Fate of world's fisheries debated.

Improving the management and conservation of high seas fisheries was the focus of the UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks at its second session (14-31 March, New York).

While progress was made toward agreement on general principles for managing those fish stocks, no consensus was achieved on the issue of regulating exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and high seas areas.

Managing fish stocks that migrate or straddle boundaries between the EEZs of coastal States--those 200 nautical miles of water extending from a nation's shores--and the high seas was essential for conserving species like tuna, marlin, swordfish, sailfish and frigate mackerel, said Conference Chairman Satya N. Nandan of Fiji.

Mandated by the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro, the Conference also addressed problems identified in "Agenda 21", including unregulated fishing, excessive fleet size and insufficient cooperation between States.

The Conference, which first met from 12 to 30 July 1993, is to meet again in August 1994 to conclude its work on recommendations to improve fisheries cooperation. Delegations have not yet agreed on whether there should be a new multilateral fishing convention or a non-binding set of guidelines.

A new negotiating text showed that substantial common ground had been achieved between States, Chairman Nandan told the press in New York on 31 March. The 28-page document (A/CONF.164/13/Rev.1), laying out general principles for conservation and management of fish stocks through responsible fishing, was revised and consolidated during the session.

Outlining the duties of flag States, port States and States non-parties to regional agreements, the text calls-on Governments with fishing interests to ensure the long-term sustainability of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks.

"States must not succumb to short-term interests and pressures and, in the process, sacrifice the longer-term interests of fishing communities", said Mr. Nandan.

Establishing quotas on catches, limiting the number of vessels or fishing days, and placing restrictions on fish size were recommended as conservation measures. Stocks should be maintained or restored at levels capable of producing "maximum sustainable yields", the text stated.

States should also promote the development and use of "selective, environmentally-safe and cost-effective fishing gear and techniques in order to minimize pollution", the document stated.

While broad agreement was expressed regarding the nature and depth of the crisis in fisheries, no agreement was reached on the issue of how to regulate the EEZs and high seas areas. Many coastal States had demanded a legally binding agreement, with binding dispute resolution, limited to the high seas. (The Law of the Sea Convention grants special rights for coastal States in their EEZs, removing those areas from dispute resolution.

Other States argued that only subregional and regional organizations could devise conservation and management regimes that take into account local circumstances, habitats and stocks.

Guidelines to ensure compatibility between conservation and management mechanisms on the high seas and in adjacent EEZs were essential because, biologically speaking, fish stocks in both zones constituted a single unit, said Chairman Nandan.