Your Excellency, I have the honour of referring to the talks held in Seoul on November 22, 2004 by representatives of the governments of the Republic of Korea and Australia to conclude the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Australian Government for the Protection of Migratory Birds (ROKAMBA). I have the honour of informing Your Excellency that the two countries have discussed the issue of “bycating” in the context of the roKAMBA draft text and have reached an agreement, as stated below: 4. Given that ROKAMBA only wants to pave the way for the consolidation of bilateral cooperation with migratory birds and that the Republic of Korea and Australia do not intend to make legal complaints against the occasional capture birds. During fishing activities, the Republic of Korea stated that it would consider the removal of the incidental catch clause in the ROKAMBA. The Pilbara coast and islands, including the Gulf of Exmouth, provide an important refuge for a number of coastal and seabird birds. For migratory birds, sand cracks, sandbanks, rocky shores, sandy beaches, salt meadows, tides and mangroves are important food and resting habitats in spring and summer, when birds escape the harsh winters of their breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere. The first two areas mentioned above will be dealt with jointly by three important bilateral agreements on migratory birds. These agreements are: 2. Each party encourages the development of common research programs for migratory birds.
5. The Republic of Korea and Australia acknowledge that ROKAMBA is used to exchange information on methods of reducing bycating bycating catches, rather than taking legal action against both countries in relation to bycating catches. However, ROKAMBA does not absone Australia and the Republic of Korea from their obligations under other agreements to which they are parties, such as the CCSBT and CCAMLR, in order to mitigate bycatch of migratory birds and does not prevent both parties from intervening in other agreements to which they are or are not parties. If the above provisions are acceptable to the Government of the Republic of Korea, I also have the honour of proposing that this notification and your confirmation of confirmation in your response constitute an essential and integral part of ROKAMBA and an agreement between our two governments, which will come into force on the day of roKAMBA`s entry into force. Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest esteem. Flyway Partners includes countries, intergovernmental agencies, international non-governmental organizations and the international economic sector. One of the cornerstones of the partnership is the creation of a network of important international sites for migratory waterfowl throughout EAAF. The partnership works through working groups and task forces and meets every two years to discuss important issues facing migratory birds and their habitats.