALLING the Recommendation by ICCAT on Establishing Statistical Document Program for Swordfish, Bigeye Tuna and Other Species Managed by ICCAT adopted by the Commission in 2000 in which the full implementation of the program was required by 1 January 2002, or as soon as possible thereafter;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the efforts to maintain and rebuild Atlantic swordfish, consistent with the objectives of the Convention;
RECOGNIZING that the Statistical Document Program is an effective tool to assist the Commission's effort for the elimination of IUU fishing operations;
FURTHER RECOGNIZING the Resolution by ICCAT Concerning an Action Plan to Ensure the Effectiveness of the Conservation Program for Atlantic Swordfish adopted by the Commission in 1995, and recalling the 1999 Recommendation by ICCAT establishing trade measures pursuant to this Resolution;
AWARE that it is important to improve the reliability of statistical information on catches of Atlantic swordfish and that the availability of trade data would greatly assist in reducing such uncertainty;
RECOGNIZING that a considerable number of vessels fishing for Atlantic swordfish are registered to nations that are not members of ICCAT;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the significant efforts that have been undertaken by Contracting Parties to address the problems created by catches of Atlantic swordfish by non-contracting parties, entities, and fishing entities;
CONSIDERING that some of the non-contracting parties, entities, and fishing entities have great difficulty in providing information on the catches of their flag vessels;
ALSO BEING AWARE that this program may be adapted to the specific regulations established by ICCAT Contracting Parties, as w ell as in the framework of regional economic organizations;
RECOGNIZING the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with respect to statistical document programs, which could impact the programs of the Commission;
1Contracting Parties shall require that all swordfish, when imported into the territory of a Contracting Party be accompanied by an ICCAT Swordfish Statistical Document (Attachment 2) that meets the requirenrents described in Attachment 1 or an ICCAT Swordfish Re-export Certificate1(Attachment 4) that meets the requirements described in Attachment 3. The Commission and the Contracting Parties importing swordfish shall contact all the exporting countries to inform them of this program, particularly differentiation of treatnent between catches of swordfish in the Convention Area and those outside of it, in advance of implementation of the program.
2(1) The ICCAT Swordfish Statistical Document must be validated by a government official, or other authorized individual or institution, of the flag state of the vessel that harvested the swordfish, or, if the vessel is operatirrg under a charter arrangement, by a government official or other authorized individual of the exporting state; (2) the ICCAT Swordfish Re-Export Certificate must be validated by a government official, or other authorized individual or institution, of the state that re-exported the swordfish; and (3) the substitutional measure described in paragraphs A-D of the Resolution by ICCAT Concerning Validation by a Government Official of the Bluefin Tuna Statistical Document, adopted by the Commission in 1993, may be applied to the above requirements for both validations in the Swordfish Statistical Document Program. The substitutional measure should also apply mutatis mutandis, to chartering arrangements as provided in section (1) of this paragraph.
3Each Contracting Party shall provide to the Executive Secretary sample forms of its statistical document and re-export certificate required with swordfish imports, and information on validation in the format specified in Attachment 6 and inform him of any change in a timely fashion.
4Contracting Parties that import or export swordfish shall compile the data collected through the Program.
5Contracting Parties that import swordfish shall report the data collected by the Program to the Executive Secretary each year by April 1 for the period of July 1 through December 31 of the preceding year and October 1 for the period of January 1 through June 30 of the current year, which shall be circulated to all the contracting parties by the Executive Secretary. The formats of the reports are attached, as in Attachment
6Contracting Parties that export swordfish shall examine export data upon receiving the import data in Paragraph 5 above from the Executive Secretary, and report the results to the Commission in their National Reports2.
7Contracting Parties should exchange copies of statistical documents and re-export certificates to facilitate the examination mentioned in paragraph 6 consistent with domestic laws and regulations.
8The Commission shall request Cooperating non-Contracting Parties, Entities, and Fishing Entities to take the measures described in the above paragraphs.
9The Executive Secretary shall request all non-Contracting Parties, Entities, and Fishing Entities fishing for and exporting swordfish to Contracting Parties to provide information on validation in the format specified in Attachment 6 and to inform him in a timely fashion of any changes to the information provided.
10The Executive Secretary shall maintain and update information specified in paragraphs 3 and 9 and provide it to all the Contracting Parties, and promptly circulate any changes.
11The Commission shall request non-Contracting Parties, Entities, and Fishing Entities that import swordfish to cooperate in the implementation of the Program and to provide to the Commission data obtained from such implementation in the format specified in Attachment 5 on an annual basis by October 15 for the previous calendar year.
13The provisions of the Recommendation by ICCAT on Validation of the Bluefin Tuna Statistical Document by the European Community, adopted by the Commission in 1998, shall apply to the Swordfish Statistical Document Program for swordfish caught by vessels that fly the flag of a Member State of the European Community.
14Notwithstanding the provisions of Article VIII, paragraph 2 of the Convention, the Contracting Parties shal implement this recommendation as soon as possible, but not later than January 1, 2003 in accordance with the regulatory procedures of each Contracting Party.
