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

A/RES/62/177No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 77bSustainable 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, published in 2008.

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).

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2008.

2008A/63/128Sustainable 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?

119 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,1 in particular the provisions on cooperation set out in Part V and Part VII, section 2, of the Convention, and where applicable, the Agreement;2

Encourages States to give due priority to the implementation of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”), in relation to achieving sustainable fisheries;

Emphasizes the obligations of flag States to discharge their responsibilities, in accordance with the Convention and the Agreement, to ensure compliance by vessels flying their flag with the conservation and management measures adopted and in force with respect to fisheries resources on the high seas;

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;

Calls upon all States, directly or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to apply widely, in accordance with international law and the Code,Error: Reference source not found the precautionary approach and an ecosystem approach to the conservation, management and exploitation of fish stocks, including straddling fish stocks, highly migratory fish stocks and discrete high seas 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;

Encourages States to increase their reliance on scientific advice in developing, adopting and implementing conservation and management measures, and to increase their efforts to promote science for conservation and management measures that apply, in accordance with international law, the precautionary approach and an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, enhancing understanding of ecosystem approaches, in order to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources, and in this regard encourages the implementation of the Strategy for Improving Information on Status and Trends of Capture Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsError: Reference source not found as a framework for the improvement and understanding of fishery status and trends;

Also encourages States to apply the precautionary approach and an ecosystem approach in adopting and implementing conservation and management measures addressing, inter alia, by-catch, pollution, overfishing, and protecting habitats of specific concern, taking into account existing guidelines developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Welcomes the development of observer programmes by some regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to improve data collection on, inter alia, target and by-catch species, and encourages States, both individually and collectively, where appropriate, to develop, fully implement, and, where necessary, continue to improve robust observer programmes, taking into account standards for such programmes developed by some regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and the forms of cooperation with developing States as set out in article 25 of the Agreement and article 5 of the Code;

Calls upon States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to collect and, where appropriate, report to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations required catch and effort data, and fishery-related information, in a complete, accurate and timely way, including for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks within and beyond areas under national jurisdiction, discrete high seas fish stocks, and by-catch and discards; and where they do not exist, to establish processes to strengthen data collection and reporting by members of regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, including through regular reviews of member compliance with such obligations, and when such obligations are not met, require the member concerned to rectify the problem, including through the preparation of plans of action with timelines;

Invites States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to cooperate with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the implementation and further development of the Fisheries Resources Monitoring System initiative;

Reaffirms paragraph 10 of resolution 61/105, and calls upon States, including through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to urgently adopt measures to fully implement the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks for directed and non-directed shark fisheries, based on the best available scientific information, through, inter alia, limits on catch or fishing effort, by requiring that vessels flying their flag collect and regularly report data on shark catches, including species-specific data, discards and landings, undertaking, including through international cooperation, comprehensive stock assessments of sharks, reducing shark by-catch and by-catch mortality, and, where scientific information is uncertain or inadequate, not increasing fishing effort in directed shark fisheries until measures have been established to ensure the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of shark stocks and to prevent further declines of vulnerable or threatened shark stocks;

Calls upon States to take immediate and concerted action to improve the implementation of and compliance with existing regional fisheries management organization or arrangement and national measures that regulate shark fisheries, in particular those measures which prohibit or restrict fisheries conducted solely for the purpose of harvesting shark fins, and, where necessary, to consider taking other measures, as appropriate, such as requiring that all sharks be landed with each fin naturally attached;

Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to prepare a report containing a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, as well as progress in implementing paragraph 11 of the present resolution, for presentation to the Committee on Fisheries at its twenty-eighth session, in 2009;

Urges States to eliminate barriers to trade in fish and fisheries products which are not consistent with their rights and obligations under the World Trade Organization agreements, taking into account the importance of the trade in fish and fisheries products, particularly for developing countries;

Urges States and relevant international and national organizations to provide for participation of small-scale fishery stakeholders in related policy development and fisheries management strategies in order to achieve long-term sustainability for such fisheries, consistent with the duty to ensure the proper conservation and management of fisheries resources;

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;

Calls upon States parties to the Agreement to harmonize, as a matter of priority, their national legislation with the provisions of the Agreement, and to ensure that the provisions of the Agreement are effectively implemented into regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements of which they are a member;

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

Calls upon all States to ensure that their vessels comply with the conservation and management measures that have been adopted by regional and subregional 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;

