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/70/75No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 79bSustainable 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 2016.

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).

What subjects does this mandate have?

11 topics

Coordination Within UN System Drift-Net Fishing Fisheries Fisheries Bycatch Fishery Conservation Fishery Management Fishery Products Fishery Resources Fishing International Instruments Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

204 operative paragraphs

I.Achieving sustainable fisheries

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of the living marine 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

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;

Notes with satisfaction that in “The future we want”,3 States addressed the sustainable development of fisheries, recognized the significant contribution of fisheries to the three dimensions of sustainable development and stressed the crucial role of healthy marine ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture for food security and nutrition and in providing for the livelihoods of millions of people, and encourages States to implement the commitments made in “The future we want”;

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, especially restoring depleted stocks to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield on an urgent basis and, where possible, not later than 2015, and recalls that in “The future we want”, States committed themselves to intensify their efforts to meet that target and to urgently take the measures necessary to maintain or restore all stocks at least to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield, with the aim of achieving those goals in the shortest time feasible, as determined by their biological characteristics, and in order to achieve this, to urgently develop and implement science-based management plans, including by reducing or suspending fishing catch and fishing effort commensurate with the status of the stock, consistent with international law, the applicable international instruments and relevant General Assembly resolutions and guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Emphasizes the need for the full implementation of the outcome document of the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, entitled “SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway”;

Urges States, either directly or through appropriate subregional, regional or global organizations or arrangements, to intensify efforts to assess and address, as appropriate, the impacts of global climate change and ocean acidification on the sustainability of fish stocks and the habitats that support them, in particular the most affected ones;

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, directly or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to apply widely, in accordance with international law and the Code, the precautionary approach and ecosystem approaches to the conservation, management and exploitation of 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;

Urges States to increase their reliance on scientific advice in developing, adopting and implementing conservation and management measures, and to increase their efforts, including through international cooperation, to promote science for conservation and management measures that apply, in accordance with international law, the precautionary approach and ecosystem approaches to fisheries management, enhancing understanding of ecosystem approaches, in order to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of living marine 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 Nations as a framework for the improvement and understanding of fishery status and trends;

Calls upon all States, directly or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to apply stock-specific target and limit precautionary reference points, which for target reference points are intended to meet management objectives, as described in annex II to the Agreement and in the Code, to ensure that populations of harvested stocks and, where necessary, associated or dependent species, are maintained at or restored to sustainable levels, and to use these reference points for triggering conservation and management action;

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

Also encourages States to enhance or develop observer programmes, individually or through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, in order to improve data collection on, inter alia, target and by-catch species, which could also assist monitoring, control and surveillance tools, and to take into account standards, forms of cooperation and other existing structures for such programmes as described in article 25 of the Agreement and article 5 of the Code;

Calls upon in this regard States, individually in line with their national legislation or through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to take steps as appropriate to ensure the safety of observers;

Encourages States to implement, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, accurate, complete, reliable and effective data collection and reporting of required data on catches, including by-catch and discards, reviewing and validating the data, and providing catch information in support of scientific stock assessment and ecosystem approaches to fisheries management;

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 its resolution 61/105 of 8 December 2006, and calls upon States, including through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to urgently adopt and implement 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 and urgently establishing science-based management measures to ensure the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of shark stocks and to prevent further declines of vulnerable or threatened shark stocks, and encourages the full utilization of dead sharks caught in the context of sustainably managed fisheries;

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 and incidental catch of sharks, 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;

Calls upon regional fisheries management organizations with the competence to regulate highly migratory species to strengthen or establish precautionary, science-based conservation and management measures, as appropriate, for sharks taken in fisheries within their convention areas consistent with the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks;

Encourages range States and regional economic integration organizations that have not yet done so to become signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals,9 and invites non-range States, intergovernmental organizations and international and national non-governmental organizations or other relevant bodies and entities to consider becoming cooperating partners;

Encourages States, as appropriate, to cooperate in establishing non-detriment findings for shared stocks of marine species listed in appendices I and II to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,8 consistent with the concepts and non-binding guiding principles contained in resolution Conf. 16.7 on non-detriment findings adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;

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;

Recalls that in “The future we want”, States committed themselves to observing the need to ensure access to fisheries and the importance of access to markets by subsistence, small-scale and artisanal fisherfolk and women fish workers, as well as indigenous peoples and their communities, particularly in developing countries, especially small island developing States;

