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

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 52bSustainable fisheries, including through the 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, published in 2003.

What other versions does this mandate have?

23 versions · 2004–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/109

2025A/RES/80/109Sustainable 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 instrumentsLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/145Sustainable 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 instrumentsCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/68Sustainable 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 instrumentsCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/118Sustainable 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 instrumentsCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/76/71Sustainable 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 instrumentsCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2004.

2004A/59/298Sustainable fisheries, including through the 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 report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

58 operative paragraphs

I.Achieving sustainable fisheries

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of the marine living resources of the world’s oceans and seas and the obligations of States to cooperate to this end, in accordance with international law, as reflected in the relevant provisions of the Convention,2 in particular the provisions on cooperation set out in Part V and Part VII, section 2, of the Convention regarding straddling stocks, highly migratory species, marine mammals, anadromous stocks and marine living resources of the high seas, and where applicable, the Agreement;1

Calls upon all States that have not done so, in order to achieve the goal of universal participation, to become parties to the Convention, which sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, taking into account the relationship between the Convention and the Agreement;

Reaffirms the importance of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation in relation to fisheries, in particular the commitment made therein to restore depleted fish stocks on an urgent basis and, where possible, not later than 2015;

Urges all States to apply the precautionary approach widely to the conservation, management and exploitation of fish stocks, including 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;

II.Implementation of 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

Calls upon all States, and entities referred to in the Convention and in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the Agreement, that have not done so to ratify or accede to the Agreement and to consider applying it provisionally;

Emphasizes the importance of the effective implementation of the provisions of the Agreement, including those provisions relating to bilateral, regional and subregional cooperation in enforcement, and urges continued efforts in this regard;

Welcomes the entry into force of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South-East Atlantic Ocean on 13 April 2003, and invites signatory States and other States with real interest whose vessels fish in the Convention area for fishery resources covered by that Convention to ratify or to accede to the Convention;

Calls upon all States to ensure that their vessels comply with the conservation and management measures that have been adopted by subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in accordance with relevant provisions of the Convention and of the Agreement;

Invites States and international financial institutions and organizations of the United Nations system to provide assistance according to Part VII of the Agreement, including, if appropriate, the development of special financial mechanisms or instruments to assist developing States, in particular the least developed among them and small island developing States, to enable them to develop their national capacity to exploit fishery resources, including developing their domestically flagged fishing fleet, value-added processing and the expansion of their economic base in the fishing industry, consistent with the duty to ensure the proper conservation and management of those fisheries resources;

Decides to establish an Assistance Fund under Part VII of the Agreement to assist developing States parties in the implementation of the Agreement, to be administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which should act as the implementing office for the Fund, in collaboration with the United Nations, in accordance with the terms of reference as agreed at the second round of informal consultations of the States parties to the Agreement and appropriate arrangements made between them;

Emphasizes the importance of outreach to potential donor organizations to contribute to the programme of assistance, including the Assistance Fund newly established under Part VII of the Agreement;

Recalls paragraph 6 of its resolution 56/13, and requests the Secretary-General to convene a third round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement, for the purposes and objectives of considering the national, regional, subregional and global implementation of the Agreement, in particular by conducting an evaluation of the implementation of the Agreement by regional fisheries management organizations as well as considering initial preparatory steps for the review conference to be convened by the Secretary-General pursuant to article 36 of the Agreement, and making any appropriate recommendation to the General Assembly;

Requests the Secretary-General to invite States, and entities referred to in the Convention and in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the Agreement, not party to the Agreement, as well as the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other specialized agencies, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility and other relevant international financial institutions, regional fishery bodies and arrangements and relevant non-governmental organizations to attend the third round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement as observers;

III.Related fisheries instruments

Welcomes the entry into force of the Compliance Agreement,6 and calls upon all States and other entities referred to in article 10, paragraph 1, of the Compliance Agreement that have not yet deposited instruments of acceptance to do so as a matter of priority;

Urges parties to the Compliance Agreement to exchange information in the implementation of that Agreement;

Urges States and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to promote the application of the Code within their areas of competence;

Invites States to support implementation of the Strategy for Improving Information on Status and Trends of Capture Fisheries4 at the national and regional levels, giving particular emphasis to capacity-building in developing countries;

Urges States to develop and implement national and, as appropriate, regional plans of action to put into effect the international plans of action of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, namely the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity, the International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries, the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks and the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing;