Notes with satisfaction the adoption of procedures for high seas boarding and inspection that fully implement articles 21 and 22 of the Agreement by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission at its third annual meeting, held in Apia from 11 to 15 December 2006, and invites other regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to ensure that the procedures developed for high seas boarding and inspection are consistent with the aforementioned articles;

Calls upon States, individually and, as appropriate, through regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements with competence over discrete high seas fish stocks, to adopt the necessary measures to ensure the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of such stocks in accordance with the Convention and consistent with the Code and the general principles set forth in the Agreement;

Invites States to assist developing States in enhancing their participation in regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, including by facilitating access to fisheries for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, in accordance with article 25, paragraph 1 (b), of the Agreement, taking into account the need to ensure that such access benefits the developing States concerned and their nationals;

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 fisheries resources;

Notes with satisfaction that the Assistance Fund under Part VII of the Agreement has begun to operate and consider applications for assistance by developing States parties to the Agreement, and encourages States, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, national institutions and non-governmental organizations, as well as natural and juridical persons, to make voluntary financial contributions to the Assistance Fund;

Requests that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat further publicize the availability of assistance through the Assistance Fund, and solicit views from developing States parties to the Agreement regarding the application and award procedures of the Fund, and consider changes where necessary to improve the process;

Encourages States, individually and, as appropriate, through regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to implement the recommendations of the Review Conference on the Agreement, held in New York from 22 to 26 May 2006;

Recalls paragraph 6 of resolution 56/13, and requests the Secretary-General to convene in 2008, in accordance with past practice, a seventh round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement, with the objective of discussing the implementation of the Agreement at the regional, subregional and global levels, taking into consideration the outcome of the Review Conference as regards proposed means of strengthening the implementation of the Agreement, promoting a wider participation in the Agreement and making any appropriate recommendations to be considered by 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, other relevant intergovernmental bodies and relevant non-governmental organizations, in accordance with past practice, to attend the seventh round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement as observers;

Reaffirms its request that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations initiate arrangements with States for the collection and dissemination of data on fishing in the high seas by vessels flying their flag at the subregional and regional levels where no such arrangements exist;

Also reaffirms its request that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations revise its global fisheries statistics database to provide information on straddling fish stocks, highly migratory fish stocks and discrete high seas fish stocks on the basis of where the catch is taken;

III.Related fisheries instruments

Emphasizes the importance of the effective implementation of the provisions of the Compliance Agreement,Error: Reference source not found 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 States and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to implement and promote the application of the Code within their areas of competence;

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;

Urges States to exercise effective control over their nationals, including beneficial owners, and vessels flying their flag, in order to prevent and deter them from engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities or supporting vessels engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, including those vessels listed by regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements as engaged in those activities, and to facilitate mutual assistance to ensure that such actions can be investigated and proper sanctions imposed;

Also urges States to take effective measures, at the national, regional and global levels, to deter the activities, including illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, of any vessel which undermines conservation and management measures that have been adopted by regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in accordance with international law;

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, 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;

Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as requested by the Committee on Fisheries at its twenty-seventh session, to further consider the possibility of convening an expert consultation to develop criteria for assessing the performance of flag States as well as to examine possible actions against vessels flying the flags of States not meeting such criteria,5 and encourages States to support this important initiative, including through preparatory work and funding;

Urges States, individually and collectively through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to develop appropriate processes to assess the performance of States with respect to implementing the obligations regarding fishing vessels flying their flag set out in relevant international instruments;

Reaffirms the need to strengthen, where necessary, the international legal framework for intergovernmental cooperation, in particular at the subregional and regional 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 regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to further coordinate measures for combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, such as through the development of a common list of vessels identified as engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or the mutual recognition of the illegal, unreported and unregulated vessel lists established by each organization or arrangement;

Reaffirms its call upon States to take all necessary measures consistent with international law, without prejudice to a State’s sovereignty over ports in its territory and to reasons of force majeure or distress, including the prohibition of vessels from accessing their ports followed by a report to the flag State concerned, when there is clear evidence that they are or have been engaged in or have supported illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, or when they refuse to give information either on the origin of the catch or on the authorization under which the catch has been made;

Urges further international action to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by vessels flying “flags of convenience” as well as to require that a “genuine link” be established between States and fishing vessels flying their flags, and calls upon States to implement the 2005 Rome Declaration on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated FishingError: Reference source not found as a matter of priority;