Urges States and relevant international and national organizations to provide for the 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, and encourages States to consider promoting, as appropriate, participatory management schemes for small-scale fisheries in accordance with national laws, regulations and practices, as well as the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Welcomes the convening by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations of Tenure and Fishing Rights 2015: a global forum on rights-based approaches for fisheries, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from 23 to 27 March 2015;

Encourages States, either directly or through competent and appropriate subregional, regional or global organizations and arrangements, to analyse, as appropriate, the impact of fishing for marine species corresponding to low trophic levels;

Welcomes, in this regard, the initiation of further studies by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations of the impact of industrial fishing activities on species corresponding to low trophic levels;

Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to consider the potential effects of genetically engineered fish species on the health and sustainability of wild fish stocks and on the biodiversity of the aquatic environment and to provide guidance, consistent with the Code, on minimizing harmful impacts in this regard;

Also invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in consultation with other relevant international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization, to promote awareness and cooperation to develop and strengthen capacity to prevent, minimize and mitigate the adverse impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity, including fish stocks;

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;

Notes the round-table discussion convened by the Secretary-General during the eleventh round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement, on 17 March 2015, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the Agreement;

Calls upon States parties to the Agreement to effectively implement, as a matter of priority, the provisions of the Agreement through their national legislation and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in which they participate;

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

Urges States parties to the Agreement, in accordance with article 21, paragraph 4, thereof, to inform, either directly or through the relevant subregional or regional fisheries management organization or arrangement, all States whose vessels fish on the high seas in the same subregion or region 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, thereof, 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 regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements which have not yet done so to adopt procedures for high seas boarding and inspection that are consistent with articles 21 and 22 of the Agreement, including, inter alia, those to ensure the safety of the crew and the inspectors;

Calls upon States, individually and, as appropriate, through subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements with competence over discrete high seas fish stocks, to adopt the measures necessary 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;

Urges States parties to the Agreement, directly or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to take into account the special requirements of developing States, including small island developing States as highlighted in the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, in giving effect to the duty to cooperate in the establishment of conservation and management measures for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, including the need to ensure, where appropriate, in accordance with article 24, paragraph 2 (c), of the Agreement, that such measures do not transfer a disproportionate burden of conservation action onto developing States, and notes in this regard ongoing efforts to better develop a common understanding of this concept;

Calls upon 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;

Urges 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 established under Part VII of the Agreement;

Encourages 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 (the Division) to continue their efforts to publicize the availability of assistance through the Assistance Fund;

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

Encourages States, individually and, as appropriate, through subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to consider implementing, as appropriate, the recommendations of the resumed Review Conference, held in New York from 24 to 28 May 2010;

Recalls paragraph 40 of resolution 69/109, and requests the Secretary-General to resume the Review Conference, convened pursuant to article 36 of the Agreement, in New York from 23 to 27 May 2016, and to render the necessary assistance and provide such services as may be required for the resumption of the Review Conference;

Encourages wide participation in the resumed Review Conference, in accordance with article 36 of the Agreement;

Recalls its request in paragraph 41 of resolution 69/109 that the Secretary-General submit to the resumed Review Conference an updated report to assist the Review Conference in discharging its mandate under article 36, paragraph 2, of the Agreement;

Recalls paragraph 6 of resolution 56/13 of 28 November 2001, takes note of the report on the eleventh round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement, and requests the Secretary-General to convene in March 2016 a twelfth round of informal consultations of States parties to the Agreement for a duration of two days, to serve primarily as a preparatory meeting for the resumed Review Conference;

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 parties 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 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 twelfth 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,4 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;

Welcomes in this regard the work undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to improve the response rate for monitoring implementation of the Code and the international plans of action and strategies by developing a web-based questionnaire, and highlights the importance of responding to the questionnaire;

Encourages the development of best-practice guidelines for safety at sea in connection with marine fisheries by the competent international organizations;

Encourages States to consider signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Cape Town Agreement of 2012 on the Implementation of the Provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977;

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 fish stocks and marine ecosystems and continues to have serious and major implications for the conservation and management of ocean resources, as well as the food security and the economies of many States, particularly developing States, and renews its call upon States to comply fully with all existing obligations and to combat such fishing and urgently to take all steps necessary to implement the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing;

Recalls in this regard that in “The future we want”, States acknowledged that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing deprive many countries of a crucial natural resource and remain a persistent threat to their sustainable development and recommitted to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as advanced in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and to prevent and combat those practices, including by developing and implementing national and regional action plans in accordance with the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, implementing, in accordance with international law, effective and coordinated measures by coastal States, flag States, port States, chartering nations and the States of nationality of the beneficial owners and others who support or engage in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by identifying vessels engaged in such fishing and by depriving offenders of the benefits accruing from it, as well as by cooperating with developing countries to systematically identify needs and build capacity, including support for monitoring, control, surveillance, compliance and enforcement systems;

