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External sources (not reviewed)

In particular, UNDP reported that the UNDP-GEF Pacific Islands Oceanic Fisheries Management project in the Western and Central Pacific Warm Pool large marine ecosystem was strengthening national arrangements for the conservation and management of transboundary oceanic fishery resources and the capacity of small island developing States to meet their obligations under the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocksin the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

A range of capacity-building needs was identified in connection with these objectives, including building capacity for national stock assessment and analysis; increasing the knowledge of status and management of stocks at regional, subregional and national levels; implementing the regional monitoring, control and surveillance strategy; enhancing technical capacity within national administrations; enhancing capacity for greater domestic participation in highly migratory fish stocksfisheries and other fishing opportunities; and increasing revenue from fisheries and reducing reliance on traditional access agreements; capacity-building programmes on market and trade issues to improve market access; and promoting optimal governance structures and private sector capacity.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has cooperated with GEF and other partners on an initial three-year project to build capacity in East Asia and the Western Pacific to improve regional information available for tuna fisheries and to conserve and manage highly migratory fish stocks.

(e) The Review Conference reaffirm the fundamental principle of compatibility contained in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and set out in article 7 of the Agreement, with specific reference to the high seas and the necessity of not applying measures in the high seas that might undermine the efficacy of the measures applied to straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks by the coastal State.

However, we wish to state once again that none of the recommendations contained in that resolution can be interpreted as meaning that the provisions of the 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, adopted in New York in 1995, can be considered as binding on those States that have not expressly indicated their consent to abide by the obligations under that Agreement.

(f) Note with interest and appreciate the progress achieved in the application of the precautionary approach in order to ensure long-term conservation of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks and marine ecosystems and stress the need to specify the concept and the implementation of the ecosystem approach.

[...] [...] exploration; highly migratory species (annex [...][...]

Accordingly, developing States may need assistance in many areas of fisheries conservation and management, such as the development and strengthening of domestic regulatory fisheries policies, including policy guidelines for the conservation of straddling fish stocks or highly migratory fish stocks, and fisheries legislation.

This year once again, the European Union has expressed its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as to the 1995 Agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, by actively participating in discussions that led to the drawing up of the draft resolutions that have been introduced in the General Assembly today (A/66/L.21 and A/66/L.22).

[...] [...] straddling fish stocks and highly migratory stocks.

FFA reported on several activities: the adoption by WCPFC in 2008 of the resolution on aspirations of small island developing States and territories; maintaining domestic development interests in measures adopted by WCPFC in 2008; promoting the interests of developing States at the second joint meeting of tuna regional fisheries management organizations in 2009; and ensuring that the SPRFMO Convention facilitated the participation of FFA members in accessing straddling stocks and high seas fish stocks in the high seas.

It is also vital to ensure greater information exchange on such stocks and to implement the principle of precaution in order to ensure the long-term conservation of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, in particular those species at risk, as is the case with sharks.

Brazil is a committed party to the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement and is convinced of the relevance of the Agreement to the sustainability of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks.

The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, in its article 25, provides that assistance to developing countries is aimed at enhancing their ability to conserve and manage straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, enabling their participation in high seas fisheries for such stocks and facilitating their participation in regional fisheries management organizations.

[...] [...] ground formanymigratory fish species.

It also stressed the need to avoid the transfer of fishing capacity to other fisheries or areas in a manner that undermined the sustainability of fish stocks, and emphasized the legitimate rights of developing States to develop their fisheries for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

Some responding States and regional fisheries management organizations described efforts to enhance the participation of developing States in those organizations, including through facilitating access to fisheries for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, in accordance with article 25, paragraph 1 (b), of the Agreement, as well as ensuring that such access benefits the States concerned and their nationals (see also paras. 221-224 and 244-246 above).

With regard to draft resolution A/66/L.22, on sustainable fisheries, which calls for, inter alia, making fuller use of 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 and related instruments, Venezuela underlines that this is a highly sensitive matter involving an extremely important sector for our country.

WCPFC also drew attention to the absence of collaborative multilateral arrangements for the conservation and management of highly migratory fish stocks harvested in the South China Sea.

With regard to the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the Convention relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, I wish to underscore that Cuba abides in good faith by its fundamental provisions for conservation and management, although it is not a State party to that instrument.

Moreover, some target species of marine recreational fisheries (e.g. tuna and marlin) migrate between high seasareas and areas under national jurisdiction.

In the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the fisheries and fish farming legislation incorporated ecosystem considerations, and regulations specifically addressed fisheries for highly migratory and straddling fish stocks.

We therefore reiterate our encouragement to States to implement, as quickly as possible, either directly or through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, the recommendations of the Conference to improve the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

New Zealand observed that the capacity-building needs of Tokelau included stock assessment and scientific research; data collection and reporting; monitoring, control and surveillance; port State measures; development of fisheries for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks; human resource development; and the sharing of information, including information on vessels and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

It was also noted in this context that developing States had proposed the inclusion of several paragraphs in the Kobe process guidelines to address the right of those States to develop their fisheries for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

[...] [...] including an update on the landings and estimates of the state of exploitationofstocks of highly migratory species, straddling stocks, discrete high seas stocks [...]

Drawing attention to the particular situation of developing States, Kenya reported that it had not developed protected areas for straddling and highly migratory fish stocks due to its incapacity to enforce compliance by foreign fishing vessels.

The Review Conference reviewed current efforts related to the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, including the adoption of measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of such stocks and to address overfishing, overcapacity and the effects of fishing on the marine environment; cooperation to manage fisheries not regulated by a regional fisheries management organization; and the collection and sharing of data.

Increased assistance should be provided to developing States, including through the Part VII Assistance Fund, to enhance their capacity to conserve and manage straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks in areas under their national jurisdiction and to enable their participation in high seas fisheries for these stocks.