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 Marine Ecosystem, 11 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 12 and other relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Recognizing further the economic and cultural importance of sharks in many countries, the biological importance of sharks in the marine ecosystem as key predatory species, the vulnerability of certain shark species to overexploitation, the fact that some are threatened with extinction, the need for measures to promote the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of shark populations and fisheries, and the relevance of the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1999, in providing guidance on the development of such measures, Welcoming in this regard the review by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations of the implementation of the Int ernational Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, and its ongoing work in this regard, Noting with concern that basic data on shark stocks and harvests continue to be lacking and that not all regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements have adopted conservation and management measures for directed shark fisheries and for the regulation of by-catch of sharks from other fisheries, Welcoming science-based measures taken by States to conserve and sustainably manage sharks, and noting in this respect management measures taken by coastal States, including limits on catch or fishing effort, technical measures, including by-catch reduction measures, sanctuaries, closed seasons and areas and monitoring, control and surveillance, Noting the decisions on sharks and rays adopted at the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 24 September to 5 October 2016, inter alia, the inclusion of additional species of sharks and rays in appendix II to that Convention, 13 and recalling the ongoing work of the secretariat of that Convention and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on capacity-building in this regard, Recalling that the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, in 2014, listed 21 species of sharks and rays under the appendices to that Convention, 14 Noting with concern the continuing practice of the removal of fins from sharks, with the remainder of the carcass being discarded at sea, Recognizing the importance of marine species occupying low trophic levels in the ecosystem and for food security, and the need to ensure their long-term sustainability, _______________ 11 E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/3, annex. See United Nations Environment Programme, document UNEP/CBD/COP/7/21, annex. 13 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, No. 14537. 14 Ibid., vol. 1651, No. 28395. 12 7/40