Notes with satisfaction the development of an increasing number of national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider developing such plans;

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;

Encourages States that have not yet done so to establish penalties for non-compliance by vessels involved in fishing or fishing-related activities and their nationals, as appropriate, in accordance with applicable national law and consistent with international law, that are adequate in severity for effectively securing compliance, deterring further violations and depriving offenders of the benefits from their illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities;

Urges States to take effective measures, at the national, subregional, 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 subregional and regional 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;

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;

Urges 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;

Reaffirms paragraph 53 of its resolution 64/72 of 4 December 2009 with regard to eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by vessels flying “flags of convenience” and requiring that a “genuine link” be established between States and fishing vessels flying their flags, and urges States operating open registry to effectively control all fishing vessels flying their flag, as required by international law, or otherwise stop open registry for fishing vessels;

Encourages States, either directly or through competent and appropriate subregional, regional or global organizations and arrangements, to consider adopting rules, consistent with international law, to ensure that chartering arrangements and practices related to fishing vessels enable compliance with and enforcement of relevant conservation and management measures, so as not to undermine efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

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, and to further promote the development and application of standards at the regional level;

Encourages, in this regard, States and regional economic integration organizations that have not yet done so to consider ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing5 with a view to its early entry into force;

Recalls that in “The future we want”, States that have signed the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing were called upon to expedite procedures for its ratification with a view to its early entry into force;

Notes the capacity development programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to assist developing countries in strengthening and harmonizing port State measures, including through bilateral, subregional and/or regional coordination;

Also notes, in this regard, the workshops held for the Caribbean region in Port of Spain from 24 to 28 March 2014, for the South American region in Montevideo from 29 September to 3 October 2014, for North West Indian Ocean States in Colombo from 1 to 5 June and for the western coast of the African continent in Praia from 20 to 24 July 2015;

Encourages strengthened collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization, taking into account the respective competencies, mandates and experience of the two organizations, to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, particularly in improving the implementation of flag State responsibilities and port State measures;

Also 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 and 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 measures necessary 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, through adequate regulation, monitoring and control of trans-shipment of fish at sea, including through additional national measures applicable to vessels flying their flag to prevent such trans-shipment;

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;

Welcomes the ongoing work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the development of best-practice guidelines for catch documentation schemes and traceability, in accordance with its agreed terms of reference and framework principles;

Calls upon States to continue working within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the elaboration, in accordance with international law, including the agreements established under the World Trade Organization, of guidelines and other relevant criteria relating to catch documentation schemes, including possible formats;

Notes with satisfaction, in this regard, that the Committee on Fisheries, at its thirty-first session, recognized that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations would undertake to elaborate guidelines and other relevant criteria relating to catch documentation schemes, including possible formats, based on the following principles: conformity with the provisions of international law; not creating unnecessary barriers to trade; equivalence; risk-based; reliable; simple, clear and transparent; and electronic if possible, with the aim of adoption at the thirty-second session of the Committee, and that the assessment of schemes and formats would include cost-benefit considerations and take into account catch documentation schemes already implemented by certain of its members as well as regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements;

Encourages information-sharing regarding emerging market- and trade-related measures by States and other relevant actors with appropriate international forums, given the potential implications of these measures for all States, consistent with the established plan of work of the Committee on Fisheries, and taking into account the Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fish Trade of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Acknowledges the development of participatory surveillance activities at sea involving fishing communities in West Africa as a cost-effective way of detecting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

Notes the concern expressed by the Committee on Fisheries at the proliferation of private standards and ecolabelling schemes potentially leading to the creation of trade barriers and restrictions, and also notes the work by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to develop an evaluation framework to assess the conformity of public and private ecolabelling schemes through the Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries;

Also notes the concerns about possible connections between transnational organized crime and illegal fishing in certain regions of the world, and encourages States, including through the appropriate international forums and organizations, to study the causes and methods of and contributing factors to illegal fishing to increase knowledge and understanding of those possible connections, and to make the findings publicly available, and in this regard takes note of the study issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on transnational organized crime in the fishing industry, bearing in mind the distinct legal regimes and remedies under international law applicable to illegal fishing and transnational organized crime;

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;

Welcomes the fact that the Committee on Fisheries has urged its members to start implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance as soon as possible;

