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Along with standards for conservation and equitable participation 

 in fisheries and fisheries management, it is imperative that 

 cooperation amongst States for the management of straddling, 

 highly migratory and high seas fishing be strengthened. Legally 

 binding dispute settlement as provided for in UNCLpS must be 

 complemented by effective means of enforcement. 



Enhanced cooperation should apply not only to existing fisheries 

 but also should include an obligation for all nations fishing on 

 the high seas to report on research and development into new 

 fishing grounds and species, in the context of the general 

 obligation to share information on high seas fishing (UNCLOS, 

 Article 119 (2) ) . 



Fish, fisheries, and appropriate conservation measures obviously 

 vary from region to region as does the political, social, 

 cultural, and economic context of the management of fisheries. 

 Yet distant water fishing fleets are becoming increasingly global 

 in scope as is the investment, market and trade in fish caught on 

 the high seas. Often, restrictions on the activities of fleets in 

 one fishery or region may be undermined or cause problems 

 elsewhere as fleets reflag, move in search of less restricted 

 fishing or redirect fishing effort to the exploitation of 

 "underutilized" species not covered by regional agreement. 

 The movement of fishing fleets from the "donut hole" of the 

 Bering Sea to the "peanut hole" of the Sea of Okhotsk after the 

 collapse of the Aleutian Basin stock of pollock is an obvious 



