Worldwide Review Of Bottom Fisheries In The High Seas

This document provides a summary of the current status of high seas bottom fisheries worldwide based on the best information available. The review contains information on the fleets and their fishing activities across nine major oceanic areas. It also informs the implementation of the FAO International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas by providing background information and highlighting gaps in the available information.

The Worldwide review of bottom fisheries in the high seas in 2016 is an update to the first Worldwide review of bottom fisheries in the high seas, published in 2009 based on information from 2003 to 2006. It provides states and other interested parties with a summary of the current status of high seas bottom fisheries worldwide. The present, updated review begins with a description of the demersal finfish and shellfish resources, before offering a global perspective on fisheries and management; it then provides specific, regional information over eleven chapters covering the high seas of the world’s oceans, by region. Drawing on data up to and including 2016, it provides a survey of the current state of bottom fisheries since the original Worldwide review, considering these fisheries in the context of their historical evolution.

The International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas (DSF Guidelines) were adopted by FAO in 2008. [Author] The first and only review of the implementation of the Guidelines took place in 2010. [Author] There have been many advances in implementation since then and it is timely to conduct another review. [Author] The DSF Guidelines have been used to guide regional fisheries management organizations and states in the development of spatial management processes defining fishing grounds and protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems. [Author] The DSF Guidelines also require that harvested fish stocks and impacts on bycatch species are assessed and managed, but this has been less well implemented. [Author]

In Filling Regulatory Gaps in High Seas Fisheries, author Yoshinobu Takei investigates the regime of high seas fisheries from the perspective of international law and considers whether there are regulatory gaps in high seas fisheries and, if so, how they should be filled. The book focuses on topical issues such as the management of deep-sea fisheries on the high seas and the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems. In view of the current state of marine fisheries resources, together with ecosystem concerns, swift and effective action is required to improve fisheries management, in particular for high seas fisheries. Takei thoroughly analyzes the current state of affairs and convincingly suggests steps to be taken in the future.

The goals of the expert consultation were to advise FAO on the development and implementation of a global record of fishing vessels and to respond to the request from FAO's Committee on Fisheries to further develop the concept as described in the feasibility study. A comprehensive global record, a potential additional tool to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, is envisioned as a global database gathering data from many sources in one location.--Publisher's description

The Expert Consultation was convened to review an initial draft of the International Guidelines as called for by the FAO Committee on Fisheries at its twenty-seventh session in 2007. This expert consultation was preceded by an expert consultation in November 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand, on deep-sea fisheries in the high seas. The consultation adopted a draft of the international guidelines to be forwarded on to a technical consultation for review and adoption.

Describes major shortcomings in the implementation of U.N. General Assembly resolutions designed to protect the deep-ocean from the destructive impact of fishing. This is the first comprehensive scientific review of the mgmt. of deep-sea fishing on the high seas globally, this report examines the data available from Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMOs), the bodies tasked with implementing the U.N. resolutions. It concludes that ¿RFMOs are failing to manage deep-sea bottom fisheries on the high seas sustainably with respect to target and by-catch species. For most fisheries there is little or no info. on the status of stocks and in many cases we do not even know what is being caught where." Illus. A print on demand report.