The Future of the International Law of Capture Fisheries

Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 23: 19-25
ISSN-0250-6408

West, M.B. 1998. The Future of the International Law of Capture Fisheries. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 23: 19-25. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v23.a2

The future of the international law of capture fisheries must have as its continued foundation the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, a new environmental awareness and a more specific articulation of legal responsibilities in international fisheries conservation and management are reflected by the recent adoption of the UN Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas. These Agreements, plus the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, contain a number of provisions that reflect environmental goals that are both broader and more specific. These goals include the need for consideration of aquatic ecosystems, the need for an ecosystem approach to management, and the need to minimize by-catch, pollution, waste and discards. As such, they illustrate what is essentially a "paradigm shift" in international fisheries, which flows from the increasing nexus between international fisheries law and international environmental law. This paradigm shift involves growing recognition of the requirement for ecosystem concerns and steps to protect fisheries habitat for the sustainable conservation and management of capture fisheries. In response to this paradigm shift, regional fisheries organizations like NAFO must incorporate an ecosystem perspective in their work if they are to remain relevant in the next century.

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Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - October 1998
Publication Type - Journal Article

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