Highlights and images for 25 May 2023

The penultimate day of the meeting was a demanding one for participants at the Resumed Review Conference on the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, known as the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA).

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In two dense Drafting Committee sessions, delegates were able to complete the first reading of the document. Many provisions remain undecided, including a few high-level issues such as references to: the agreement on an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement); the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; and the impacts of climate change on fish stocks and associated species.

Discussions on the draft outcome document were structured across the following themes:

• Conservation and management of stocks;
• Mechanisms for international cooperation and non-members;
• Monitoring, control and surveillance, compliance, and enforcement;
• Developing states and non-parties; and
• Dissemination of the final report and further reviews.

On the conservation and management of stocks, delegates focused on cross-sectoral cooperation and information sharing regarding the utilization of area-based management tools; elimination of subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, overfishing and overcapacity; lost, abandoned, or otherwise discarded fishing gear including marine debris; deep-sea fisheries; bycatch management and discards; the science-policy interface; and the establishment of new regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs).

On mechanisms for international cooperation and non-members, discussions addressed: strengthening and enhancing cooperation among RFMOs, including those covering the same area; improving decision-making rules and procedures in RFMOs; and effective control by flag states.

On monitoring, control and surveillance, compliance, and enforcement, delegates deliberated on: flag state responsibilities; fishing vessels without nationality; participation under the Agreement on Port State Measures; controlling fishing activities that undermine conservation and management of stocks; and market-related measures.

On developing states and non-parties, they discussed data collection and management; strengthening the capacity of developing states; and the promotion of wider participation in the UNFSA.

Ariel Peñaranda, the Philippines, Chair of the Drafting Committee, highlighted the objective to produce a consensus outcome document in a timely manner, stressing the need for further constructive dialogue to find common ground on outstanding disagreements.