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 49bSustainable 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 2004.

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?

1 entity

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, 2005.

2005A/60/189Sustainable 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 report of the Secretary-General

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

What does this mandate say?

84 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, 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 and the ecosystem approach widely to the conservation, management and exploitation of fish stocks, including straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and also 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 in the interim 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 Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean on 19 June 2004, and encourages relevant States to become Parties to that Convention in accordance with its terms;

Also welcomes the inaugural meeting at Swakopmund, Namibia, from 9 to 13 March 2004 of the Commission of the South-East Atlantic Fisheries Organization as well as its continual operationalization and assumption of full competence for the conservation and management of resources that fall under its responsibility within the area of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South-East Atlantic Ocean, and encourages signatory States and other States with real interest whose vessels fish in that Convention area for fishery resources covered by that Convention to become parties to the Convention and, in the interim, to consider applying it and the measures adopted thereunder provisionally, to ensure that vessels entitled to fly their flags apply such measures;

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;

Urges States parties to the Agreement, in accordance with article 21, paragraph 4, thereof to inform, either directly or through the relevant regional or subregional fisheries management organization or arrangement, all States whose vessels fish on the high seas in the same region or subregion of the form of identification issued by those States parties to officials duly authorized to carry out boarding and inspection functions in accordance with articles 21 and 22 of the Agreement;

Also urges States parties to the Agreement, in accordance with article 21, paragraph 4, to designate an appropriate authority to receive notifications pursuant to article 21 and to give due publicity to such designation through the relevant subregional or regional fisheries management organization or arrangement;

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;

Recalls paragraph 10 of its resolution 58/14, in which it decided to establish an Assistance Fund under Part VII of the Agreement to assist developing States parties in the implementation of the Agreement, and encourages States, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, national institutions, non-governmental organizations, as well as natural and juridical persons to make voluntary financial contributions to the Fund;

Notes with satisfaction the conclusion of an arrangement between the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations regarding the administration of the Assistance Fund;

Emphasizes the importance of outreach to potential donor organizations to contribute to the programme of assistance, including the Assistance Fund;

Requests the Secretary-General to convene, pursuant to article 36 of the Agreement, a one-week review conference in the first part of 2006, with a view to assessing the effectiveness of the Agreement in securing the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and to render the necessary assistance and provide such services as may be required for the review conference;

Also requests the Secretary-General to present to the conference a comprehensive report, prepared in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 36 of the Agreement;

Recalls paragraph 6 of its resolution 56/13, and requests the Secretary-General to convene a fourth round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement, to consider, principally, but not exclusively, issues related to preparations for the review conference to be convened by the Secretary-General pursuant to article 36 of the Agreement, and to make 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, subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, other fisheries bodies, and relevant non-governmental organizations to attend the fourth round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement as observers;

III.Related fisheries instruments

Emphasizes the importance of the effective implementation of the provisions of the Compliance Agreement,7 and urges continued efforts in this regard;

Calls upon all States and other entities referred to in article X, paragraph 1, of the Compliance Agreement that have not yet become parties to that Agreement to do so as a matter of priority and, in the interim, to consider applying it provisionally;

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 implement and promote the application of the Code3 within their areas of competence;

Urges States, as a matter of priority, 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;

Also urges States to develop and implement, as a matter of priority, 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;

IV.Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

Emphasizes once again its serious concern that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing remains one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems and continues to have serious and major implications for the conservation and management of ocean resources, and renews its call upon States to comply fully with all existing obligations and to combat such fishing and urgently to take all necessary steps to implement the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

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, including, inter alia, the development and implementation of vessel monitoring systems and the listing of vessels in order to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities and, where appropriate and consistent with international law, trade monitoring schemes, including to collect global catch data, through subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements;

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;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session on the study undertaken by the International Maritime Organization, in cooperation with other competent international organizations, following the invitation extended to it in resolution 58/14 and resolution 58/240 of 23 December 2003, to 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, and the potential consequences of non-compliance with the duties and obligations of flag States prescribed in the relevant international instruments;

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 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to develop further ideas to devise means of discouraging owners and operators from non-compliance with the requirements imposed by flag States in carrying out their duties and obligations under relevant international instruments;

Recognizes the commitment made in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for States urgently 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, enforcement and control of fishing vessels, including by flag States, to further the International Plan of Action, and calls upon States to adhere to this commitment as a matter of priority;

Also recognizes that common means of conducting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing involves the unreported or misreported transshipments of fish at sea, and urges States, either directly or through relevant subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to establish comprehensive systems, where appropriate, for monitoring and control of transshipments on the high seas;

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;

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 the role of the port State in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, held from 31 August to 2 September 2004, and welcomes the outcome of the consultation;

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

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 a draft model scheme on port State measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

V.Fishing overcapacity

Calls upon States and relevant regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, 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 fish stocks are overexploited or in a depleted condition;

Urges States to eliminate subsidies that contribute to fishing 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;

Notes with satisfaction that information about more than 5,500 fishing vessels authorized to fish on the high seas has been provided to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations by at least seventeen flag States and entered on the High Seas Vessels Authorization Record established by the organization in accordance with article VI of the Compliance Agreement, and 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 Organization as a matter of priority, and promptly to notify the Organization of any modifications to such a record;

