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 by-catch reduction measures, sanctuaries, closed seasons and areas and monitoring, control and surveillance, Recalling 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, 10 and recalling also the ongoing work of the secretariat of that Convention, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on capacity-building in this regard, Noting that the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, at its twelfth session, held in Manila from 23 to 28 October 2017, added 5 new species of sharks and rays to those listed in the appendices to that Convention, 11 bringing the number to 34 species, 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, Expressing concern over continued incidental mortality, in fishing operations, of seabirds, particularly albatrosses and petrels, as well as other marine species, including sharks, fin-fish species, marine mammals and marine turtles, while recognizing considerable efforts by States and through various regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to reduce incidental mortality as a result of by-catch, Noting with concern the significant threat that invasive alien species, such as those carried and transferred by ballast water and by biofouling on ships, pose to marine ecosystems and resources, I Achieving sustainable fisheries 1. Reaffirms the importance it attaches to the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of the living marine resources of the world ’s oceans and seas and the obligations of States to cooperate to this end, in ac cordance with international law, as reflected in the relevant provisions of the Convention, 1 in particular the provisions on cooperation set out in Part V and Part VII, section 2, of the Convention, and where applicable, the Agreement; 2 2. Calls upon all States that have not done so, in order to achieve the goal of universal participation, to become parties to the Convention, which sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, taking into account the relationship between the Convention and the Agreement; 3. Notes with satisfaction that, in “The future we want”, 12 States addressed the sustainable development of fisheries, recognized the signifi cant contribution of fisheries to the three dimensions of sustainable development and stressed the crucial role of healthy marine ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture for food security and nutrition and in providing for the livelih oods of millions of people, and encourages States to implement the commitments made in “The future we want”; __________________ 10 11 12 8/40 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, No. 14537. Ibid., vol. 1651, No. 28395. Resolution 66/288, annex. 18-21628