Encourages further work by competent international organizations, including 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, recalling that in paragraph 62 of resolution 63/112 of 5 December 2008 it urged that large-scale fishing vessels be required to carry vessel monitoring systems no later than December 2008, and to 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 promote compliance with conservation and management measures and to identify products from illegal, unreported and unregulated catches, and encourages improved coordination among all States 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;

Encourages the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in cooperation with States, regional economic integration organizations, the International Maritime Organization and, as appropriate, regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to expedite efforts to develop and manage a comprehensive global record of fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels and supply vessels, including with a unique vessel identifier system, using, as a first step, the International Maritime Organization Ship Identification Number Scheme for fishing vessels of 100 gross tonnage and above, adopted by the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization in its resolution A.1078 (28) of 4 December 2013;

Welcomes the continued development of the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, including its efforts to keep it cost-effective, and encourages States, including through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to provide the necessary data to the Global Record;

Also welcomes the agreement that the International Maritime Organization ship identification number should be used as the unique vessel identifier for phase I of the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels and the fact that several regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements have made provisions for the International Maritime Organization number to be compulsory in their convention areas for all eligible vessels, and encourages those regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements which have not yet done so to do the same;

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;

Requests States to take the necessary measures, consistent with international law, to help to prevent fish and fishery products caught in a manner that undermines applicable conservation and management measures adopted in accordance with international law from entering international trade;

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, directly and through regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, to develop and adopt effective monitoring, control and surveillance measures for trans-shipment, as appropriate, in particular at-sea trans-shipment, in order to, inter alia, monitor compliance, to collect and verify fisheries data, and to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, in accordance with international law and, in parallel, to encourage and support the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in studying the current practices of trans-shipment and produce a set of guidelines for this purpose;

100

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;

101

Encourages participation in the fifth Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop, to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, in March 2016, hosted by the International Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Network for Fisheries-related Activities, in order to share information, experiences and technologies, foster coordination and improve skills among enforcement officials;

102

Encourages States, individually and through relevant international bodies, to improve the understanding of the causes and impacts of forced labour and human trafficking in the fishing and aquaculture industries, including processing and related industries, and to further consider actions to combat these practices, including raising awareness of the issue;

VI.Fishing overcapacity

103

Calls upon States to commit themselves 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 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 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

104

Reiterates its call 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 its implementation is facilitated without delay;

105

Invites 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;

106

Calls upon States, individually and, as appropriate, through subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements with competence to regulate highly migratory species, urgently to address global fishing capacity for tunas, inter alia, in a way that recognizes the legitimate rights of developing States, in particular small island developing States, to participate in and benefit from such fisheries, taking into account the recommendations of the 2010 Joint Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations International Workshop on RFMO Management of Tuna Fisheries, held in Brisbane, Australia, and the recommendations of the 2011 third joint meeting of tuna regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements;

107

Encourages those States which are cooperating to establish subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, taking into account the best scientific information available as well as ecosystem approaches and the precautionary approach, 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 and to prevent significant adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems;

108

Urges States to eliminate subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity and to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, including by accelerating work to complete World Trade Organization negotiations on fisheries subsidies in accordance with the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration to clarify and improve and the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration to strengthen disciplines on fisheries subsidies, taking into account the importance of the fisheries sector to developing countries;

109

Recalls in this regard that in “The future we want”, States reaffirmed their commitment in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and overcapacity, taking into account the importance of that sector to developing countries, reiterated their commitment to conclude multilateral disciplines on fisheries subsidies that would give effect to the mandates of the World Trade Organization Doha Development Agenda16 and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration to strengthen disciplines on subsidies in the fisheries sector, including through the prohibition of certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation, taking into account the importance of the sector to development priorities, poverty reduction and livelihood and food security concerns, and encouraged one another to further improve the transparency and reporting of existing fisheries subsidies programmes through the World Trade Organization and, given the state of fisheries resources, and without prejudicing the Doha and Hong Kong ministerial mandates on fisheries subsidies or the need to conclude those negotiations, to eliminate subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing and to refrain from introducing new such subsidies or from extending or enhancing existing ones;

VII.Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing

110

Expresses concern that, despite the adoption of General Assembly resolution 46/215, the practice of large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing still exists and remains a threat to living marine resources;

111

Urges States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to adopt effective measures, or strengthen existing measures, to implement and enforce the provisions of resolution 46/215 and subsequent resolutions on large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing in order to eliminate the use of large-scale pelagic drift nets in all seas and oceans, which means that efforts to implement resolution 46/215 should not result in the transfer to other parts of the world of drift nets that contravene the resolution;

