53. The four working groups were presented with the task of outlining the steps to be taken in developing a NPOA-IUU. The groups were requested to:
54. The reports of each of the working group are attached as Appendix K.
55. In commenting on the presentation, Mr Brown complimented the working groups for the depth and breadth of their deliberations. He noted that essentially two approaches had been adopted with respect to the elaboration of the NPOAs-IUU: one involving the use of a coordinator and the other an inter-departmental committee. He further noted that the use of a designated coordinator or facilitator was an excellent approach as it enabled work on the elaboration of the NPOA-IUU to progress and move forward. Even after the NPOA-IUU was drafted, Mr Brown stated that it would be a good policy to retain a facilitator so that he could check on progress with implementation and indicate changes and additions to the NPOA-IUU as required from time to time. He stressed that countries should move to implement their NPOAs-IUU even if the supporting actions such as legislative reviews and amendment had not been completed.
56. Mr Brown observed that most groups had focused on undertaking a complete review of policy and legislation but expressed the view that this might not be necessary in the Pacific Islands region given that many countries had completed, or were in the process of undertaking, policy and legislative reviews relating to the implementation of the provisions of the Convention for Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. He urged that participants regard the NPOA-IUU as a leading set of guidelines that should be reviewed periodically. An additional consideration in the spirit of regional cooperation was to ensure that neighbouring countries were also kept appraised about developments with NPOAs-IUU.
