The 2nd Annual Meeting of the Scientific Committee of North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) and other scientific meetings, sponsored by the Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and undertaken by SHOU were successfully held in Shanghai on April 17-27. As the first academic committee meeting of an international fishery management organization hosted by China, the meeting was funded by Shanghai Summit Subject Program - Fishery Subject.
NPFC is a regional fishery management organization (inter-governmental organization) established according to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the North Pacific Ocean, which officially took effect on July 19, 2015. NPFC mainly has jurisdiction over all the fishery species in the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean (except species managed by other organizations) and related ecosystems; its main members include China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, America, Canada and Taiwan Province of China. This annual meeting and other series scientific meetings mainly included SSC-VME, SSC-NPA, SSC-PS and SC. All the members of NPFC sent their delegations, and Vanuatu, FAO and NPAFC sent representatives to attend the meeting as NPFC observers; the members of the Secretariat of NPFC attended the meeting. The total number of attendees exceeded 50.
This meeting discussed and deliberated the fishery production, vulnerable ecosystem research, North Pacific Pentaceros japonicas resources assessment, saury resources assessment, fishery data system, mackerel resources assessment, and other academic affairs of the members within the water bodies of NPFC. China is the largest fishing party within the water bodies of NPFC. The Chinese delegation, headed by Tian Siquan, actively engaged in the discussion of various meetings and the establishment of related management suggestions, and safeguarded the fishery rights and interests of our country within the water bodies of NPFC from the academic perspective. The Bayesian surplus production model developed by SHOU was rated by NPFC as the benchmark model for resources assessment, the first time that a resources assessment model developed by Chinese scientists was rated as a benchmark model by any international fishery management organization. In addition, at the meeting, Li Bai, PhD. of the International Center for Marine Studies, was elected as Chairman of the vulnerable ecosystem working team. It is the first time that a SHOU employee holds so important a post in this organization since the election of Associate Professor Tian Siquan as Vice Chairman of the Financial & Administrative Sub-committee of NPFC. It also represented another breakthrough made by China in holding important posts in regional fishery organizations.