112

Also urges States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to adopt effective measures, or strengthen existing measures, to implement and enforce the present global moratorium on the use of large-scale pelagic drift nets on the high seas, and calls upon States to ensure that vessels flying their flag that are duly authorized to use large-scale drift nets in waters under their national jurisdiction do not use such gear for fishing while on the high seas;

VIII.Fisheries by-catch and discards

113

Urges States, subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and other relevant international organizations that have not done so to take action, including with consideration of the interests of developing coastal States and, as appropriate, subsistence fishing communities, to minimize by-catch, as well as to reduce or eliminate catch by lost or abandoned gear, fish discards and post-harvest losses, including of 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 the confidentiality of such information, and support for studies and research that will minimize by-catch of juvenile fish, and to ensure that these measures are implemented so as to optimize their effectiveness;

114

Encourages in this regard States, individually or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, as appropriate, to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of the measures they have taken with regard to by-catch and discards;

115

Welcomes the commitment of States in “The future we want” to enhance action to manage by-catch, discards and other adverse ecosystem impacts from fisheries, including by eliminating destructive fishing practices, consistent with international law, the applicable international instruments and relevant General Assembly resolutions and guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

116

Calls upon States, either individually, collectively or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to further study, develop and adopt effective management measures, taking into account the best available scientific information on fishing methods, including fish aggregating devices, to minimize by-catch;

117

Also calls upon States, either individually, collectively or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to collect the necessary data in order to evaluate and closely monitor the use of large-scale fish aggregating devices and other devices, as appropriate, and their effects on tuna resources and tuna behaviour and associated and dependent species, to improve management procedures to monitor the number, type and use of such devices and to mitigate possible negative effects on the ecosystem, including on juveniles and the incidental by-catch of non-target species, particularly sharks and turtles, and notes in this regard the measures adopted by different regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements;

118

Notes in this regard that some regional fisheries management organizations, including the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, have established their own working groups to assess the use and impact of large-scale fish aggregating devices;

119

Encourages States, individually or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to promote, as appropriate, the use of environmentally friendly fish aggregating devices while ensuring compliance with measures that they have taken relating to such devices;

120

Urgently calls upon States, subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and, where appropriate, other relevant international organizations to develop and implement effective management measures to reduce the incidence of catch and discards of non-target species, including the utilization of selective fishing gear, where appropriate, and to take appropriate measures to minimize waste;

121

Calls upon States and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to adopt or improve measures to assess the impact of their fisheries on species caught as by-catch and to improve the comprehensiveness and accuracy of information and reporting on incidental catch of species caught as by-catch, including through adequate observer coverage and the use of modern technologies, and to provide assistance to developing States to meet data-collection and reporting obligations;

122

Requests States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, as appropriate, to strengthen or establish data-collection programmes to obtain reliable species-specific estimates of shark, marine turtle, fin-fish, marine mammal and seabird by-catch, and to promote further research on selective fishing gear and practices and on the use of appropriate by-catch mitigation measures;

123

Encourages States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to coordinate in the development and implementation of clear and standardized by-catch data-collection and reporting protocols for non-target species, in particular endangered, threatened and protected species, taking into account best-practice advice from appropriate international organizations and arrangements, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels;

124

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 subregional and regional instruments and organizations with mandates to conserve non-target species taken incidentally in fishing operations;

125

Encourages States to strengthen, if necessary, the capacity of those subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in which they participate to ensure the adequate conservation of non-target species taken incidentally in fishing operations, taking into consideration best practices for non-target species management, and to expedite their ongoing efforts in this regard;

126

Requests States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements urgently to implement, as appropriate, the measures recommended in the 2004 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 minimizing 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 establishing and strengthening data-collection programmes to obtain standardized information to develop reliable estimates of the by-catch of these species;

127

Urges States, individually or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to implement the International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

128

Requests States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to continue to take urgent action to reduce the by-catch of seabirds, including albatrosses and petrels, in fisheries by adopting and implementing conservation measures consistent with the 2009 best practices technical guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to support implementation of the International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries and taking into account the work of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels and of organizations such as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources;

IX.Subregional and regional cooperation

129

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;

130

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;

131

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;

132

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;

133

Welcomes in this regard the convening of the second regional consultation on regional cooperation for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in Cairo, from 22 to 24 June 2014;

134

Urges 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;

135

Encourages further ratifications of, accessions to, acceptances and approvals of the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement;

