|
High seas fisheries refers to those resources
distributed exclusively in the high seas, i.e. in
waters beyond the areas of national jurisdiction
(which can be 200 nautical miles or less) excluding
species fixed on the continental shelf which remain
under the sovereign rights of the coastal
States.
These fisheries exploit high seas
resources, i.e. stocks living permanently in
the high seas, highly migratory resources
(when they are out of any national jurisdiction),
or high seas portions or life stages of
straddling stocks.
The high seas are open to all states, whether
coastal or land-locked. Freedom of the high seas,
and particularly governance of high seas fishing,
is exercised under the conditions laid down by the
basic provisions contained in Part VII: High Seas
of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) and in 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 (also known as the UN Fish
Stocks Agreement). UNCLOS provides, inter
alia, for freedom of fishing in the high seas,
subject to a number of conditions. It specifies the
duties of flag states (Article 94), the duty to
cooperate against piracy (Article 100), the rights
of hot pursuit (Article 111), the right to fish in
the high seas (Article 116), the duty of
collaboration and negotiations for living resources
management including through regional fishery
bodies (Article 118), and the conservation of the
living resources based on the best scientific
evidence available and taking account of
interdependence between stocks (Article 119).
The UN Fish Stocks Agreement aims "to ensure
the long-term conservation and sustainable use of
straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish
stocks through effective implementation of the
relevant provisions of the Convention." It
calls, inter alia, for more effective enforcement
by flag states, port states and coastal states of
the conservation and management measures adopted
for such stocks. It refers to sustainability, best
scientific evidence, dependent and associated
species, pollution, waste, fishing by lost gear
("ghost fishing"), artisanal fisheries people's
interests, fisheries research and monitoring,
control and surveillance (MCS). It strengthens the
UN Convention in many areas, including the
application of the precautionary approach
(Article 6), compatibility between management
measures taken in EEZs and the high seas (Article
7), cooperation for conservation and management
(Article 8), subregional and regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements (Article
9 to 13), research (Article 14), and enclosed and
semi-enclosed seas (Article 15), and areas of high
seas surrounded entirely by an area under the
national jurisdiction of a single state, as with
the Peanut hole (Article 16). It specifies the
duties of the flag state (Article 18 and 19) and
port state (Article 23), and peaceful settlement of
disputes (Article 27-30).
High seas resources are usually managed through
regional fishery organizations in charge of
organising the international cooperation around the
following tasks: collection of fishery statistics;
assessment of the state of resources; analyses of
management options and provision of scientific
advice for management; management decisions; and
monitoring. The implementation and enforcement of
the measures usually remains a flag State
prerogative. The main difficulties encountered by
these bodies include: the cost and quality of the
information needed for management; the difficulty
to agree on biological objectives (and reference
points); the quasi-impossibility to objectively
deal with economic and social issues; the
inadequacy and inefficiency of their enforcement
powers; the difficulty to agree on specific
resource allocation; the lack of relation between
national quotas and fleet size; the lack of focus
or interest on environmental impacts of fishing
(including bycatch and discards); the low level of
collaboration with international conventions in
charge of the environment; the difficulty to
implement the precautionary approach; and the
growing importance of NGOs and public opinion with
the related demand for higher transparency and
participation.
The FAO Code of Conduct on Responsible
Fisheries integrates all of the requirements of
the two instruments above, bridging them also with
more general requirements from the UN Convention on
Environment and Development (UNCED).
|