Calls upon all States to assist this work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and 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;

Welcomes the significant outcomes of the Technical Consultation to Review Progress and Promote the Full Implementation of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, held from 24 to 29 June 2004, which recommended specific actions to the Committee on Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements with regard to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and fishing overcapacity, and also suggested measures to be taken by States and fishing entities regarding expanding fishing capacity by certain fishing operations in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean;

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 Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area in this regard;

Notes with satisfaction the entry into force on 1 February 2004 of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, and encourages relevant States which have not already done so to become parties to that Agreement in accordance with its terms;

Also notes with satisfaction the activities of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in cooperation with relevant United Nations agencies and programmes, 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;

Notes the Technical Consultation on Sea Turtles Conservation and Fisheries to be organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations from 29 November to 2 December 2004, and encourages States to participate actively in this work;

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;

Notes with satisfaction, in this regard, the recent recommendation of the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission that established an intersessional working group tasked to study the feasibility of strengthening regional fisheries management in that region, encourages relevant States and organizations to work actively to fulfil the recommendation, and notes the important contribution of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism to this process;

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;

Encourages subregional or regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements and States and entities referred to in the Convention and in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the Agreement that are members of or participate in such organizations or arrangements, to consider adopting, where appropriate and in accordance with international law, conservation and management measures for fish stocks that fall within the competence of such organizations and/or arrangements but are not yet managed by them, in particular for those stocks that have vulnerable life histories, that scientific data indicate are in decline and/or are subject to an international plan of action of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

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 decision VII/11 and other relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, notes the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations related to guidelines for the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management, and also notes the importance to this approach of relevant provisions of the Agreement and the Code;

Also encourages States to increase scientific research in accordance with international law on the marine ecosystem;

Calls upon States, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, in particular its Regional Seas programme, regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other appropriate intergovernmental organizations that have not yet done so to take action to address the issue of lost or abandoned fishing gear and related marine debris, including through the collection of data on gear loss, economic costs to fisheries and other sectors, and the impact on marine ecosystems;

Requests the Secretary-General, in his next report concerning fisheries, to include information on the actions taken by 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 give effect to paragraph 60 above;

Urges States to ratify and implement 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;

Calls upon States, where relevant, to establish systems for retrieving lost gear and nets;

Notes that 2005 will mark the ten-year anniversary of the adoption of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, and urges all States to implement the Global Programme of Action and to accelerate activity to safeguard the marine ecosystem, including fish stocks, against pollution and physical degradation;

Calls upon States, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other specialized agencies of the United Nations, subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, where appropriate, and other appropriate intergovernmental bodies, to cooperate in achieving sustainable aquaculture, including through information exchange, developing equivalent standards on such issues as aquatic animal health and human health and safety concerns, assessing the potential positive and negative impacts of aquaculture, including socio-economics, on the marine and coastal environment, including biodiversity, and adopting relevant methods and techniques to minimize and mitigate adverse effects;

Calls upon States, either by themselves or through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, where these are competent to do so, to take action urgently, and consider on a case-by-case basis and on a scientific basis, including the application of the precautionary approach, the interim prohibition of destructive fishing practices, including bottom trawling that has adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems, including seamounts, hydrothermal vents and cold water corals located beyond national jurisdiction, until such time as appropriate conservation and management measures have been adopted in accordance with international law;

Calls upon regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements with the competence to regulate bottom fisheries urgently to adopt, in their regulatory areas, appropriate conservation and management measures, in accordance with international law, to address the impact of destructive fishing practices, including bottom trawling that has adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems, and to ensure compliance with such measures;

Calls upon members of regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements without the competence to regulate bottom fisheries and the impacts of fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems to expand the competence, where appropriate, of their organizations or arrangements in this regard;

Calls upon States urgently to cooperate in the establishment of new regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, where necessary and appropriate, with the competence to regulate bottom fisheries and the impacts of fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems in areas where no such relevant organization or arrangement exists;

Requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to include in his next report concerning fisheries a section on the actions taken by States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to give effect to paragraphs 66 to 69 above, in order to facilitate discussion of the matters covered in those paragraphs;

Agrees to review within two years progress on action taken in response to the requests made in paragraphs 66 to 69 above, with a view to further recommendations, where necessary, in areas where arrangements are inadequate;

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;

Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to develop programmes to assist States, including developing States, in carrying out the tasks mentioned in paragraph 73 above, in particular the adoption of appropriate conservation and management measures, including the banning of directed shark fisheries conducted solely for the purpose of harvesting shark fins;

Reaffirms the requests contained in paragraph 50 of its resolution 58/14, and invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to report to the Secretary-General, for inclusion in his report on sustainable fisheries, on progress regarding the preparation of the study mentioned therein, as well as the programmes mentioned in paragraph 74 above, and to consider at the sixty-second session of the General Assembly whether additional action is required;

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 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations through its FishCODE programme, 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 and the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, 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 sustainable fisheries, on priorities for cooperation and coordination in this work;

Invites the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant bodies of the United Nations system to consult and cooperate in the preparation of questionnaires designed to collect information on sustainable fisheries, in order to avoid duplication;

XII.Sixtieth 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 sixtieth 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 sixtieth session, under the item entitled “Oceans and the law of the sea”, the 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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