Oceans and Law of the Sea

Participants in the Review Conference for the landmark 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement today examined draft outcomes for the five-day meeting in preparation for its final report tomorrow, with some praising the text as reflective of consensual elements raised throughout the week, and others anticipating a “bumpy ride ahead” for achieving agreement on recommendations to be made along four key themes.

Government officials and environmental experts alike weighed in on the effectiveness of the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement and put forward diverse — sometimes divergent — ideas for improving its implementation, as the Conference to review the landmark global instrument continued into its third day.

Amid reports that three quarters of the world’s fish stocks were in distress and nearing depletion while marine ecosystems continued to deteriorate, the Conference tasked with reviewing implementation of the landmark 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement today focused on boosting compliance with regional fisheries management organizations, assessing flag State performance, controlling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and adopting port State measures.

Despite efforts to improve the governance of high seas fisheries, global fish stocks continued to decline, with the majority of those covered by the landmark 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement either fully exploited or overexploited, delegates attending the 2010 Review Conference of that legally binding instrument stressed today, as they opened debate on key issues related to the sustainable management of fisheries and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems.

Declining numbers of fish stocks and the continuing deterioration of marine ecosystems in the world’s oceans will be the focus of concern at a Conference to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, from 24 to 28 May. The role of the Conference is to review the implementation of the landmark 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement that established a legal regime for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks.

Pursuant to the decision taken at its twenty-third and twenty-fourth sessions and on the basis of General Assembly resolution 64/71 of 4 December 2009, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its twenty-fifth session at United Nations Headquarters from 15 March to 23 April 2010.

The General Assembly, in its resolution 64/71 of 4 December 2009, approved the convening by the Secretary-General of the twenty-fifth session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York from 15 March to 23 April 2010 on the understanding that the following periods will be used for the technical examination of submissions at the Geographic Information System laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division: 15 March to 1 April and 19 to 23 April.

Faced with the urgent need to reverse the decline of certain fish stocks, such as tuna, oceanic sharks and cod, preparations are under way to review the effectiveness of a key international treaty aimed at conserving and managing these fisheries.

The ninth round of Informal Consultations of State Parties to the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement will be held at the United Nations on 16 and 17 March. The meeting will primarily serve as a preparatory meeting for the upcoming resumed Review Conference on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, which will be held at the United Nations from 24 to 28 May.

A Working Group established by the United Nations General Assembly will meet from 1 to 5 February in New York to consider how to continue and strengthen efforts aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.