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/69/109 Recognizing the efforts of States, individually and through regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to implement its resolution 46/215 of 20 December 1991, in which the General Assembly called for a global moratorium on all large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, including collaborative fisheries enforcement activities, Concerned that marine pollution from all sources constitutes a serious threat to human health and safety, endangers fish stocks, marine biodiversity and marine and coastal habitats and has significant costs to local and national economies, Recognizing that marine debris is a global transboundary pollution problem and that, owing to the many different types and sources of marine debris, different approaches to their prevention and removal are necessary, including identification of such sources, Noting that the contribution of sustainable aquaculture to global fish supplies continues to respond to opportunities in developing countries to enhance local food security and poverty alleviation and, together with the efforts of other aquacultureproducing countries, will make a significant contribution to meeting future demands in fish consumption, bearing in mind article 9 of the Code, Reaffirming the importance of sustainable aquaculture to food security, and concerned about the potential effects of genetically engineered aquatic fish species on the health and sustainability of wild fish stocks, Calling attention to the particular vulnerabilities of small island developing States, other developing coastal States and subsistence fishing communities whose livelihoods, economic development and food security are heavily dependent on sustainable fisheries and will suffer disproportionately if sustainable fisheries are negatively affected, Welcoming in this regard the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, held in Apia from 1 to 4 September 2014, which focused on small island developing States as a special case for sustainable development, in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities, and considered, inter alia, issues of sustainable fisheries, and calling for the full implementation in this regard of the outcome document, entitled “SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway”, 9 Calling attention to the circumstances affecting fisheries in many developing States, in particular African States and small island developing States, and recognizing the urgent need for capacity-building, including the transfer of marine technology and in particular fisheries-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, 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, _______________ 9 Resolution 69/15, annex. 5/34