1.Each Contracting Party shall prohibit fishing by its flag vessels in the Convention Area except pursuant to a licence3 that the Contracting Party has issued setting forth the specific areas, species and time periods for which such fishing is authorised and all other specific conditions to which the fishing is subject to give effect to CCAMLR conservation measures and requirements under the Convention.
2.A Contracting Party may only issue such a licence to fish in the Convention Area to a vessel flying its flag, if the vessel has an IMO number and if the Contracting Party is satisfied of the vessel’s ability to exercise its responsibilities under the Convention and its conservation measures, by requiring from the vessel, inter alia, the following:
(ii)notification by the vessel to its Flag State of entry into the Convention Area and movement between areas, subareas/divisions;
(iv)reporting, where possible, as set out in Annex 10-02/A by the vessel of sightings of fishing vessels4 in the Convention Area;
(vi)noting the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (International Safety Management Code), from 1 December 2009:
(a)adequate communication equipment (including MF/HF radio and carriage of at least one 406MHz EPIRB) and trained operators on board. Wherever possible, vessels should be fitted with Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) equipment;
(d)reserves of food, fresh water, fuel and spare parts for critical equipment to provide for unforeseen delays and besetment;
(e)an approved5 Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) outlining marine pollution mitigation arrangements (including insurance) in the event of a fuel or waste spill.
(vii)from the 2023/24 fishing season, being fitted with a fully functional Automatic Identification System (AIS) and keep it switched on at all times when in the Convention Area for the prevention of collision between vessels, except for when the operation of AIS might compromise the safety or security of the vessel or where security incidents are imminent;
(viii)if the AIS is switched off, reporting by the master the switch off to the Flag State and recording the action in the logbook with the reasons for doing so.
3.Each Contracting Party shall provide to the Secretariat within seven days of the issuance of each licence and prior to the vessel fishing in the Convention Area, or when notifying the Secretariat of a replacement fishing vessel under Conservation Measure 21-02, paragraph 11 or Conservation Measure 21-03, paragraph 7, the following information about licences issued:
(ii)the nature of the authorisation to fish granted by the Flag State, specifying the date issued, time periods authorised for fishing (start and end dates), area(s), subareas or divisions of fishing, species targeted and gear used;
(iii)previous flag (if any)6;
(xi)photographs of sufficiently high-resolution, colour, brightness and contrast so as to properly identify the vessel and all relevant details and shall consist of:
- one photograph showing the starboard side of the vessel displaying its full overall length and complete structural features;
- one photograph showing the port side of the vessel displaying its full overall length and complete structural features;
- one photograph showing the stern taken directly from astern;
(xii)in accordance with paragraph 13 of Conservation Measure 10-04, Annex 10-04/C, details of the implementation of the tamper-proof requirements for all Automatic Location Communicators (ALCs) installed on board the vessel;
4.Each Contracting Party shall, to the extent practicable, also provide to the Secretariat at the same time as submitting information in accordance with paragraph 3, the following additional information in respect to each fishing vessel licensed:
(x)any other information in respect of each licensed vessel they consider appropriate for the purposes of the implementation of the conservation measures adopted by the Commission.
5.Upon receiving information under paragraphs 3 and 4, the Executive Secretary shall place the vessel on the list of licensed vessels on the public section of the CCAMLR website.
6.Contracting Parties shall immediately submit to the Secretariat information concerning fishing licences that have been revoked, suspended, relinquished or are otherwise invalid. Upon receipt of such information, the Executive Secretary shall immediately amend the list described in paragraph 5 to show that the licence is not currently valid.
7.The licence, or an authorised copy of the licence, must be carried by the fishing vessel and must be available for inspection at any time by a designated CCAMLR inspector in the Convention Area.
8.Each Contracting Party shall verify, through inspections of all of its fishing vessels at the Party’s departure and arrival ports, and where appropriate, in its Exclusive Economic Zone, its compliance with the conditions of the licence as described in paragraph 1 and with the CCAMLR conservation measures. In the event that there is evidence that the vessel has not fished in accordance with the conditions of its licence, the Contracting Party shall investigate the infringement and, if necessary, apply appropriate sanctions in accordance with its national legislation.
9.Each Contracting Party shall conduct an investigation into every very serious marine casualty in the CAMLR Convention Area involving a fishing vessel flying its flag. For the purposes of this conservation measure, a ‘very serious marine casualty’ means an event, or a sequence of events, which, directly in connection with the operations of a vessel, has resulted in the total loss of the fishing vessel, loss of life, severe damage to the marine environment8, serious injury to its own or another State’s nationals, or serious damage9 to its own or another State’s vessels or installations. The Contracting Party shall forward its investigation report to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and/or other relevant competent organisations, and also make available to CCAMLR Members a summary report of the findings and recommendations of relevance to CCAMLR. The Contracting Party shall notify CCAMLR of any findings made by the IMO and/or other organisations to which the investigation report was sent.
10.Where a loss of life occurs on board a fishing vessel flying under the flag of a Contracting Party, in circumstances that do not amount to a very serious marine casualty, the Contracting Party shall conduct an investigation and make available to CCAMLR Members a summary report of the findings and recommendations of relevance to CCAMLR.