Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)

The management of fish resources in the WCPFC area is a complex task due to the diverse interests of coastal states and distant water fishing nations that share highly migratory resources.

Effective management rests on the provision of science by two scientific bodies external to the Commission that in turn require timely and accurate provision of data by Commission members. The Ocean Fisheries Programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC-OFP) provides contracted scientific support to the Commission, through the Commission’s Scientific Committee (SC), on southern stocks. On the other hand, the International Scientific Committee (ISC) provides non-contracted research to the Commission’s Northern Committee (NC) on stocks occurring north of 20° N. SC and NC provide the scientific outcomes for consideration in the Commission’s annual meeting.

Cooperation with other organizations includes many RFMOs such as IATTC, CCSBT and IOTC.

Detailed information and full text resolutions and measures can be found at https://www.wcpfc.int/home