136

Also encourages further ratifications of, accessions to, acceptances and approvals of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean;

137

Welcomes the entry into force on 19 July 2015 of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean, and encourages further ratifications, accessions, acceptances and approvals of that Convention;

138

Encourages States that participated in the negotiation of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean to fully implement interim voluntary measures adopted in accordance with paragraphs 80 and 83 to 87 of resolution 61/105 and paragraphs 117, 119, 120, 122 and 123 of resolution 64/72;

139

Welcomes the endorsement of the Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, as amended, by the Commission at its thirty-eighth session, held in Rome from 19 to 24 May 2014, and urges those Contracting Parties to the Commission that need to accept the amended Agreement to do so with a view to its early entry into force;

140

Notes the ongoing efforts of 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 invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to provide members of the Commission with the necessary assistance to this end;

141

Encourages signatory States and States having a real interest to become parties to the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Established by the 1949 Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica;

142

Urges the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries that have not yet done so to approve the 2007 Amendment to that Convention with a view to its early entry into effect;

143

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, and 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, including the conservation and management of ecologically related and dependent species and protection of their habitats, where these aspects are lacking, to ensure that they effectively contribute to long-term conservation and management and sustainable use of living marine resources, and welcomes those regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements that have taken steps in this direction;

144

Calls upon regional fisheries management organizations with the competence to conserve and manage highly migratory fish stocks that have not yet adopted effective conservation and management measures in line with the best scientific information available to conserve and manage stocks falling under their mandate to do so urgently;

145

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, and to strengthen integration, coordination and cooperation by such regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements with other relevant fisheries organizations, regional seas arrangements and other relevant international organizations;

146

Urges the five regional fisheries management organizations with competence to manage highly migratory species to continue to take measures to implement the Course of Actions adopted at the second joint meeting of tuna regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and to consider the recommendations of the third joint meeting of tuna regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements;

147

Invites States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements with competence to manage straddling fish stocks to share experiences and good practices, for example by considering organizing joint meetings, where appropriate;

148

Urges regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to improve transparency and to ensure that their decision-making processes are fair and transparent, rely on the best scientific information available, incorporate the precautionary approach and ecosystem approaches, and 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;

149

Welcomes the fact that a number of regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements have completed performance reviews, and encourages the implementation, as appropriate, of the recommendations of their respective reviews as a matter of priority;

150

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;

151

Calls upon States, through their participation in regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to undertake performance reviews of those regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements on a regular basis, and to make the results publicly available, to implement the recommendations of such reviews and to strengthen the comprehensiveness of those reviews over time, as necessary;

152

Recalls that in “The future we want”, States recognized the need for transparency and accountability in fisheries management by regional fisheries management organizations and the efforts already made by those regional fisheries management organizations that had undertaken independent performance reviews, called upon all regional fisheries management organizations to regularly undertake such reviews and make the results publicly available, encouraged implementation of the recommendations of such reviews and recommended that the comprehensiveness of those reviews be strengthened over time, as necessary;

153

Urges States to cooperate, taking into account those performance reviews, 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;

154

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;

155

Recognizes the importance of ensuring transparency of reporting of fishing activities within regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in order to facilitate efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, as well as the importance of respecting the reporting obligations within those organizations and arrangements, notes in this regard the measures adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, and encourages other regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to consider establishing similar measures;

X.Responsible fisheries in the marine ecosystem

156

Urges States, individually or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to enhance their efforts to apply an ecosystem approach to fisheries, taking into account paragraph 30 (d) of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation;

157

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;

158

Calls upon States and regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, working in cooperation with other relevant organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the World Meteorological Organization, to adopt, as appropriate, measures to protect ocean data buoy systems moored in areas beyond national jurisdiction from actions that impair their operation;

159

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

160

Calls upon States, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other specialized agencies, 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 socioeconomics, on the marine and coastal environment, including biodiversity, and adopting relevant methods and techniques to minimize and mitigate adverse effects, and in this regard encourages the implementation of the 2007 Strategy and Outline Plan for Improving Information on Status and Trends of Aquaculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as a framework for the improvement and understanding of aquaculture status and trends;

161

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 continue to implement the 2008 International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (the Guidelines) in order 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;

162

Recalls that in “The future we want”, States committed to enhance actions to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from significant adverse impacts, including through the effective use of impact assessments, consistent with international law, the applicable international instruments and relevant General Assembly resolutions and guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

