Deadline for comments on the Transhipment IWG Scope of Work for Information Analysis on email from the TS-IWG Chair (issued 16 October 2020)

With the above in mind, I kindly ask for your red line review of the SOW by 6 November 2020. A red line review seeks input related to text that is unacceptable and would be a "deal-breaker" if it is not removed from the SOW. This red line review should result in a final SOW that will be circulated to the IWG for CCM concurrence before being formally provided to the WCPFC Secretariat in late November. As always, I also welcome comments from any member of the IWG on any aspect of the SOW or the IWG more broadly.

 

A couple of notes about the attached SOW:
- Due to the large amount of input, a "clean" version of the SOW is attached. All substantive new text is highlighted (note dates have been changed to reflect a future timeline, but have not been highlighted for readability). A number of bullets for which there were irreconcilable feedback, have been removed. Other bullets have edited for clarity.
- This "clean" version of the SOW addresses all input received in December 2019 and January 2020, including on text that had been agreed in Port Moresby. Previously agreed text is black and text under consideration is in blue. The sole exception is the last bullet of Phase 1, for which some CCMs expressed concern about the use of VMS and reliability of data sources. However, we've attempted to address these concerns by clarifying the roles of the Secretariat and the WCPFC Scientific Services Provider throughout the study. In particular, I'd like to draw your attention to the new paragraph 7 outlining the Data Preparation phase, which would be conducted by the Secretariat and WCPFC Scientific Services Provider, and NOT the consultant. 
- As noted in the previous point, in consultation with the Secretariat and the WCPC Scientific Services Provider, the study will be undertaken in multiple phases, as explained in new paragraphs 7-13.