The decision was taken at the 13th annual SEAFO meeting held in early December in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
At the meeting, total allowable catches were also set for the main SEAFO species, based on scientific advice.
However, SEAFO members failed to adopt binding measures to ban gillnets, direct deep-water shark fishing and shark finning.
The European Commission, which had tabled the bans, regrets this missed opportunity to combat non-sustainable fishing practices, and strongly encourages action in these areas as a way to push for the protection of the ecosystem.
A second SEAFO performance review found that the organisation was well structured to deal with fisheries management in its waters, participants heard.
SEAFO is a regional fisheries management organisation aiming to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources in the shared waters of the South East Atlantic Ocean.
The organisation members include Angola, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Namibia, Norway and South Africa.