Welcomes the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration of the high-level conference on the eradication of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, held in Lisbon on 29 October 2007, in relation to the need to reinforce fisheries control and surveillance measures and address the commercial dimension of the problem, so as to deprive all those involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of any profits arising from such activities;

Urges States, individually and collectively through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to cooperate to clarify the role of the “genuine link” in relation to the duty of States to exercise effective control over fishing vessels flying their flag;

Recognizes the need for enhanced port State measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and urges States to cooperate, in particular at the regional level and through subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to adopt all necessary port measures, consistent with international law taking into account article 23 of the Agreement, particularly those identified in the Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2005, and to promote the development and application of minimum standards at the regional level;

Welcomes, in this regard, the adoption of agreed port State measures by several regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, such as the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which include the denial of port access to vessels appearing in the lists of vessels identified as engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing established by these organizations;

Also welcomes the initiation of a process within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to develop a legally binding instrument on minimum standards for port State measures, based on the Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, notes the Organization’s Expert Consultation on Port State Measures, held in Washington, D.C., from 4 to 8 September 2007, and encourages all relevant States to participate in the intergovernmental Technical Consultation, to be held in Rome from 23 to 28 June 2008, so that the finalized instrument may be presented to the Committee on Fisheries at its twenty-eighth session, in 2009;

Further welcomes the cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization, and notes the outcomes, including the agreed priorities, of the second session of their Joint Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Related Matters, which are under consideration by those two organizations, and encourages ongoing collaboration between them to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, particularly in improving the implementation of flag State responsibilities and port State measures;

Encourages States, with respect to vessels flying their flag, and port States, to make every effort to share data on landings and catch quotas, and in this regard encourages regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements to consider developing open databases containing such data for the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of fisheries management;

Calls upon States to take all necessary measures to ensure that vessels flying their flag do not engage in trans-shipment of fish caught by fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

Urges States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to adopt and implement internationally agreed market-related measures in accordance with international law, including principles, rights and obligations established in World Trade Organization agreements, as called for in the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing;

V.Monitoring, control and surveillance and compliance and enforcement

Calls upon States in accordance with international law to strengthen implementation of or, where they do not exist, adopt comprehensive monitoring, control and surveillance measures and compliance and enforcement schemes individually and within those regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements in which they participate in order to provide an appropriate framework for promoting compliance with agreed conservation and management measures, and further urges enhanced coordination among all relevant States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in these efforts;

Encourages further work by competent international organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to develop guidelines on flag State control of fishing vessels;

Urges States, individually and through relevant regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to establish mandatory vessel monitoring, control and surveillance systems, in particular to require that vessel monitoring systems be carried by all vessels fishing on the high seas as soon as practicable, and in the case of large-scale fishing vessels no later than December 2008, and share information on fisheries enforcement matters;

Calls upon States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to strengthen or establish, consistent with national and international law, positive or negative lists of vessels fishing within the areas covered by relevant regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in order to verify compliance with conservation and management measures and identify products from illegal, unreported and unregulated catches, and encourages improved coordination among all parties and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in sharing and using this information, taking into account the forms of cooperation with developing States as set out in article 25 of the Agreement;

Requests States and relevant international bodies to develop, in accordance with international law, more effective measures to trace fish and fishery products to enable importing States to identify fish or fishery products caught in a manner that undermines international conservation and management measures agreed in accordance with international law, taking into account the special requirements of developing States and the forms of cooperation with developing States as set out in article 25 of the Agreement, and at the same time to recognize the importance of market access, in accordance with provisions 11.2.4, 11.2.5 and 11.2.6 of the Code, for fish and fishery products caught in a manner that is in conformity with such international measures;

Encourages States to establish and undertake cooperative surveillance and enforcement activities in accordance with international law to strengthen and enhance efforts to ensure compliance with conservation and management measures, and prevent and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

Urges States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to develop and adopt effective measures to regulate trans-shipment, in particular at-sea trans-shipment, in order to, inter alia, monitor compliance, collect and verify fisheries data, and to prevent and suppress illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities in accordance with international law; and, in parallel, encourage and support the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in studying the current practices of trans-shipment as it relates to fishing operations for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks and produce a set of guidelines for this purpose;

Expresses its appreciation for financial contributions from States to improve the capacity of the existing voluntary International Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Network for Fisheries-Related Activities, and encourages States to join and actively participate in the Network and to consider supporting, when appropriate, its transformation in accordance with international law into an international unit with dedicated resources to further assist Network members, taking into account the forms of cooperation with developing States as set out in article 25 of the Agreement;

