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Stock crashes, the poor performance of a number of existing regional management 

 organizations and the increasing conflict between nations over fishing of species 

 that occur both within and beyond the EEZs of individual nations led to an agree- 

 ment at UNCED to conduct negotiations aimed at developing a more effective inter- 

 national regime for these fisheries. The UN negotiations began in July of 1993 and 

 one more formal negotiating session is scheduled for August of this year. The most 

 recent session of the Conference took place in March. At the end of the March ses- 

 sion, the Chairman produced a draft negotiating text that will be the basis of fiir- 

 ther talks. 



ni. THE DRAFT NEGOTIATING TEXT 



The Chairman's negotiating text has the potential to dramatically improve the 

 conservation and management of international fisheries. For this goal to be realized 

 however, major obstacles to reaching a strong, legally binding agreement must be 

 overcome and the negotiating text must be strengthened. The role of the U.S. in 

 both efforts will be key. Between now and the August session, we urge the US to 

 undertake the following initiatives. 



A. Advocate the adoption of a legally binding global agreement 



A key unresolved issue that will be discussed at the intersessional and in August 

 is whether the text as a whole will be legally binding. 



We believe that the text must be legally binding, even if this means negotiations 

 are prolonged for a year or possibly two years. This is because in the ahsence of 

 a legally binding regime, compliance with key provisions in the text on conservation, 

 compliance, enforcement and dispute resolution will be voluntary. It is clear from 

 the disputes that have raged over straddling and highly migratory species that vol- 

 untary solutions will not solve the problem. Nations need a way to enforce the 

 agreement if it is to be efTective.3 



We do not wish to minimize the difficulty of achieving a treaty on these and other 

 issues. But without the force of law, we believe the text will have little impact on 

 the status quo and the pressing problems of overfishing, depletion and international 

 confiict that increasingly plague international fishing. 



B. Advocate Strengthening the Conservation Provisions of the Negotiating Test 



The U.S. took a strong leadership role in shaping and promoting the inclusion of 

 precautionary management measures in the negotiating text during the March ses- 

 sion. However, much work is needed to strengthen the language in the Chairman's 

 negotiating text on precautionary measures, reference points and other key issues. 

 Attachment 1 outlines some of the revisions to the text we believe are necessary to 

 achieve a strong, pro-conservation international regime. We urge the U.S. to vigor- 

 ously pursue these changes. 



C. U.S. Leadership is Required 



Unresolved confiicts between nations over compatibility and other key issues con- 

 tinue to stand in the path of reaching an agreement. Overcoming these hurdles will 

 recpjire vision and leadership on the part oi the Clinton Administration and a clear 

 signal that the U.S. is serious about achieving a strong, legally binding global re- 

 gime that will ensure the sustainability of the world's fisheries. A commitment to 

 using the U.S.'s considerable leverage to pressure other governments to come to an 

 agreement will be essential. Neutrality on the issue of a legally binding regime must 

 be replaced by vigorous advocacy in favor of it. 



ATTACHMENT 1 — RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE CHAIRMAN'S DRAFT 



NEGOTIATING TEXT 



A. Precautionary management 



The draft text reauires that the precautionary approach be applied widely to fish- 

 eries management Doth on the high seas and witnin EEZs in order to protect the 

 marine environment. This represents an important recognition of the need to man- 

 age fisheries in a precautionary manner and to do so throughout their, range, re- 



3The UN resolution banning the use of large scale driflnete is sometimes cited as an example 

 of a non-binding UN resolution that has been largely effective. However, it is widely acknowl- 

 edged that one of the main reasons that it has been effective is because it was a single-issue 

 resolution that was backed up by the threat of US trade sanctions to enforce the resolution. (The 

 US has the largest tuna market in the world.) A UN declaration consisting of numerous prin- 

 ciples and guidelines governing straddling stocks and highly migratory species is unlikely to be 

 backed up by similar sanctions, and thus is unlikely to be similarly efTective. 