163

Reaffirms the importance of paragraphs 80 to 90 of resolution 61/105, paragraphs 113 to 127 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121 to 136 of resolution 66/68 of 6 December 2011 addressing the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of deep-sea fish stocks and the actions called for in those resolutions, and emphasizes the need for full implementation by all States and relevant regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements of their commitments under those paragraphs on an urgent basis;

164

Recalls that nothing in the paragraphs of resolutions 61/105, 64/72 and 66/68 addressing the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems prejudices the sovereign rights of coastal States over their continental shelf or the exercise of the jurisdiction of coastal States with respect to their continental shelf under international law as reflected in the Convention, in particular article 77 thereof;

165

Notes in this regard the adoption by coastal States of conservation measures regarding their continental shelf to address the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems, as well as their efforts to ensure compliance with those measures;

166

Welcomes the important progress made by States, regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and those States participating in negotiations in establishing a regional fisheries management organization or arrangement competent to regulate bottom fisheries to implement paragraphs 80 and 83 to 87 of resolution 61/105, paragraphs 113, 117 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 126, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68 and address the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems;

167

Urges States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to ensure that their actions in sustainably managing deep-sea fisheries and implementing paragraphs 80 and 83 to 87 of resolution 61/105, paragraphs 113 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68 are consistent with the Guidelines;

168

Welcomes the substantial ongoing work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations related to the management of deep-sea fisheries in the high seas and the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems, affirms the importance of the work undertaken pursuant to paragraphs 135 and 136 of resolution 66/68, notes in particular the support provided by that Organization to States in implementing the Guidelines, and welcomes the launch of the Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems database in December 2014;

169

Recalls its decision in paragraph 162 of resolution 69/109 to conduct in 2016 a further review of the actions taken by States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in response to paragraphs 113, 117 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 126, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68, with a view to ensuring effective implementation of the measures therein and to make further recommendations, where necessary, and also recalls the value of preceding such a review with a two-day workshop as in 2011;

170

Requests the Secretary-General to convene, with full conference services, without prejudice to future arrangements, a two-day workshop on 1 and 2 August 2016 in order to discuss implementation of paragraphs 113, 117 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 126, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68, and to invite States, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant specialized agencies, funds and programmes, subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, other fisheries bodies, other relevant intergovernmental bodies and relevant non-governmental organizations and relevant stakeholders, in accordance with United Nations practice, to attend the workshop;

171

Recalls its request in paragraph 164 of resolution 69/109 to the Secretary-General to prepare a report similar in scope, length and detail to his report to the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and with the assistance of an expert consultant to be hired by the Division to provide information and analysis on relevant technical and scientific issues to be covered in the report, for consideration by the Assembly at its seventy-first session, on the actions taken by States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements in response to paragraphs 113, 117 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 126, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68, and invites States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to consider making such information publicly available;

172

Encourages accelerated progress to establish criteria on the objectives and management of marine protected areas for fisheries purposes, and in this regard welcomes the development by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations of technical guidelines on marine protected areas and fisheries, and urges coordination and cooperation among all relevant international organizations and bodies;

173

Urges all States to implement the 1995 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, taking into account the increase in oceanic dead zones;

174

Acknowledges the serious environmental impacts on the marine environment caused by abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, and encourages States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, as appropriate, to take action to reduce such gear, noting the recommendations of the 2009 report by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

175

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to paragraphs 77 to 81 of resolution 60/31 of 29 November 2005 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;

176

Encourages further studies, including by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, on the impacts of underwater noise on fish stocks and fishing catch rates, as well as associated socioeconomic effects;

177

Calls upon States, including through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to play an active role in global efforts to conserve and sustainably use living marine resources, so as to contribute to marine biological diversity;

178

Encourages States, either individually or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, as appropriate, to identify any spawning and nursery areas for fish stocks under their jurisdiction or competence and, where required, to adopt science-based measures to conserve such stocks during these critical life stages;

179

Expresses concern about the recent massive influx of sargassum seaweed into the waters of the Caribbean and its impact on aquatic resources, fisheries, shorelines, waterways and tourism, and encourages States and relevant regional organizations to cooperate to better understand the causes and impacts of the influx, with a view to protecting the livelihoods of fishers and fishing communities and finding ways of beneficially utilizing the seaweed and environmentally friendly ways of disposing of sargassum washed up on shore;

180

Recognizes the wide range of impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems, and calls upon States to tackle the causes of ocean acidification and to further study its impacts;

