5. The collection, management and availability of accurate and timely information are essential in managing fishery resources and combating illegal fishing. Accurate data on the number of fishing vessels and fishing activity is required to provide for responsible fishing, hence the importance of maintaining comprehensive and up-to-date vessel registers and catch and effort information by all States, both coastal and flag. To help address this concern, countries in the region should:
5.1 work together to improve their data collection systems and to share information about vessels, fishing effort, catch levels, fish landings and sales of fish and fish products, as appropriate, and;
5.2 work to develop a regional approach to identify, compile and exchange information on any vessel used or intended for use for the purpose of fishing including support ships, carrier vessels and any other vessels directly involved in such fishing operations in the region on straddling and migratory stocks and across national jurisdictions.
6. Control of fishing capacity and fishing effort are fundamental elements of fisheries management. When the capacity of fishing fleets to harvest a resource exceeds the sustainable level, it results in unsustainable fishing activity and has the potential to ‘spill-over’ into illegal fishing activity. This RPOA acknowledges that countries should manage the fishing capacity of their fleets by:
6.1 assessing the status of their fishery resources and fishing fleet capacity;
6.2 introducing management measures to help prevent fishing capacity from exceeding levels that result in harvest rates that impede the ability of fish stocks to reproduce sustainably over the longer term;
6.3 undertaking planning to reduce over-capacity without shifting that capacity to other fisheries whose resources may be already fished at the maximum sustainable rate or above that rate, taking into consideration potential socio-economic impacts;
6.4 cooperating to assess, conserve and manage fishery resources where they straddle national boundaries or occur both within EEZs and in an area beyond and adjacent to the EEZ;
6.5 undertaking to develop and implement national plans of action to accelerate their efforts to reduce over capacity and eliminate illegal fishing activity where these issues are known to occur;
6.6 working on the collection, management and sharing of information on fisheries management, and the management of fishing capacity; and
6.7 respecting traditional, artisanal and small-scale fisheries and
