1998 Year of the Ocean A Survey of International Agreements 



Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (the Fish Stocks 

 Agreement) was adopted on August 4, 1995. 



The Agreement aims to reverse the global trend of declining fish stocks. It preserves 

 current conservation and management concepts expressed in the United Nations Convention on 

 the Law of the Sea. It also gives form and substance to this Convention's mandate for States to 

 cooperate in conserving and managing straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. The 

 Agreement complements the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance With International 

 Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas, which itself is an 

 integral component of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and which was 

 adopted in November 1995. 



The Agreement lays out general principles to be followed by States to conserve and 

 manage the stocks in question. It prescribes a precautionary approach to fishery management and 

 advocates compatibility in the measures adopted for stocks within areas of coastal State 

 jurisdiction and on the high seas. The Agreement specifies mechanisms for cooperation between 

 coastal States and distant water fishing States, particularly the use of regional or subregional 

 organizations or arrangements. It also requires strict fisheries enforcement and the collection and 

 exchange of data on fishing operations, and requires parties to settle disputes using the 

 procedures established in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 



Nations that have ratified (the Agreement will enter into force when 30 nations ratify) 

 include: Bahamas, Fiji, Iceland, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nauru, Norway, Russia, St. Lucia, 

 Samoa, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga, and the United States. 



International Dolphin Conservation Program (currently being negotiated) 



This agreement, intended to formalize and strengthen the existing International Dolphin 

 Conservation Program's provisions mandating dolphin conservation measures in the yellowfin 

 tuna fishery in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, is currently under development. The most 

 recent negotiating session, held the first week of February, 1998, resulted in the conclusion of an 

 agreed conservation program. Nations involved include Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, 

 Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, the United States, Vanuatu, and Venezuela. 



Multilateral Agreement on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Species 

 in the Western Pacific Ocean (currently being negotiated) 



This agreement, intended to establish a management regime for highly migratory species 

 in the Western Pacific, is currently under negotiation. The next working group sessions are 

 scheduled for March 1998; a plenary session is scheduled in June 1998. 



Nations involved in negotiations include: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of 

 Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New 



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