Encourages widespread participation in the Second Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop, to be held in Trondheim, Norway, from 7 to 11 August 2008, sponsored by Norway in conjunction with the International Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Network for Fisheries-Related Activities and the FishCode programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in order to share experiences and technologies, foster coordination and improve skills among enforcement officials;

Welcomes the support of the Committee on Fisheries for the convening of an expert consultation to further develop the concept of a comprehensive global record of fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels, supply vessels and beneficial ownership, as described in the feasibility study prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to consider establishing a system of unique and permanent fishing and support vessel identification, to assist monitoring, control and surveillance and to complement the concept of a comprehensive global record of fishing vessels, taking into account the forms of cooperation with developing States as set out in article 25 of the Agreement and article 5 of the Code, and to work with the International Maritime Organization in this regard, as recommended at the second session of the Joint Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Related Matters;

VI.Fishing overcapacity

Calls upon States to commit to urgently reducing the capacity of the world’s fishing fleets to levels commensurate with the sustainability of fish stocks, through the establishment of target levels and plans or other appropriate mechanisms for ongoing capacity assessment, while avoiding the transfer of fishing capacity to other fisheries or areas in a manner that undermines the sustainable management of fish stocks, including, inter alia, those areas where fish stocks are overexploited or in a depleted condition, and recognizing in this context the legitimate rights of developing States to develop their fisheries for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks consistent with article 25 of the Agreement, article 5 of the Code, and paragraph 10 of the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity;

Also calls upon States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to ensure that the urgent actions required in the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity are undertaken expeditiously and that implementation of the Plan of Action is facilitated without delay, as agreed to by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to report on the state of progress in the implementation of the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity, as provided for in paragraph 48 of the Plan of Action;

Encourages those States which are cooperating to establish subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to exercise voluntary restraint of fishing effort levels in those areas that will come under the regulation of the future organizations and arrangements until adequate regional conservation and management measures are adopted and implemented, taking into account the need to ensure the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of the relevant fish stocks;

Urges States to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to fishing overcapacity, while completing the efforts undertaken at the World Trade Organization in accordance with the Doha Declaration to clarify and improve its disciplines on fisheries subsidies, taking into account the importance of this sector, including small-scale and artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, to developing countries;

VII.Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to continued compliance with 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 in order to eliminate the use of large-scale pelagic drift nets;

VIII.Fisheries by-catch and discards

Urges States, regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other relevant international organizations 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 instruments and organizations with mandates to conserve non-target species taken incidentally in fishing operations;

Requests States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to urgently implement, as appropriate, the measures recommended in the Guidelines to Reduce Sea Turtle Mortality in Fishing Operations and the International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in order to prevent the decline of sea turtles and seabird populations by reducing by-catch and increasing post-release survival in their fisheries, including through research and development of gear and bait alternatives, promoting the use of available by-catch mitigation technology, and promotion and strengthening of data-collection programmes to obtain standardized information to develop reliable estimates of the by-catch of these species;

Welcomes the recommendation of the Committee on Fisheries at its twenty-seventh session that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations should, in cooperation with relevant bodies, develop best practice guidelines to assist States and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in implementing the International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries and that the best practice guidelines should be extended to other relevant fishing gears;5

IX.Subregional and regional cooperation

Urges coastal States and States fishing on the high seas, in accordance with the Convention, the Agreement and other relevant instruments, 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;

Urges 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, or to otherwise ensure that no vessel flying their flag is authorized to access the fisheries resources to which regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements or conservation and management measures established by such organizations or arrangements apply;

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, the Agreement and the Code;

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 stocks, 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;

Urges all signatory States and other States whose vessels fish within the area of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South-East Atlantic Ocean for fishery resources covered by that Convention to become parties to that Convention as a matter of priority and, in the interim, to ensure that vessels flying their flags fully comply with the measures adopted;

Encourages signatory States and States having a real interest to become parties to the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement, and urges those States to agree on and implement interim measures, including measures in accordance with resolution 61/105, to ensure the conservation and management of the fisheries resources and their marine ecosystems and habitats in the area to which that Agreement applies until such time as that Agreement enters into force;

Takes note of recent efforts at the regional level to promote responsible fishing practices, including combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

