Large-Scale Pelagic Drift-Net Fishing, Unauthorized Fishing in Zones of National Jurisdiction and on the High Seas/Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, Fisheries By-Catch and Discards, and Other Developments

Urges all States to apply the precautionary approach widely to the conservation, management and exploitation of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and calls upon States parties to the Agreement to implement fully the provisions of article 6 of the Agreement as a matter of priority;

Encourages States to apply by 2010 the ecosystem approach, notes the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem4 and decisions V/65 and VI/126 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, supports continuing work under way in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to develop guidelines for the implementation of ecosystem considerations in fisheries management, and notes the importance of relevant provisions of the Agreement and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries1 to this approach;

Encourages coastal States to develop ocean policies and mechanisms on integrated management, including at the subregional and regional levels, and also including assistance to developing States in accomplishing these objectives;

Calls upon States and other entities referred to in article 10, paragraph 1, of the Compliance Agreement7 that have not deposited instruments of acceptance of the Compliance Agreement to do so as a matter of priority;

Calls upon States not to permit vessels flying their flag to engage in fishing on the high seas or in areas under the national jurisdiction of other States, unless duly authorized by the authorities of the States concerned and in accordance with the conditions set out in the authorization, without having effective control over their activities, and to take specific measures, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, the Agreement and the Compliance Agreement, to control fishing operations by vessels flying their flag;

Also calls upon States, in accordance with Agenda 21, adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,¹³ to take effective action, consistent with international law, to deter reflagging of vessels by their nationals as a means of avoiding compliance with applicable conservation and management measures for fishing vessels on the high seas;

Encourages States to implement directly or, as appropriate, through the relevant international, regional and subregional organizations and arrangements, the international plans of action of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for reducing the incidental catch of seabirds in longline fisheries, for the conservation and management of sharks and for the management of fishing capacity, since, according to the timetables contained within the international plans of action, progress on implementation, in particular through the development of national plans of action, should be either completed or at an advanced stage;

Urges States to develop and implement national and, where appropriate, regional plans of action, to put into effect by 2004 the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations10 and to establish effective monitoring, reporting and enforcement and control of fishing vessels, including by flag States, to further the International Plan of Action;

Also urges States, as a matter of priority, to coordinate their activities and cooperate directly and, as appropriate, through relevant regional fisheries management organizations, in the implementation of the International Plan of Action, to promote information-sharing, to encourage the full participation of all stakeholders, and in all efforts to coordinate all the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with other international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization;

Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to continue its cooperative arrangements with United Nations agencies on the implementation of the International Plan of Action and to report to the Secretary-General, for inclusion in his annual report on oceans and the law of the sea, on priorities for cooperation and coordination in this work;

Urges States to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to over-capacity, while completing the efforts undertaken at the World Trade Organization to clarify and improve its disciplines on fisheries subsidies, taking into account the importance of this sector to developing countries;

Urges States, relevant international organizations and regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements that have not done so to take action to reduce or eliminate by-catch, fish discards and post-harvest losses, including juvenile fish, consistent with international law and relevant international instruments, including the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and in particular to consider measures including, as appropriate, technical measures related to fish size, mesh size or gear, discards, closed seasons and areas and zones reserved for selected fisheries, particularly artisanal fisheries, the establishment of mechanisms for communicating information on areas of high concentration of juvenile fish, taking into account the importance of ensuring confidentiality of such information, and support for studies and research that will minimize by-catch of juvenile fish;

Calls upon the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, in particular its Regional Seas programme, the International Maritime Organization, regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other appropriate intergovernmental organizations to take up, as a matter of priority, the issue of marine debris as it relates to fisheries and, where appropriate, to promote better coordination and help States to implement fully relevant international agreements, including annex V to the Guidelines of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto;

Invites States entitled to become parties to the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and their Habitats to consider doing so, and to participate in its work;

Invites States entitled to become parties to the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and Their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia to consider doing so, and to participate in their work;

Invites regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to ensure that all States having a real interest in the fisheries concerned may become members of such organizations or participate in such arrangements, in accordance with the Convention and the Agreement;

Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all members of the international community, relevant intergovernmental organizations, the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations, and to invite them to provide the Secretary-General with information relevant to the implementation of the present resolution;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session a report on “Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and related instruments”, taking into account information provided by States, relevant specialized agencies, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other appropriate organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, regional and subregional organizations and arrangements for the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, as well as other relevant intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations, and consisting of elements to be provided by the General Assembly in its resolution on fisheries to be adopted at its fifty-eighth session;