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The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is "the
area adjacent to a coastal state which encompasses
all waters between: (a) the seaward boundary of
that state, (b) a line on which each point is 200
nautical miles (370.40 km) from the baseline from
which the territorial sea of the coastal state is
measured (except when other international
boundaries need to be accommodated), and (c) the
maritime boundaries agreed between that state and
the neighbouring states". In simpler terms, it
is a zone under national jurisdiction (up to
200-nautical miles wide) outlined in the provisions
of the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law
of the Sea, within which the coastal State has
the right to explore and exploit, and the
responsibility to conserve and manage, living and
non-living resources.
The EEZ resources may be entirely contained
within the EEZ limits and be managed solely by the
coastal state in conformity with the provisions of
the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of
the Sea. Some of these resources may, however,
extend beyond the EEZ boundaries, into the
neighbouring exclusive economic zone (shared
stocks) requiring sharing and management
agreements with neighbouring coastal states. Some
may also extend into, or migrate through, the high
seas (straddling stocks) and as such need to
be managed in cooperation with other countries,
usually under the aegis of a regional fishery
management organisation. The basic rules for such
agreements are provided by the 1995 UN Agreement
for the Implementation of the Provisions of the
United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea of
10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and
Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly
Migratory Fish Stocks (often referred to as the
UN Fish Stocks Agreement) which is not yet
in force. The FAO Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries, adopted in 1995, is the
main guide to the practical implementation of all
the relevant instruments needed for fisheries
governance.
The challenge is to manage fisheries in such a
way as to ensure the optimum and sustainable use of
resources as well as economic efficiency and
widespread social benefits. Governments have the
responsibility for fisheries management. They may
delegate such responsibility to specialised
agencies and should promote effective
participation, including in decision-making, of
those operating in the fisheries sector or also
using the aquatic resources and their environment
for different purposes.
More than ninety percent of the global fish
catch is taken within zones that are under national
jurisdiction. It follows, therefore, that these are
the areas where most fisheries management problems
occur. Such problems are not new: for more than 50
years, at least since the London Conference on
Overfishing (1946), recognition has been given to
the need for governments to be aware of the state
of their fisheries, to adopt policies aimed at
preventing the depletion of resources and a wastage
of fisheries inputs and, increasingly, to assist in
the recovery and rehabilitation of over-fished
stocks. With about 25 percent of the main
commercial stocks for which data is available being
overfished and 50 percent more being fully
exploited, the need for better governance is
clear.
In the 1980s it was widely anticipated that
fisheries governance (and state of resources) would
improve substantially in parallel with the
establishment of extended national jurisdiction.
Subsequent experience has shown that, even under
the most favourable circumstances, achieving good
governance and resource sustainability is a
protracted and difficult process. Those governments
that now have soundly managed fisheries in their
EEZs generally owe this achievement to 20 to 40
years of continuous effort and adjustment. In many
countries, governance has continued to languish for
a variety of reasons, including inadequate
institutions (including unclear users' rights), a
scarcity of the human and financial resources
required to devise and implement management
programmes; a lack of understanding, by both
governments and fisheries participants, of the
potential benefits that good management can
generate; and the reluctance of governments to make
unpopular decisions.
Developing countries have become major
participants in the global fishery sector but most
of them require improvements in their fisheries
governance and financial as well as technical
assistance. They require the scientific, technical
and administrative capabilities necessary to
formulate and implement appropriate fisheries
management plans and to assess their outcomes and
to take any necessary follow-up action.
Unfortunately, the countries with the poorest
fisheries governance are often those whose
populations face more pressing, fundamental
problems such as war, civil disturbances and
natural disasters.
A fundamental policy consideration is the
strengthening of fisheries institutions so that
they have the capacity to provide independent
technical advice and guidance throughout the
sector. The trend in the governance of fisheries is
for management functions to devolve progressively
from government, without detracting from its
stewardship role, to include the direct involvement
of fisheries participants, the conferring of user
rights and the financing of governance from within
the sector. At the same time, it must be accepted
that improved benefits will not be an immediate
outcome from better governance. The structural
adjustments that are required in many fisheries
will take a long time to become effective.
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