Notes with satisfaction the progress of negotiations to establish regional and subregional fisheries management organizations or arrangements in several fisheries, in particular in the South Pacific and North-West Pacific, encourages States having a real interest to participate in such negotiations, urges participants to expedite those negotiations and to apply provisions of the Convention and the Agreement to their work, and also notes with satisfaction the adoption by the participants in the South Pacific and North-West Pacific negotiations of interim conservation and management measures in accordance with resolution 61/105, and encourages those participants to implement the voluntary interim measures adopted;

Urges further efforts by regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, as a matter of priority, in accordance with international law, to strengthen and modernize their mandates and the measures adopted by such organizations or arrangements, to implement modern approaches to fisheries management as reflected in the Agreement and other relevant international instruments relying on the best scientific information available and application of the precautionary approach, and incorporating an ecosystem approach to fisheries management and biodiversity considerations, where these aspects are lacking, to ensure that they effectively contribute to long-term conservation and management and sustainable use of marine living resources, and in this regard welcomes the adoption of amendments to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries at the Twenty-ninth Annual Meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, held in Lisbon from 24 to 28 September 2007;

Welcomes the initiative taken by the members of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to strengthen the functioning of the Commission so that it can more effectively discharge its mandate, and requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to continue to provide members of the Commission with the necessary assistance to this end;

Urges States to strengthen and enhance cooperation among existing and developing regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in which they participate, including increased communication and further coordination of measures, such as through the holding of joint consultations;

Welcomes the joint meeting of tuna regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, hosted by the Government of Japan in Kobe, from 22 to 26 January 2007, including the adoption at that meeting of the agreed Course of Actions, and the subsequent meeting of the Joint Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization and Arrangement Technical Working Group on Trade and Catch Documentation Schemes, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America, on 22 and 23 July 2007;

Urges regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to improve transparency and to ensure that their decision-making processes are fair and transparent, rely on best scientific information available, incorporate the precautionary approach and ecosystem approaches, address participatory rights, including through, inter alia, the development of transparent criteria for allocating fishing opportunities which reflects, where appropriate, the relevant provisions of the Agreement, taking due account, inter alia, of the status of the relevant stocks and the respective interests in the fishery, and strengthen integration, coordination and cooperation with other relevant fisheries organizations, regional seas arrangements and other relevant international organizations;

Welcomes the progress made by some regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to initiate performance reviews, and the completion by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission of a performance review, and urges States, through their participation in regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements that have not done so, to undertake, on an urgent basis, performance reviews of those regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, initiated either by the organization or arrangement itself or with external partners, including in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, using transparent criteria based on the provisions of the Agreement and other relevant instruments, and taking into account the best practices of regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements and, as appropriate, any set of criteria developed by States or other regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, and encourages that such performance reviews include some element of independent evaluation and propose means for improving the functioning of the regional fisheries management organization or arrangement, as appropriate, and that the results be made publicly available;

Urges States to cooperate to develop best practice guidelines for regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and to apply, to the extent possible, those guidelines to organizations and arrangements in which they participate;

Encourages the development of regional guidelines for States to use in establishing sanctions, for non-compliance by vessels flying their flag and by their nationals, to be applied in accordance with national law, that are adequate in severity for effectively securing compliance, deterring further violations and depriving offenders of the benefits deriving from their illegal activities, as well as in evaluating their systems of sanctions to ensure that they are effective in securing compliance and deterring violations;

X.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, individually or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other relevant international organizations, to work to ensure that fisheries and other ecosystem data collection is performed in a coordinated and integrated manner, facilitating incorporation into global observation initiatives, where appropriate;

Further 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 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 to take action immediately, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, and consistent with the precautionary approach and ecosystem approaches, to sustainably manage fish stocks and protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, including seamounts, hydrothermal vents and cold water corals, from destructive fishing practices, recognizing the immense importance and value of deep sea ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain;

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to paragraphs 83 to 91 of resolution 61/105 addressing the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems and the urgent actions called for in that resolution;

Welcomes the progress in regulating bottom fisheries in accordance with resolution 61/105 by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, the South-East Atlantic Fisheries Organization and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean;

100

Commends the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for its decision to develop international guidelines for the management of deep-sea fisheries in the high seas, as requested in paragraph 89 of resolution 61/105, to further develop standards and criteria for use by States and regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements in identifying vulnerable marine ecosystems in areas beyond national jurisdiction and the impacts of fishing on such ecosystems, and establishing standards for the management of deep-sea fisheries in order to facilitate the adoption and the implementation of conservation and management measures pursuant to paragraphs 83 and 86 of resolution 61/105, notes the Expert Consultation held from 11 to 14 September 2007 in Bangkok, and encourages all relevant States to participate in the intergovernmental Technical Consultation to be held in Rome from 4 to 8 February 2008;

