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/73/125
209. Calls upon States, either individually, collectively or through regional
fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to further study, develop and
adopt effective management measures, and disseminate information in that regard,
taking into account the best available scientific information, on fishing methods, gear
types and uses to minimize mortality and other harms caused by abandoned, lost or
otherwise discarded fishing gear;
210. Acknowledges the serious environmental, as well as economic and social,
impacts on the marine environment caused by abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded
fishing gear, and encourages States, and regional fisheries management organizations
and arrangements, as appropriate, to take action to reduce such gear, noting the
recommendations of the 2009 report by the United Nations Environment Programme
and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;
211. Reaffirms the importance it attaches to paragraphs 77 to 81 of resolution
60/31 of 29 November 2005 concerning the issue of lost, abandoned or otherwise
discarded fishing gear and related marine debris and the adverse impacts such debris
and derelict fishing gear have on, inter alia, fish stocks, habitats and other marine
species, and urges accelerated progress by States and regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements in implementing those paragraphs of the resolution;
212. Welcomes, in this regard, the endorsement by the Committee on Fisheries,
at its thirty-third session, of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear,
and also notes that the Committee welcomed the recommendations of the Technical
Consultation on the Marking of Fishing Gear and supported the development of a
comprehensive global strategy to tackle issues relating to abandoned, lost or
otherwise discarded fishing gear and to support the implementation of the Guidelines;
213. Recalls annex V to the International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, in
which it is stated, inter alia, that the accidental loss or discharge of fishing gear which
poses a significant threat to the marine environment or navigation, shall be reported
to the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, and, where the loss or discharge
occurs within waters subject to the jurisdiction of a coastal State, also to that coastal
State; 33
214. Encourages further studies, including by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, on the impacts of underwater noise on fish stocks
and fishing catch rates, as well as associated socioeconomic effects;
215. Calls upon States, including through regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements, to play an active role in g lobal efforts to conserve
and sustainably use living marine resources, so as to contribute to marine biological
diversity;
216. Encourages States, either individually or through regional fisheries
management organizations and arrangements, as appropriate, to identify any
spawning and nursery areas for fish stocks under their jurisdiction or competence and,
where required, to adopt science-based measures to conserve such stocks during these
critical life stages;
217. Expresses concern about the continuing influx of sargassum seaweed into
the waters of the Caribbean and its impact on aquatic resources, fisheries, shorelines,
waterways and tourism and the general well-being of coastal communities, and
encourages States and relevant regional organizations to coordinate efforts to better
understand the causes and impacts of the influx, and to eliminate extraordinary
amounts of sargassum washed up along the coastline using environmentally sound
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33
36/40
International Maritime Organization, resolution MEPC.201(62).
18-21628