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
VIII
Fisheries by-catch and discards
129. Urges States, subregional and regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements and other relevant international organizations that
have not done so to take action, including with consid eration of the interests of
developing coastal States and, as appropriate, subsistence fishing communities, to
minimize by-catch, as well as to reduce or eliminate catch by lost or abandoned gear,
fish discards and post-harvest losses, including of juvenile fish, consistent with
international law and relevant international instruments, including the Code, and in
particular to consider measures including, as appropriate, technical measures related
to fish size, mesh size or gear, discards, closed seasons and areas and zones reserved
for selected fisheries, particularly artisanal fisheries, the establishment of
mechanisms for communicating information on areas of high concentration of
juvenile fish, taking into account the importance of ensuring the confidenti ality of
such information, and support for studies and research that will minimize by-catch of
juvenile fish, and to ensure that these measures are implemented so as to optimize
their effectiveness;
130. Encourages, in this regard, States, individually or through regional
fisheries management organizations and arrange ments, as appropriate, to ensure
proper implementation and enforcement of the measures they have taken with regard
to by-catch and discards;
131. Welcomes the commitment of States in “The future we want” to enhance
action to manage by-catch, discards and other adverse ecosystem impacts from
fisheries, including by eliminating destructive fishing practices, consistent with
international law, the applicable international instruments and relevant General
Assembly resolutions and guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations;
132. Calls upon States, either individually, collectively or through regional
fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to further stud y, develop and
adopt effective management measures, taking into account the best available
scientific information on fishing methods, including fish aggregating devices, to
minimize by-catch;
133. Also calls upon States, either individually, collectively or through regional
fisheries management organizations and arrangements, to collect the necessary data
in order to evaluate and closely monitor the use of large-scale fish aggregating devices
and other devices, as appropriate, and their effects on tuna res ources and tuna
behaviour and associated and dependent species, to improve management procedures
to monitor the number, type and use of such devices and to mitigate possible negative
effects on the ecosystem, including on juveniles and the incidental by-catch of
non-target species, particularly sharks and turtles, and notes in this regard the
measures adopted by different regional fisheries management organizations and
arrangements;
134. Notes, in this regard, that some regional fisheries management
organizations, including the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the Indian Ocean
Tuna Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, have
established their own working groups to assess the use and impact of large-scale fish
aggregating devices;
135. Encourages States, individually or through regional fisheries management
organizations and arrangements, to promote, as appropriate, the use of environmentally
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