IV.Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

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, including deterring the reflagging of vessels by their nationals, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, the Agreement and the Compliance Agreement, to control fishing operations by vessels flying their flag;

Affirms the need to strengthen, where necessary, the international legal framework for intergovernmental cooperation, in particular at the regional and subregional levels, in the management of fish stocks and in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, in a manner consistent with international law, and for States and entities referred to in the Convention and in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the Agreement to collaborate in efforts to address these types of fishing activities;

Encourages States to consider becoming members of the International Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Network for Fisheries-Related Activities, a voluntary network of monitoring, control and surveillance professionals designed to facilitate exchange of information and to support countries in discharging their obligations pursuant to international agreements, in particular the Compliance Agreement;

Invites the International Maritime Organization and other relevant competent international organizations to study, examine and clarify the role of the “genuine link” in relation to the duty of flag States to exercise effective control over ships flying their flag, including fishing vessels;

Calls upon flag and port States to take all measures consistent with international law necessary to prevent the operation of sub-standard vessels and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities;

Encourages States in their work with regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to develop and implement vessel monitoring systems and, where appropriate and consistent with international law, trade monitoring schemes;

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 and to establish effective monitoring, reporting and enforcement and control of fishing vessels, including by flag States, to further the International Plan of Action;

Urges relevant regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to implement effective measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, inter alia, by compiling a record of vessels authorized to fish in their area of competence, in accordance with the Code;

Urges States to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to overcapacity, 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;

Commends the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for its activities in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, including its initiative to organize the intergovernmental technical consultation on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and fleet overcapacity, to be held in June 2004, and the intergovernmental technical consultation on the role of the port State in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, to be held in September 2004;

Recognizes the need for enhanced port State controls to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, urges States to cooperate, in particular at the regional level, and through regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, as well as through participation, where appropriate, in the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization to address substantive issues relating to the role of the port State, noting that such efforts include the elaboration of principles and guidelines for the establishment of regional memorandums of understanding on port State measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

V.Fishing overcapacity

Calls upon States and relevant regional fisheries management organizations, as a matter of priority, to take effective measures to improve the management of fishing capacity and to put into effect by 2005 the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity, taking into account the need, through these actions, to avoid the transfer of fishing capacity to other fisheries or areas including, but not limited to, those areas where fisheries are overexploited or in a depleted condition;

Urges those States and other entities referred to in article X, paragraph 1, of the Compliance Agreement that have become parties to it to establish a record of fishing vessels authorized to fish on the high seas and, pursuant to articles IV and VI thereof, to make such a record available to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a matter of priority, and urges the Food and Agriculture Organization to quickly establish the record of fishing vessels as called for in the Compliance Agreement;

Calls upon all States to assist this work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to take measures to halt the increase of large-scale fishing vessels in accordance with the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity and to participate in the intergovernmental technical consultation on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and fleet overcapacity to be organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2004;

VI.Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to continued compliance with its resolution 46/215 and other subsequent resolutions on large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, and urges States and entities referred to in the Convention and in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the Agreement to enforce fully the measures recommended in those resolutions;

VII.Fisheries by-catch and discards

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, catch by lost or abandoned gear, fish discards and post-harvest losses, including juvenile fish, consistent with international law and relevant international instruments, including the Code, 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 reduce or eliminate by-catch of juvenile fish;

Encourages States and entities referred to in the Convention and in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the Agreement to give due consideration to participation, as appropriate, in regional and subregional organizations with mandates to conserve non-target species taken incidentally in fishing operations, and notes in particular the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and Their Habitats, regional sea turtle conservation instruments in the West African, the wider Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean/South-East Asia regions, the work of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre on turtle conservation and management, the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in this regard;

Notes with satisfaction the activities of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in cooperation with relevant United Nations agencies, in particular the United Nations Environment Programme and the Global Environment Facility, aimed at promoting the reduction of by-catch and discards in fisheries activities;

VIII.Subregional and regional cooperation

Urges coastal States and States fishing on the high seas, in accordance with the Convention and the Agreement, to pursue cooperation in relation to straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, either directly or through appropriate subregional or regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to ensure the effective conservation and management of such stocks;

Encourages States fishing for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks on the high seas, and relevant coastal States, where a subregional or regional fisheries management organization or arrangement has the competence to establish conservation and management measures for such stocks, to give effect to their duty to cooperate by becoming members of such an organization or participants in such an arrangement, or by agreeing to apply the conservation and management measures established by such an organization or arrangement;

