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The South East Atlantic Fishery Organisation (SEAFO) is a regional fisheries management organisation established in line with the provisions of the United Nations Law of the Sea (Article 118) and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA).

The Convention was signed in April 2001 in Windhoek, Namibia and entered into force in April 2003.  As at October 2008, the five Contracting Parties to SEAFO are Angola, the European Union, Namibia, Norway and South Africa.

 The Chairperson of SEAFO's Commission, Jan Pieter Groenhof of Norway, has announced the appointment of SEAFO’s new Executive Secretary, Dr Ben van Zyl, formerly Deputy Director: Applied Research within the National Marine Information & Research Centre of Namibia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, based in Swakopmund. Dr van Zyl has also previously served as Vice-Chairperson of SEAFO’s Scientific Committee.

Ben van Zyl is no stranger to ACAP, having represented Namibia as an observer at several ACAP meetings, most recently that of the Fourth Advisory Committee in Cape Town in August 2008.

In October 2006 SEAFO adopted Conservation Measure 05/06 on Reducing Incidental By-catch of Seabirds in the SEAFO Convention Area (http://www.seafo.org/Cons%20&%20Mngt%20Measures/2006%20conservation%20measures/conservation%20measure%2005_06.pdf). The measure calls for Contracting Parties to use bird-scaring lines on all longline vessels fishing line south of 30º South, as well as to restrict line setting to night-time and avoid the dumping of offal during setting. Fish hooks should also be removed from discards, and birds caught alive should be released.  The measure also calls for statistics to be collected on seabird interactions.  Measure 05/06 is to reviewed at the Commission’s 2009 meeting, when adopting additional measures shall be considered.

ACAP congratulates Dr van Zyl on his appointment, wishes him well for his move to SEAFO’s Headquarters in Walvis Bay on Namibia’s desert coast, and looks forward to working closely with him and with SEAFO in reducing the incidental mortality of seabirds within the region covered by the regional fisheries management organization.

News from John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer and Warren Papworth, ACAP Executive Secretary, 3 February 2009