15 



STATEMENT OF MATT GIANNI, INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN, 



GREENPEACE, USA 



Mr. Gianni. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members. 



I am Matthew Gianni, High Seas Fisheries Campaign Coordina- 

 tor for Greenpeace International. 



Before joining Greenpeace I worked for 10 years as a commercial 

 fisherman on both the east and west coasts of the United States. 



I coordinate Greenpeace's urgent concern on the impact and 

 management of fishing in all areas of the world's oceans incl^'ding, 

 but not limited to, the high seas. 



The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization reports 

 that most commercially important stocks of fish are either fully ex- 

 ploited, overexploited or depleted. 



As with fisheries generally, there has been rapid expansion of ef- 

 forts on straddling highly migratory stocks. FAO estimates that in 

 1989 high seas catches ranked between seven and 12 million metric 

 tons. Most are fully overexploited, and some, such as the Aleutian 

 Basin stock of pollock and the cod stocks off Canada, have col- 

 lapsed. 



It is worth noting that the consequences of overfishing can be 

 severe. The Canadian government estimates that with the closure 

 of the northern cod fishery, which is the primary straddling stock 

 of concern to the NAFO region, the Canadian government esti- 

 mates 20,000 to 40,000 fish workers are out of work, 400 communi- 

 ties in Newfoundland are in peril, and the cost to the Canadian 

 government will be $1 billion in compensation. 



The United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 

 provides a global framework for the international management of 

 fisheries. However, the provisions of the Law of the Sea pertaining 

 to the relative rights and obligations of States with respect to 

 straddling and highly migratory fish stocks and fishing on the high 

 seas are subject to differing interpretations. 



It is obvious that if long-term solutions are to be achieved for the 

 conservation and management of transboundary fish stocks in the 

 Bering Sea and in the Northwest Atlantic among other places, that 

 international rules and obligations must be made clear and ad- 

 hered to. 



In July of this year, the United Nations hosted the first substan- 

 tive session of the Conference on Straddling and Highly Migratory 

 Fish Stocks. Greenpeace played an active role in the conference in 

 working with other non-governmental organizations from around 

 the world in generating public interest and in pressuring govern- 

 ments on the need for fundamental fisheries reform. 



Among the reforms that we view as necessary is to, first and 

 foremost, reassert the obligation to insure fisheries conservation. 

 Fundamental to the review of the fisheries conservation and the 

 exploitation of living marine resources is the adoption of an ap- 

 proach to fisheries management. 



The obligation to conserve must also include the elaboration of 

 standards for minimizing waste, bycatch and discards, the promo- 

 tion of fishing gear selectivity, the protection and restoration of en- 

 dangered species and populations and the preservation of fisheries 

 habitat. 



