CCAMLR 41 endorsed changes to CM 10-02, which will make it mandatory, from the 2023/24 season, for fishing vessels operating in the Convention Area to keep Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) switched on at all times while in the Area.
COLTO has concerns around mandating AIS for several reasons, including IUU operators learning where legal fishing vessels are, and are not, in real-time, and the fact that AIS does not necessarily show all vessels in a vicinity, and it will not show proximity to ice.
COLTO recommends that CCAMLR removes the mandating of AIS, and instead, acknowledges that a suite of best practice safety measures are already in use across CCAMLR-licensed vessels, which are regulated through other instruments, such as ARPA, and most importantly, diligent radar watchkeeping practices.