High seas fisheries management refers to the governance and regulation of fishing activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, often referred to as the 'high seas'.1 The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1995 United Nations Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA) provide the international legal framework for the regulation of fishing activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction.[1][2] The United Nations Fish Stock Agreement delegates responsibility for conservation and management of fish stocks to regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) each governing a geographical area of the high seas.[3]
Traditionally, most regional fisheries management organizations have focused their conservation and management efforts on sustainably managing harvested fish species to produce the maximum sustainable yield.[4] As pressure on marine ecosystems is rising, and fishing is widely recognized as the main threat to biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction,[5][6][7] expectations of the need for RFMOs to integrate a precautionary and ecosystem-based management approach have increased.[4] Some scholars recognize that RFMOs have made vast improvements in adopting conservation measures reflecting the concern for the marine environment and biodiversity.[8] Others find that the practices of RFMOs leave significant governance gaps for biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.[9]
The negotiations for a new agreement under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (commonly referred to as the 'BBNJ Treaty' or 'Treaty of the High Seas')[10] have led to a debate among scholars and stakeholders about the performance of RFMOs and future options for the governance of high seas fisheries.[8][9][11][12] Some scholars suggest increasing the capacity of RFMOs in light of recent improvements in biodiversity protection.[8] Others point to the need of vesting a new global body with responsibilities traditionally delegated to RFMOs to enhance conservation of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.[11]
^United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (UNCLOS). Available at: https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf. Part VII, article 116-120.
^The United Nations 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 (UNFSA). New York, 4 August 1995. Available at: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N95/274/67/PDF/N9527467.pdf?OpenElement
^United Nations Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA). Part III, article 8.
^ abJuan-Jordá, Maria José; Murua, Hilario; Arrizabalaga, Haritz; Dulvy, Nicholas K; Restrepo, Victor (2018). "Report card on ecosystem-based fisheries management in tuna regional fisheries management organizations". Fish and Fisheries. 19 (2): 321–322, 333. doi:10.1111/faf.12256. hdl:10261/345629.
^Oude Elferink, Alex G. (2019). "Exploring the future of the institutional landscape of the oceans beyond national jurisdiction". Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law. 28 (3): 238, 242. doi:10.1111/reel.12301. hdl:1874/387984. S2CID 198656255.
^Blanchard, Catherine (2017). "Fragmentation in high seas fisheries: Preliminary reflections on a global oceans governance approach". Marine Policy. 84: 327–328. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2017.06.017.
^Barnes, Richard (2016). "The Proposed losc Implementation Agreement on Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction and Its Impact on International Fisheries Law". The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law. 31 (4): 583, 592–593. doi:10.1163/15718085-12341411. ISSN 0927-3522. S2CID 158024504.
^ abcScanlon, Zoe (2017). "The art of "not undermining": possibilities within existing architecture to improve environmental protections in areas beyond national jurisdiction". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 75 (1): 406–415. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsx209. ISSN 1054-3139.
^ abCrespo, Guillermo Ortuño; Dunn, Daniel C.; Gianni, Matthew; Gjerde, Kristina; Wright, Glen; Halpin, Patrick N. (2019). "High-seas fish biodiversity is slipping through the governance net". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 3 (9): 1273–1274. doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0981-4. ISSN 2397-334X. PMID 31451786. S2CID 201732290.
^"Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction |". United Nations. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^ abGjerde, Kristina M.; Clark, Nichola A.; Harden-Davies, Harriet R. (7 May 2019). "Building a Platform for the Future: the Relationship of the Expected New Agreement for Marine Biodiversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea". Ocean Yearbook Online. 33 (1): 13, 23, 37, 39. doi:10.1163/9789004395633_002. ISSN 2211-6001. S2CID 211421146.
^Haas, Bianca; Haward, Marcus; McGee, Jeffrey; Fleming, Aysha (2021). "Regional fisheries management organizations and the new biodiversity agreement: Challenge or opportunity?". Fish and Fisheries. 22 (1): 226, 229–230. doi:10.1111/faf.12511. ISSN 1467-2960. S2CID 224967783.
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