1998 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



The collapse of fish stocks in the United States 

 and elsewhere has often been precipitated by the 

 inability to implement timely conservation mea- 

 sures without irrefutable scientific proof of over- 

 fishing. That is, managers have frequently delayed, 

 postponed, or tailed to implement corrective man- 

 agement actions when scientific information on 

 the status of stocks and the impacts of exploita- 

 tion was not beyond doubt. A shift in the burden 

 of proof is a natural remedy to reverse the situa- 

 tion. 



As discussed below, it is difficult to define the 

 Precautionary Approach succinctly, because it has 

 so many components. However, the following sen- 

 tence represents one attempt to do so: 



In hisherhs, eiie Precautionary Approach is 

 about applyin(j ludlcious and responsible 

 fesheries management practices, based on 

 sound scientific research and analysis, 

 proactiviu.y (:() avoid or reverse overexploi- 



TATION) RATHER THAN REACTIVELY (ONCE ALL 

 DOUBT HAS BEEN REMOVED AND THE RESOURCE 

 IS SEVERELY OVEREXPLOH ED), TO ENSURE THE 

 SUSTAINABILITY OF FISHERY RESOURCES AND AS- 

 .SOCIATED ECOSYSTEMS FOR THE BENEFIT OF FU- 

 TURE AS WELL AS CURRENT t.ENERAFIONS. 



INTERNATIONAL EVOLUTION 



Ihe United Nations Convention on the Law 

 of the Sea of 1982 provided several mechanisms 

 to promote responsible management of marine 

 fisheries. However, not until the 1990's did work 

 begin on developing a precautionary approach to 

 fisheries management. In 1991 , the FAO's Com- 

 mittee on Fisheries (COFI) requested the FAO to 

 develop an International CA)de of Conduct for 

 Fisheries. Subsequently, FAC) and the Government 

 of Mexico sponsored an International Conference 

 on Responsible Fishing, held in Cancun in May 

 1992. Resolutions formulated in (Imcun were 

 presented at the United Nations Conference on 

 Environment and Development (UNC^FD) in Rio 

 de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.'l'he Rio meeting 

 highlighted the importance of the Precaution.uy 

 Approach in the Rio Declaration and Agenda 2 1 . 

 For example, Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration 

 states that 



"In ORDI R id PROTECT eiie ENVIRONMENT, 1111 



Prlcaui loNARY Approach shai i be wideiy ap- 

 plied BY States accordini, to their capabili- 

 ties. Where there are ihreats of serious or 

 irreversibif damage, lack of full scientific 

 ceriainiy snail not be used as a reason for 

 postponing cost-effective measures h5 pre- 

 vent environmental dfgradaiion." 



Several binding and nonhinding agreements 

 embodying the Precautionary Approach were de- 

 veloped and concluded during 1 99 1 -96. Ihe most 

 comprehensive of these is the FAO International 

 Code of C'onduct, completed in late 1995 {FAO, 

 1995b). The Code of Conduct addresses six key 

 themes: 1) fisheries management, 2) fishing op- 

 erations, 3) aqu.icultuic development, 4) integra- 

 tion of fisheries into coastal area management, 5) 

 post-har\est practices and trade, and 6) fisheries 

 research. In tot.il, there are 19 general principles 

 and 210 standards in the (^ode. While the Pre- 

 cautionary Approach is integral to all themes, it is 

 applied particularly to fisheries management: 



"States should apply the Precautionary Ap- 

 proach WIDELY TO CONSERVAFION, MANAGEMENT, 

 AND EXPLOITATION OF LIVIN(, Al.)UATIC RESOURCES 

 IN ORDER TO PROTECI IIILM AND PRESERVE FllF 

 ACHIAIK I NVIRONMFNI." 



fhe Code of (Conduct also emphasizes th.it 



"The ABSENCE OF ADEyUAl F SCM N EIFIC INFORMA- 

 IION SHOUI 1) NOT BE USED AS A REASON FOR POST- 

 PONING OR lAII ING lO lAKI CONSERVAIION AND 



manac;emfn r measures." 



The Code of ('onduct is a voluntary, nonliiiKl- 

 ing agreement. However, it contains sections that 

 are similar to those in two recently concluded bind- 

 ing agreements: 1) the Agreement to Promote 

 ( "ompliaiice with International Conservatidii .iiid 

 Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the 

 High Seas (the C^ompiiance Agreement), and 2) 

 the Agreement for the Implementation of the Pro- 

 visions of the United Nations Convention on the 

 Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to 

 the Conservation and Management of Straddling 

 Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (of- 



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