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External sources (not reviewed)

The Permanent Missions of Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru to the United Nations present their compliments to the Secretariat (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) and have the honour to refer to the upcoming Review Conference on 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 (Fish Stocks Agreement), to be held from 24 to 28 May.

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 Stocks in 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 stocks fisheries 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.

The Library has also received requests, many in electronic form, for information concerning the law of the sea conferences; the Endowment Fund; continental shelf legislation and exclusive economic zone claims; current developments in marine mineral resources research and exploration; highly migratory species (annex I of the Convention); basic conditions of prospecting, exploration and exploitation (annex III of the Convention); national legislation on offshore mining and deep sea exploration licences; the participation of Jamaica and the Caribbean in the negotiations at the Third Conference; current issues and developments on law of the sea in China; the application of the Convention to the Caribbean States, especially regarding boundary issues in the region; the geological structure of the Mexico-Pacific Area; and protection of the seabed environment.

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It also considered the issue from a more general point of view in resolution 1373 (2001) on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts (the Council “[noted] with concern the close connection between international terrorism and transnational organized crime, illicit drugs, money-laundering, illegal arms-trafficking, and illegal movement of nuclear, chemical, biological and other potentially deadly materials”) and in the presidential statement (S/PRST/2009/32) on peace and security in Africa (“the Security Council notes with concern the serious threats posed in some cases by drug trafficking and related transnational organized crime to international security in different regions of the world, including in Africa”).

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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).

Finally, my delegation joins the sponsors and fully supports the draft resolutions before the Assembly relating to oceans and the law of the sea (A/66/L.21) and sustainable fishing (A/66/L.22), especially with regard to the management and protection of 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The presence of a narrow continental shelf in this region along the western Indian Ocean coupled with an upwelling, makes this area one of the most productive in the Indian Ocean and an important breeding ground for many migratory fish species.

In response to the request by the General Assembly, the present section provides an update on the status and trends of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks and discrete high seas stocks, non-target, associated and dependent species since the Review Conference in 2006, including an update on the landings and estimates of the state of exploitation of stocks of highly migratory species, straddling stocks, discrete high seas stocks and relevant information on non-target and associated dependent species.