International Fisheries Management

The Global Atlas of Marine Fisheries is the first and only book to provide accurate, country-by-country fishery catch data. This groundbreaking information has been gathered from independent sources by the world's foremost fisheries experts. Edited by Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zeller of the Sea Around Us Project, the Atlas includes one-page reports on 273 countries and their territories, plus fourteen topical global chapters. Each national report describes the current state of the country's fishery; the policies, politics, and social factors affecting it; and potential solutions. The global chapters address cross-cutting issues, from the economics of fisheries to the impacts of mariculture. Extensive maps and graphics offer attractive and accessible visual representations.

In 2006 Congress recognized the need for international cooperation to address some of the most significant issues affecting international fisheries today: illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fishing practices that may undermine the sustainability of living marine resources. In 2010, Congress focused on the need for enhanced international action to conserve and protect sharks in passing the Shark Conservation Act. By requirement, the Secretary of Commerce, in biennial reports, is to identify nations whose fishing vessels are engaged in certain IUU fishing, bycatch, and shark fishing practices; describe U.S. consultations with the identified countries to urge appropriate actions; and certify whether such actions subsequent to identification have adequately addressed the offending activities. The Secretary of Commerce has delegated authority to identify and certify countries under the Moratorium Protection Act to the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. The Secretary of Commerce is also directed, in consultation with the Secretary of State and in cooperation with relevant regional fishery management councils and any relevant advisory committees, to take certain actions to improve the effectiveness of international fishery management organizations in conserving and managing stocks under their jurisdiction. This book surveys efforts by the United States to strengthen its leadership toward improving international fisheries management and enforcement, particularly with regard to IUU fishing, bycatch of protected living marine resources (PLMRs), and certain shark fishing practices. Furthermore, this book covers issues that have been identified during congressional hearings and in legislation introduced during the last three Congresses, some of which include the flexibility in rebuilding overfished fisheries; annual catch limits; uncertainty and data needs; catch shares (limited access privilege programs); management process and decision making; bycatch; and environmental quality.

This book analyzes empirical data from three specific Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) designed to establish rules for the conservation and management of fish stocks in the ocean, in order to assess their effectiveness in converting science into policy for the recovery and maintenance of fishery populations. The three RFMOs discussed are the CCAMLR (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) and the CCSBT (Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna). The book seeks to understand when governments choose to listen to science, and establishes a framework to examine the institutional designs currently in place to accommodate RFMO policy suggestions and the conditions under which they are implemented successfully. The study will be of interest to academics and professionals broadly interested in global environmental governance and international relations, and will specifically appeal to policymakers, conservationists, and environmental researchers interested in fishery management and policy at the global and regional scale. Gonçalves provides an accessible and comprehensive analysis of RMFOs. She offers valuable insights into the role of science and politics in shaping sustainable fisheries policies for the open oceans. ---Peter M Haas, Professor Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst As envisaged by the UN Decade of Ocean proclamation, this book is an important and sincere effort, hopefully to be accompanied by many others to come during this promising decade, that will help to build a common framework to ensure that ocean science can support countries and the international community in creating improved conditions for the sustainable development of our cherished Ocean. ---Fabio H. Hazin - Professor at Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Brazil

This collection addresses the central question of how the current international framework for the regulation of fisheries may be strengthened in order to meet the challenges posed by changing fisheries and ocean conditions, in particular climate change. International fisheries law has developed significantly since the 1990s, through the adoption and establishment of international instruments and bodies at the global and regional levels. Global fish stocks nevertheless remain in a troubling state, and fisheries management authorities face a wide array of internal and external challenges, including operational constraints, providing effective management advice in the face of scientific uncertainty and non-compliance by States with their international obligations. This book examines these challenges and identifies options and pathways to strengthen international fisheries law. While it has a primarily legal focus, it also features significant contributions from specialists drawn from other disciplines, notably fisheries science, economics, policy and international relations, in order to provide a fuller context to the legal, policy and management issues raised. Rigorous and comprehensive in scope, this will be essential reading for lawyers and non-lawyers interested in international fisheries regulation in the context of profoundly changing ocean conditions.

Through the ages, international fisheries law has been characterized by a dialectic between flag States and coastal States. The institution of the Exclusive Economic Zone marked a milestone in the seaward extension of coastal States’ powers. However, it has not brought the expected results, and coastal States have to a great extent failed to act as “trustees” of global fisheries. An emerging role in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing has been played by States in their quality as States of active nationality, port States, and market States. Multiple jurisdictional claims raise a number of complexities relating, inter alia, to double criminality, or respect for legality and ne bis in idem principles in the case of prosecution of fisheries crimes. This book investigates the extent and nature of State jurisdiction (prescriptive, adjudicative and enforcement) in fisheries matters, and related problems of coordination. It also discusses the role of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations in regulating fishing activities in different marine areas and in delimiting the States’ respective spheres of power. The entire investigation is functional to critically assessing to what extent the emergence of a new jurisdictional balance pursues the interests of States acting uti singuli, or the general interests of the international community as a whole.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the different aspects of IUU fishing and the various measures embodied in international fisheries and related instruments, and those adopted by regional fisheries management organisations and individual States to combat IUU fishing.

This book deals with China's response to international fisheries law and policy as envisaged in the LOSC framework and post-LOSC fisheries instruments. As the first monograph of its kind dealing with the complex issue of the global fisheries crisis and China's fisheries management practice over a significant period of time, the book builds a bridge between China and the world for a better understanding of Chinese fisheries management. It will be of great value to academics, professionals, and policy-makers alike.