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/71/123
arrangements to take, in particular, the following urgent actions regarding bottom
fishing in areas beyond national jurisdiction:
(a) To use, as applicable, the full set of criteria in the Guidelines to identify
where vulnerable marine ecosystems occur or are likely to occur as well as for
assessing significant adverse impacts;
(b) To ensure that impact assessments, including for cumulative impacts of
activities covered by the assessment, are conducted consistent with the Guidelines,
particularly paragraph 47 thereof, are reviewed periodically and are revised
thereafter whenever a substantial change in the fishery has occurred or there is
relevant new information, and that, where such impact assessments have not been
undertaken, they are carried out as a priority before authorizing bottom fishing
activities;
(c) To ensure that conservation and management measures adopted by States
and regional fisheries organizations and arrangements are based on and updated on
the basis of the best available scientific information, noting in particular the need to
improve effective implementation of thresholds and move -on rules;
181. Recognizes that different types of marine scientific research, such as,
inter alia, seabed mapping, mapping of vulnerable marine ecosystems based on
information from the fishing fleet, on-site camera observations from remote
vehicles, benthic ecosystem modelling, comparative benthic studies and predictive
modelling have resulted in identification of areas where vulnerable marine
ecosystems are known or are likely to occur and in the adoption of conservation and
management measures to prevent significant adverse impacts on such ecosystems,
including the closure of areas to bottom fishing in accordance with paragraph 119 (b)
of resolution 64/72;
182. Encourages, in this regard, States, regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements with the competence to manage bottom fisheries,
and States participating in negotiations to establish such organizations or
arrangements, to consider the results available from different types of marine
scientific research, including, as appropriate, those listed in paragraph 181 above,
concerning the identification of areas containing vulnerable marine ec osystems, and
to adopt conservation and management measures to prevent significant adverse
impacts from bottom fishing on such ecosystems, consistent with the Guidelines, or
to close such areas to bottom fishing until such conservation and management
measures are adopted, as well as to continue to undertake further marine scientific
research, for the above-mentioned purposes, in accordance with international law, as
reflected in Part XIII of the Convention;
183. Encourages, in this regard, States, regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements with the competence to manage deep -sea fisheries,
and States participating in negotiations to establish such organizations or
arrangements to carry out further marine scientific research to address the r emaining
knowledge gaps, in particular with regard to fish stock assessments, and to base and
update conservation and management measures on the best available scientific
information, in accordance with international law, as reflected in Part XIII of the
Convention;
184. Notes with concern that vulnerable marine ecosystems may also be
impacted by human activities other than bottom fishing, and encourages in this
regard States and competent international organizations to consider taking action to
address such impacts;
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