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Press Release:
Top Fishing Nations Drag Feet on UN Fish Stocks Agreement

Despite its long, confusing name, the 1995 United Nations Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks is the most far-reaching treaty ever negotiated to promote the conservation of marine fishes. This groundbreaking treaty, known as the U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement, sets new international standards for the conservation and responsible management of all marine fisheries. Specifically, it contains the following provisions:

  • Fishery managers must make use of the precautionary approach, that is, when faced with uncertainty, they must err on the side of conservation rather than exploitation.

  • Governments must adopt new measures to promote the use of selective or clean fishing gear to reduce fisheries bycatchthe incidental killing of marine wildlife such as seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and non-target fish species.

  • Nations are required to cooperate with each other and regional organizations in managing fisheries.

  • Fisheries management bodies must open their deliberations to public scrutiny by admitting observers.

  • Governments and regional organizations must adopt new standards for at-sea monitoring of fisheries and enforcement of regulations.

Together, these measures will help reverse the crisis in marine fisheries that has pushed important fish populations to the brink of commercial extinction, devastated marine ecosystems, and wrecked traditional fishing communities worldwide. But time is of the essence. Unless governments act now to ratify or accede to the U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement, the future of many of the worlds most important and valuable fisheries remains at risk.