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
Expressing concern over the current and projected adverse effects of climate
change on food security and the sustainability of fisheries, and noting in that regard
the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Environment Programme,
Reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that conservation and management
measures adopted by regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements
are based on the best available scientific information,
Deploring the fact that fish stocks, including straddling fish stocks and highly
migratory fish stocks, in many parts of the world are overfished or subject to
sparsely regulated and heavy fishing efforts, as a result of, inter alia, illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing, inadequate flag State control and enforcement,
including monitoring, control and surveillance measures, inadequate regulatory
measures, harmful fisheries subsidies and overcapacity, as well as inadequate port
State control, as highlighted in the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012,
Expressing its support for accelerating work to complete the ongoing
negotiations in the World Trade Organization to strengthen disciplines on subsidies
in the fisheries sector, including through the prohibition of certain forms of fisheries
subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing,
Concerned that only a limited number of States have taken measures to
implement, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations
and arrangements, the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing
Capacity adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Recalling the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing adopted by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations,
Particularly concerned that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
constitutes a serious threat to fish stocks and marine habitats and ecosystems, to the
detriment of sustainable fisheries as well as the food security and the economies of
many States, particularly developing States,
Concerned that some operators increasingly take advantage of the globalization
of fishery markets to trade fishery products stemming from illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing and make economic profits from those operations, which
constitutes an incentive for them to pursue their activities,
Recognizing that effective deterrence and combating of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing has significant financial and other resource implications,
Recognizing also the duty provided in the Convention, the Agreement to
Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by
Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (the Compliance Agreement), 7 the Agreement and
the Code for flag States to exercise effective control over fishing vessels flying their
flag, and vessels flying their flag which provide support to fishing vessels, to ensure
that the activities of such fishing and support vessels do not undermine the
effectiveness of conservation and management measures taken in accordance with
international law and adopted at the national, subregional, regional or global levels,
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