UN review on effectiveness of fisheries management shows definite room for improvement
Government reps met in New York to take stock at the 15-year mark of how well they’ve been implementing the UN Fish Stocks Agreement on migratory and straddling (those that span several borders) fish stocks. There was not much call for congratulations as according to the UN Secretary General’s report “it can be concluded that there has been a decline in the overall status of highly migratory fish stocks” since the 2010 assessment.
A review by Pew on how well the tuna RFMOs (the main vehicles to implement the agreement) have been faring on putting in place a number of requirements concluded “inconsistent implementation” with many stocks remaining overfished and not enough being done to protect sharks (sound familiar?). Some good steps have been made on monitoring and control, but generally overcapacity, overfishing, illegal fishing, labour conditions for high seas fisheries, perverse subsidies and poor data collection are still common-place.
There is a clear environmental and also economic case to invest in better fisheries management as this new report by the Overseas Development Institute and investigative journalists porCausa on West African fisheries highlights. Researchers estimate that eliminating illegal fishing and investing in the fisheries sector would create 300,000 jobs and an extra US$3.3 billion for the region.
A number of recommendations came out of the UN Review meeting that largely echo those of previous Review conferences. Let’s hope by the time the next Review conference is held in 2020 there will be a different story to tell, especially as this will be a key factor in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14 on Oceans. For the nitty gritty of the meeting check out ENB’s excellent summary.
