Fisheries Conference agrees on conservation measures.

Wide consensus had been reached on many aspects of a draft agreement to conserve and manage ocean resources, Fiji's Satya N. Nandan, Chairman of the UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, declared at the end of its fifth session (New York, 27 March-19 April).

The Conference conducted an article-by-article review of the 48-article draft agreement. based on negotiations that began in July 1993.

The main unresolved issue was that of the enforcement measures to be used on the high seas, Mr. Nandan stated. Historically, intervention on the high seas had been reserved for flag States alone. Often, flag States were unable or unwilling to take enforcement measures against their own vessels, he said.

Therefore, he continued, the international community must devise ways to strengthen enforcement mechanisms for high seas resources. The Conference was attempting to develop international law to create a global right to board and inspect vessels on the high seas in support of conservation and management measures.

While the flag State would retain the primary enforcement responsibility, other States should be in a position to ensure that conservation and management of resources in their regions were not undermined, the Chairman said.

Conference debate on enforcement measures was underscored by an ongoing dispute between Canada and Spain regarding halibut fishing in the Grand Banks region, just outside of Canada's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Conference was mandated in 1992 by the Genera] Assembly to find solutions and improve cooperation among States on problems related to the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks.

In agreeing on certain principles, details for the "precautionary approach" to fisheries management and exploitation had been developed, under which caution would be exercised in determining catch levels when reliable scientific data were not available.

"This Conference must deliver an outcome which provides for better conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks as a whole, based on compatible measures taken in areas within national jurisdiction and those on the high seas, the use of the precautionary approach, including the use of reference points, and requirements relating to data collection", Mr. Nandan said in a concluding statement.

The Chairman added that the revised draft agreement aimed to balance the rights of coastal States with those of distant-water fishing nations. It also took into account the international community's collective interests, in order to secure the sustainable use of high seas fisheries for present and future generations.

The revised draft agreement called for flag, port and coastal States to cooperate and enforce measures to conserve and manage more effectively high seas fisheries. It also called for States to fish responsibly and recognize the need for specific assistance to developing countries. It embodied the precautionary approach by which States were obligated to act cautiously to protect living marine resources and preserve the marine environment, especially when there was doubt about the viability of remaining stocks.

Under the agreement, while coastal States could exercise their sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage fish stocks in their EEZs, they must notify States fishing on the high seas of such measures. Distant-water fishing States would also have to regularly notify other interested States of measures to control vessels flying their flag. Conservation and management measures taken on the high seas and within the EEZs should be compatible.

RELATED ARTICLE: Overfishing crisis addressed

Urgent action to eliminate overfishing and rebuild and enhance depleting fish stocks was urged at a ministerial fisheries meeting organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) on 15 and 16 March.

Nations should minimize wasteful fisheries practices, further develop sustainable aquaculture, rehabilitate fish habitats and develop fisheries for new and alternate species based on scientific principles of sustainability and responsible management, the meeting concluded.

The FAO reported that unless the international community better caped with the twin problems of overfishing and growing need, world per capita fish consumption would fall over the next 15 years.

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf told the meeting that States whose nationals are engaged in large-scale commercial fishing have often not been able to honour their conservation and management responsibilities.