Large-Scale Pelagic Drift-Net Fishing, Unauthorized Fishing in Zones of National Jurisdiction and on the High Seas, Fisheries By-Catch and Discards, and Other Developments

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 38b Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, unauthorized fishing in zones of national jurisdiction and on the high seas, fisheries by-catch and discards, and other developments, published in 1999.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 1999–2001

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/55/8

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2001	A/RES/55/8	Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, unauthorized fishing in zones of national jurisdiction and on the high seas, fisheries by-catch and discards, and other developments	2,838	29%Compare
1999	A/RES/53/33	Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, unauthorized fishing in zones of national jurisdiction and on the high seas, fisheries by-catch and discards, and other developments	1,753	–

What’s in this document?

13 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the importance it attaches to sustainable management and conservation of the marine living resources of the world's oceans and seas, and the obligations of States to cooperate to this end, in accordance with international law, as reflected in the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in particular, the provisions on cooperation set out in part V and part VII, section 2, of the Convention regarding straddling stocks, highly migratory species, marine mammals, anadromous stocks and marine living resources of the high seas;

Also reaffirms the importance it attaches to compliance with its resolutions 46/215, 49/116, 49/118 and 52/29, and urges States and other entities to enforce fully such measures;

Requests all participants to work for the adoption of the outcomes of the technical consultation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, held in Rome from 26 to 30 October 1998, and encourages all States to act responsibly, as appropriate, at national, regional and global levels to implement the action plans or the guidelines, in particular those for the management of fishing capacity, once adopted by the Committee on Fisheries;

Calls upon States and other entities referred to in article 1, paragraph 2 (b), of the 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 Stocks3 that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Agreement to consider doing so at the earliest possible time, and to consider applying it provisionally;

Also calls upon States and other entities referred to in article 10, paragraph 1, of the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas that have not submitted instruments of acceptance of the Agreement to consider doing so at the earliest possible time;

Urges all authorities of members of the international community that have not done so to take greater enforcement responsibility to ensure full implementation of the global moratorium on all large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing on the high seas, including enclosed seas and semi-enclosed seas, and to impose appropriate sanctions, consistent with their obligations under international law, against acts contrary to the terms of resolution 46/215;

Calls upon States that have not done so to take measures, including measures to deter reflagging to avoid compliance with applicable obligations, to ensure that fishing vessels entitled to fly their flags do not fish in areas under the national jurisdiction of other States unless duly authorized by the authorities of the State concerned and in accordance with the conditions set out in the authorization, and do not fish on the high seas in contravention of the applicable conservation and management rules;

Urges States, relevant international organizations and regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to take action, including through assistance to developing countries, to reduce by-catches, fish discards and post-harvest losses consistent with international law and relevant international instruments, including the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries;

Reiterates its call on organizations with development assistance programmes to make it a high priority to support, including through financial and/or technical assistance, the efforts of developing coastal States, in particular the least developed countries and the small island developing States, to improve the monitoring and control of fishing activities and the enforcement of fishing regulations, including through financial and technical support for regional and subregional meetings for this purpose;

Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all members of the international community, relevant intergovernmental organizations, the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, regional and subregional fisheries management organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations, and to invite them to provide the Secretary-General with information relevant to the implementation of the present resolution;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that reporting on all major fisheries-related activities and instruments is effectively coordinated, that any duplication of activities and reporting is minimized, and that relevant scientific and technical studies are disseminated to the international community, and invites the relevant specialized agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as well as regional and subregional fisheries organizations and arrangements, to cooperate with the Secretary-General to that end;

Further requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session a report on further developments relating to the implementation of resolution 52/29, the status and implementation of the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas and efforts undertaken in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, referred to in paragraph 8 of resolution 52/29, taking into account the information provided by States, relevant specialized agencies, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other appropriate organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, regional and subregional organizations and arrangements and other relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fifth session, under the item entitled “Oceans and law of the sea”, the sub-item entitled “Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, unauthorized fishing in zones of national jurisdiction and on the high seas, fisheries by-catch and discards, and other developments”.

Large-Scale Pelagic Drift-Net Fishing, Unauthorized Fishing in Zones of National Jurisdiction and on the High Seas, Fisheries By-Catch and Discards, and Other Developments

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents