1998 Year of the Ocean A Survey of International Agreements 



conservation and management of living marine resources. Under the Convention, flag States 

 must also ensure that there is a genuine link between themselves and the vessels that fly their 

 flag. 



The Compliance Agreement builds upon those obligations in order to address a growing 

 threat to the integrity of multilateral fishery organizations and international fisheries conservation 

 and management measures: Fishing vessels flying the flag of some States members of such 

 organizations have in the past increasingly reflagged to nonmember states as a means to avoid 

 fishing restrictions that would otherwise apply. 



Reflagging is only part of a larger problem. A growing number of newly built high seas 

 fishing vessels are registered directly, without reflagging, in states that are not members of the 

 major multilateral fisheries organizations, precisely because these states are not bound by the 

 restrictions adopted by those organizations. The Compliance Agreement is designed to address 

 these situations and, more broadly, to bring all high seas fisheries under greater control. The 

 Agreement has two primary objectives: 



(1) to impose upon all states whose fishing vessels operate on the high seas an array of 

 obligations designed to make the activities of those vessels consistent with 

 conservation and management needs; and 



(2) to increase the transparency of all high seas fishing operations through the collection 

 and dissemination of data. 



These provisions establish a sound basis for conducting high seas fishing while providing 

 for the effective conservation and management of living marine resources. 



The Compliance Agreement forms an integral part of the FAO Code of Conduct for 

 Responsible Fishing which was adopted by the FAO Conference in November 1995, and the 

 Conference passed a resolution which urged members and nonmembers of the FAO to accept the 

 agreement and to bring it into force as soon as possible. The agreement will come into force upon 

 its acceptance by 25 countries. 



On November 3, 1995, President Clinton signed the Fisheries Act of 1995, which 

 contains the implementing legislation necessary to allow the United States to accept the 

 Compliance Agreement. The United States deposited its instrument of acceptance for the 

 Agreement with the FAO on December 19, 1995. Thus far the European Union and nine 

 countries have deposited instruments of acceptance with the FAO. 



Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions 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, 1995 



The Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations 

 Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservafion and 



J-15 



