UN Fish Stocks Agreement Review Conference Review

The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (FSA) Review Conference is considered to be the most important legally binding global instrument for the conservation and management of fishery resources since the 1982 adoption of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. It establishes a comprehensive legal regime for the conservation and sustainable use of global fish stocks. During the last week of May Parties met to resume the last review of 2006, and consider progress made in the implementation of the FSA and subsequent recommendations since 2006.

At the conference The Pew Environment Group presented two key studies exposing failures and weaknesses in the international management of fisheries. The Port State Performance report found that port States and regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) were ineffective at preventing illegal fishing vessel activities, concluding that a system with much more transparency, accountability and global coordination was essential in the fight against IUU fishing. For more information on the report go to http://www.portstateperformance.org.

The Failing the High Seas report, the first to quantitatively access the performance of RFMOs, found that two-thirds of the commercial fish stocks under RFMO management are either severely depleted or overfished. Results show that RFMOs are not meeting best practice standards and are failing to halt declines. For more information please visit: http://www.seaaroundus.org/researcher/dpauly/PDF/2010/JournalArticles/FailingTheHighSea.pdf

What remains to be seen is how much actual impact recommendations to and even by the FSA review conference will have on our high seas fisheries.

To read what the journalists have to say, please visit:
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/328/5983/1235
Mark Kniver: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10131041.stm
Bryan Walsh: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1991172,00.html
AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h7WTZu7c35S6dhJtTdU4UmIqqazQD9FTGGCG0