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 technology and in particular fisheries- and aquaculture-related technology, to enhance the ability of such States to exercise their rights in order to realize the benefits from fisheries resources and fulfil their obligations under international instruments, Noting the need to recognize and address the special role of women and the vulnerability of indigenous and local communities and minorities in small -scale fisheries, Recognizing the need to adopt, implement and enforce appropriate measures to minimize waste, by-catch and discards, including high-grading, loss of fishing gear and other factors that adversely affect the sustainability of fish stocks and ecosystems and, consequently, can also have harmful effects on the economies and food security of small island developing States, other developing coastal States and subsistence fishing communities, Recognizing also the need to adopt and implement appropriate measures, consistent with the best available scientific information, to minimize by-catch of non-targeted species and juveniles through the effective management of fishing methods, including the use and design of fish aggregating devices, in order to mitigate adverse effects on fish stocks and ecosystems, Recognizing further the need to further integrate ecosystem approaches into fisheries conservation and management and, more generally, the importance of applying ecosystem approaches to the management of human activities in the ocean, and noting in this regard the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, 8 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 9 and other relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Noting with appreciation the comprehensive review of the impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture and adaptation options undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Recognizing 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 develop ment of such measures, Welcoming in this regard the review by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations of the implementation of the International 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 __________________ 8 9 18-21628 E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/3, annex. See United Nations Environment Programme, document UNEP/CBD/COP/7/21, annex. 7/40