The Regime For The Exploitation Of Transboundary Marine Fisheries Resources

This document provides a review, commentary and tabulations of the main trends that have occurred in exploitation of fisheries resources since the 1970s, largely as they are reflected in the FAO database on fishery landings, supplemented with selected information from the fishery literature. Reviews were prepared separately for the 15 main areas into which FAO divides the world's oceans for statistical purposes. They are then compared from a global perspective to reveal relative trends by species and areas, which are highlighted. Several special topics are reviewed, including tuna and tuna-like species, whales and dolphins, and environmental issues in fisheries.

Until recently, the international community failed to adopt either an agreed limit for the breadth of the territorial sea or a satisfactory regime of fisheries in the waters adjacent to the territorial sea. This provoked an eruption of unilateral acts by which coastal states extended their jurisdiction towards the high seas. The Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea accepted the establishment of a 12-mile territorial sea and a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. While taking into account the non-existent rights and interests of the so-called geographically disadvantaged states and of states with broad continental shelves, the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea practically ignored existing rights and interests of habitual fishing states. It maintained the well-established principle of freedom of fishing on the high seas but with specific conditions. Dissatisfied with the Convention's regulation of fishing on the high seas, a few states elected to hold a U.N. Conference on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks which adopted the 1995 Agreement for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention relating to the conservation and management of such stocks. Similarly, some of these states, like Chile, Argentina, and Canada, adopted legislation extending their jurisdiction beyond their respective 200-mile fishing or exclusive economic zones. This book explores these events in the historical development of the international regulations of fisheries and concludes with a look into recent developments in the area.

Leading scholars of international law and international relations explain the wave of regional disputes that arose in the 1990s over fish stocks that straddle both national waters and the high seas.

This book deals with China's response to international fisheries law and policy as envisaged in the LOSC framework and post-LOSC fisheries instruments. As the first monograph of its kind dealing with the complex issue of the global fisheries crisis and China's fisheries management practice over a significant period of time, the book builds a bridge between China and the world for a better understanding of Chinese fisheries management. It will be of great value to academics, professionals, and policy-makers alike.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the legal and policy frameworks for marine fisheries management and examines the efficiency of the institutions responsible for the formulation, implementation and enforcement of marine fisheries laws and policies in Bangladesh. Sustainable management of marine fisheries is a complex, multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder process that entails sustainable use of marine living resources and conservation of marine biodiversity. Offering a critical analysis to these frameworks that play a crucial role in the conservation and management of fish stocks in areas within and beyond national jurisdiction, this book examines inadequacies and implementation gaps in the legislative, policy and institutional frameworks that contribute to the unsustainable exploitation of marine fish stocks in Bangladesh. It recommends law and policy reform for conservation and sustainable management of marine fisheries in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal.

The EC's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was established to ensure that the exploitation of living aquatic resources in EC waters and by EC fisheries is carried out at sustainable levels. However, since its inception in 1970, the CFP has pursued conflicting objectives. On one hand, it has tried to manage fisheries by establishing and implementing a complex system of conservation, control, and enforcement measures. On the other hand, it has heavily subsidized its fisheries sector to secure food supplies, increase employment and the sector's competitiveness, as well as to further economic development in coastal regions. Given that many fish stocks exploited by EC fisheries are overfished and catches continue to decline, it could be argued that EC management and promotion measures have generally failed. Conservation measures - such as total allowable catches, effort restrictions, and technical measures - often encourage fishing at unsustainable levels. Control and enforcement measures have lacked effectiveness. On the other hand, in many cases, subsidies have increased fishing and processing capacities of the EC's fisheries industry. High capacity in the sector, however, demands high catch rates, thus putting pressure on marine capture resources. It has only been recently that the CFP has really begun to adjust its support practices to correspond to the situational and legal management requirements. Nevertheless, such subsidization continues even under the new European Fisheries Fund. This book: (a) explains and make accessible the CFP's complex management and promotional regimes, (b) identifies problems and failures in both systems, (c) assesses whether CFP measures are coherent as well as consistent with higher ranking law, and (d) finds out how consistency between promotion and management can be increased.