Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 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, and related instruments
A/RES/67/79
Welcoming the convening of the fourth Global Fisheries Enforcement Training
Workshop, to be held in Costa Rica in 2014,
Concerned that marine pollution from all sources constitutes a serious threat to
human health and safety, endangers fish stocks, marine biodiversity and marine and
coastal habitats and has significant costs to local and national economies,
Recognizing that marine debris is a global transboundary pollution problem
and that, due to the many different types and sources of marine debris, different
approaches to their prevention and removal are necessary, including identification of
such sources,
Noting that the contribution of sustainable aquaculture to global fish supplies
continues to respond to opportunities in developing countries to enhance local food
security and poverty alleviation and, together with the efforts of other aquacultureproducing countries, will make a significant contribution to meeting future demands
in fish consumption, bearing in mind article 9 of the Code,
Reaffirming the importance of sustainable aquaculture to food security, and
concerned about the potential effects of genetically engineered aquatic fish species
on the health and sustainability of wild fish stocks,
Calling attention to the particular vulnerabilities of small island developing
States, other developing coastal States and subsistence fishing communities whose
livelihoods, economic development and food security are heavily dependent on
sustainable fisheries and will suffer disproportionately if sustainable fisheries are
negatively affected,
Calling attention also to the circumstances affecting fisheries in many
developing States, in particular African States and small island developing States,
and recognizing the urgent need for capacity-building, including the transfer of
marine technology and in particular fisheries-related technology, to enhance the
ability of such States to exercise their rights in order to realize the benefits from
fisheries resources and fulfil their obligations under international instruments,
Recognizing the need to adopt, implement and enforce appropriate measures to
minimize by-catch, waste, discards, including high-grading, loss of fishing gear and
other factors that adversely affect the sustainability of fish stocks and ecosystems
and, consequently, can also have harmful effects on the economies and food security
of small island developing States, other developing coastal States and subsistence
fishing communities,
Recognizing also the need to further integrate ecosystem approaches into
fisheries conservation and management and, more generally, the importance of
applying ecosystem approaches to the management of human activities in the ocean,
and noting in this regard the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the
Marine Ecosystem, 9 the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations related to guidelines for the implementation of the ecosystem
approach to fisheries management and the importance of this approach to relevant
provisions of the Agreement and the Code, as well as decision VII/11 10 and other
relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity,
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9
E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/3, annex.
See United Nations Environment Programme, document UNEP/CBD/COP/7/21, annex.
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