181

Emphasizes the importance of developing adaptive marine resource management strategies and enhancing capacity-building to implement such strategies in order to enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems to minimize the wide range of impacts on marine organisms and threats to food security caused by ocean acidification, in particular the impacts on the ability of calciferous plankton, coral reefs, shellfish and crustaceans to build shells and skeletal structures and the threats this could pose to protein supply;

XI.Capacity-building

182

Reiterates the crucial importance of cooperation by States directly or, as appropriate, through the relevant subregional and regional 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 its associated international plans of action, to increase the capacity of developing States to achieve the goals and implement the actions called for in the present resolution;

183

Welcomes the ongoing work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in developing guidance on, and assisting in the implementation of, the strategies and measures required for the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable small-scale fisheries, and encourages studies for creating possible alternative livelihoods for coastal communities;

184

Recalls that in “The future we want”, States recognized the importance of building the capacity of developing countries to be able to benefit from the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and seas and their resources, and in this regard emphasized the need for cooperation in marine scientific research to implement the provisions of the Convention and the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, as well as for the transfer of technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology;

185

Also recalls that in “The future we want”, States urged the identification and mainstreaming by 2014 of strategies that further assist developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, in developing their national capacity to conserve, sustainably manage and realize the benefits of sustainable fisheries, including through improved market access for fish products from developing countries;

186

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, in recognition of the fact that food security and livelihoods may depend on fisheries;

187

Encourages States to cooperate closely, directly or through the United Nations system, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with a view to enhancing capacity-building of developing States, including coastal States, in particular small island developing States, in the field of fisheries and aquaculture through education and training;

188

Recognizes, in this regard, the work of the United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme in Iceland and its contribution to training for developing States, in particular small island developing States, and emphasizes the need for the continuation and strengthening of this training for developing States;

189

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;

190

Requests distant-water fishing nations, when negotiating access agreements and arrangements with developing coastal States, to do so on an equitable and sustainable basis and to take into account their legitimate expectation to fully benefit from the sustainable use of the natural resources of their exclusive economic zones, to ensure that vessels flying their flag comply with the laws and regulations of the developing coastal States adopted in accordance with international law and to give greater attention to fish processing and 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 to 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;

191

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;

192

Encourages States to provide technical and financial support to developing countries to address their special requirements and challenges in implementing the Guidelines;

193

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 ratifications of or accessions 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;

194

Notes with appreciation the compilation, prepared by the Secretariat and available on the website of the Division, of the needs of developing States for capacity-building and assistance in the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks and the sources of available assistance for developing States to address such needs;

195

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 80 and 83 to 87 of resolution 61/105, paragraphs 113, 117 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 126, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68;

196

Urges States and regional economic integration organizations, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to mainstream efforts to assist developing States, in particular the least developed and small island developing States, with other relevant international development strategies with a view to enhancing international coordination to enable them to develop their national capacity to exploit fishery resources, consistent with the duty to ensure the conservation and management of those resources, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to fully mobilize and coordinate the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, including at the level of the regional economic commissions, within their respective mandates;

197

Requests States and regional fisheries management organizations to develop strategies to further assist developing States, in particular the least developed and small island developing States, in fully realizing the benefits from the catch of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks and in strengthening regional efforts to sustainably conserve and manage such stocks, and, in this regard, to make available such information;

XII.Cooperation within the United Nations system

198

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;

199

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;

XIII.Activities of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea

200

Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the activities of the Division, which reflect the high standard of assistance provided to Member States by the Division;

201

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to carry out the responsibilities and functions entrusted to him by the Convention, the Agreement and the related resolutions of the General Assembly and to ensure the allocation of appropriate resources to the Division for the performance of its activities under the approved budget for the Organization;

XIV.Seventy-first session of the General Assembly

202

Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all States, relevant intergovernmental organizations, the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations, and, in connection with the report requested in paragraph 164 of resolution 69/109, recalls its request to the Secretary-General to invite States and regional economic integration organizations and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to submit detailed information to the Secretary-General in a timely manner on actions taken pursuant to paragraphs 113, 117 and 119 to 124 of resolution 64/72 and paragraphs 121, 126, 129, 130 and 132 to 134 of resolution 66/68, to facilitate a further review of such actions;

203

Notes the desire to further improve the efficiency of and the effective participation of delegations in the informal consultations concerning the annual General Assembly resolution on sustainable fisheries, decides that the informal consultations on this resolution will be held in a single round of consultations in November for a period of seven days, and invites States to submit proposals for inclusion in the text of the resolution to the Coordinator of the informal consultations no later than five weeks before the start of the consultations;

204

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first 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”, and to consider the possibility of including this sub-item in future provisional agendas on a biennial basis.

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