Invites, in this regard, subregional and regional 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 participants in such arrangements, in accordance with the Convention and the Agreement;

Encourages relevant coastal States and States fishing on the high seas for a straddling fish stock or a highly migratory fish stock, where there is no subregional or regional fisheries management organization or arrangement to establish conservation and management measures for such stock, to cooperate to establish such an organization or enter into another appropriate arrangement to ensure the conservation and management of such stocks, and to participate in the work of the organization or arrangement;

Welcomes the initiation of negotiations and ongoing preparatory work to establish regional and subregional fisheries management organizations or arrangements in several fisheries, and urges participants in those negotiations to apply provisions of the Convention and the Agreement to their work;

Encourages 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, as well as by promoting improved cooperation between regional fisheries management organizations and other regional entities, such as the United Nations Environment Programme regional seas programmes and conventions;

IX.Responsible fisheries in the marine ecosystem

Encourages States to apply by 2010 the ecosystem approach, notes the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem and decisions V/6 and VI/12 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, encourages States to consider the guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for the implementation of ecosystem considerations in fisheries management, and notes the importance to this approach of relevant provisions of the Agreement and the Code;

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 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto;

Urges all States to implement the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities and to accelerate activity to safeguard the marine environment against pollution and physical degradation;

Requests the Secretary-General, in close cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and in consultation with States, regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other relevant organizations, in his next report concerning fisheries to include a section outlining current risks to the marine biodiversity of vulnerable marine ecosystems including, but not limited to, seamounts, coral reefs, including cold water reefs and certain other sensitive underwater features, related to fishing activities, as well as detailing any conservation and management measures in place at the global, regional, subregional or national levels addressing these issues;

Calls upon States, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and subregional or regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to implement fully the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks as a matter of priority, inter alia, by conducting assessments of shark stocks and developing and implementing national plans of action, recognizing the need of some States, in particular developing States, for assistance in this regard;

Urges States, including those working through subregional or regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in implementing the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, to collect scientific data regarding shark catches and to consider adopting conservation and management measures, particularly where shark catches from directed and non-directed fisheries have a significant impact on vulnerable or threatened shark stocks, in order to ensure the conservation and management of sharks and their long-term sustainable use, including by banning directed shark fisheries conducted solely for the purpose of harvesting shark fins and by taking measures for other fisheries to minimize waste and discards from shark catches, and to encourage the full use of dead sharks;

Urges all States to cooperate with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in order to assist developing States in implementing the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, including through voluntary contributions to work of the organization, such as its FishCODE programme;

Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in consultation with relevant subregional or regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to prepare a study relating to the impact on shark populations of shark catches from directed and non-directed fisheries and their impact on ecologically related species, taking into account the nutritional and socio-economic considerations as reflected in the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, particularly as they relate to small-scale, subsistence and artisanal fisheries and communities, as well as updating Technical Paper 389 of the Food and Agriculture Organization, entitled “Shark utilization, marketing and trade”, in order to facilitate improved shark conservation, management and utilization, and to report to the Secretary-General for inclusion in a fisheries-related report as soon as practicable;

X.Capacity-building

Reiterates the crucial importance of cooperation by States directly or, as appropriate, through the relevant regional and subregional organizations, and by other international organizations, including through financial and/or technical assistance, in accordance with the Agreement, the Compliance Agreement, the Code and the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, to increase the capacity of developing States to achieve the goals and implement the actions called for in the present resolution;

Invites States and relevant intergovernmental organizations to develop projects, programmes and partnerships with relevant stakeholders and mobilize resources for the effective implementation of the outcome of the African Process for the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment, and to consider the inclusion of fisheries components in this work;

Also invites States and relevant intergovernmental organizations to further implement sustainable fisheries management and improve financial returns from fisheries by supporting and strengthening relevant regional fisheries management organizations, as appropriate, such as the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and such agreements as the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific;

XI.Cooperation within the United Nations system

Requests the relevant parts of the United Nations system, international financial institutions and donor agencies to support increased enforcement and compliance capabilities for regional fisheries management organizations and their member States;

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 plans 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;

XII.Fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly

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, inter alia, of elements provided in relevant paragraphs in the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-ninth session, under the item entitled “Oceans and the law of the sea”, a sub-item entitled “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”.

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