101

Commends the Committee on Fisheries for its decision at its twenty-seventh session that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations should create a list of authorized vessels engaged in high seas deep-sea fisheries and create a global database on vulnerable marine ecosystems in areas beyond national jurisdiction, in cooperation with States and other relevant organizations,5 as requested in paragraphs 87 and 90 of resolution 61/105;

102

Encourages accelerated progress to establish criteria on the objectives and management of marine protected areas for fisheries purposes, and in this regard welcomes the proposed work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to develop technical guidelines in accordance with the Convention and the Code on the design, implementation and testing of marine protected areas for such purposes, and urges coordination and cooperation among all relevant international organizations and bodies;

103

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 ecosystem, including fish stocks, against pollution and physical degradation;

104

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to paragraphs 77 to 81 of resolution 60/31 concerning the issue of lost, abandoned or discarded fishing gear and related marine debris and the adverse impacts such debris and derelict fishing gear have on, inter alia, fish stocks, habitats and other marine species, and urges accelerated progress by States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in implementing those paragraphs of the resolution;

105

Notes with satisfaction that the Committee on Fisheries considered at its twenty-seventh session the issue of derelict fishing gear, agreed that it is particularly relevant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and requested that the Organization consult with the International Maritime Organization in its efforts related to marine debris;5

XI.Capacity-building

106

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, the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, 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, and the Guidelines to Reduce Sea Turtle Mortality in Fishing Operations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to increase the capacity of developing States to achieve the goals and implement the actions called for in the present resolution;

107

Welcomes the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in developing guidance on the strategies and measures required for the creation of an enabling environment for small-scale fisheries, including the development of a code of conduct and guidelines for enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security that include adequate provisions with regard to financial measures and capacity-building, including transfer of technology, and encourages studies for creating possible alternative livelihoods for coastal communities;

108

Encourages increased capacity-building and technical assistance by States, international financial institutions and relevant intergovernmental organizations and bodies for fishers, in particular small-scale fishers, in developing countries, and in particular small island developing States, consistent with environmental sustainability;

109

Encourages the international community to enhance the opportunities for sustainable development in developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, small island developing States and coastal African States, by encouraging greater participation of those States in authorized fisheries activities being undertaken within areas under their national jurisdiction, in accordance with the Convention, by distant-water fishing nations in order to achieve better economic returns for developing countries from their fisheries resources within areas under their national jurisdiction and an enhanced role in regional fisheries management, as well as by enhancing the ability of developing countries to develop their own fisheries, as well as to participate in high seas fisheries, including access to such fisheries, in conformity with international law, in particular the Convention and the Agreement, and taking into account article 5 of the Code;

110

Requests distant-water fishing nations, when negotiating access agreements and arrangements with developing coastal States, to do so on an equitable and sustainable basis, including by giving greater attention to fish processing, including fish processing facilities, within the national jurisdiction of the developing coastal State to assist the realization of the benefits from the development of fisheries resources, and also including, inter alia, the transfer of technology and assistance for monitoring, control and surveillance and compliance and enforcement within areas under the national jurisdiction of the developing coastal State providing fisheries access, taking into account the forms of cooperation set out in article 25 of the Agreement and article 5 of the Code;

111

Encourages States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to provide greater assistance and to promote coherence in such assistance for developing States in designing, establishing and implementing relevant agreements, instruments and tools for the conservation and sustainable management of fish stocks, including in designing and strengthening their domestic regulatory fisheries policies and those of regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements in their regions, and the enhancement of research and scientific capabilities through existing funds, such as the Assistance Fund under Part VII of the Agreement, bilateral assistance, regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements assistance funds, the FishCode programme, the World Bank’s global programme on fisheries and the Global Environment Facility;

112

Calls upon States to promote, through continuing dialogue and the assistance and cooperation provided in accordance with articles 24 to 26 of the Agreement, further ratification of or accession to the Agreement by seeking to address, inter alia, the issue of lack of capacity and resources that might stand in the way of developing States becoming parties;

113

Encourages States, regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other relevant bodies to assist developing States in the implementation of the actions called for in paragraphs 83 to 91 of resolution 61/105;

XII.Cooperation within the United Nations system

114

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;

115

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;

116

Invites the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, 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;

XIII.Sixty-third session of the General Assembly

117

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;

118

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-third 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;

119

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-third 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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