United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks:Selected Documents

This documentary book aims at improving access by scholars and practitioners to documents relating to straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

<p class=copymedium>In the last decade, straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks became a target of preference for some distant water fishing fleets. Since the adoption of the Convention on the Law of the Sea and the establishment by a large number of countries of the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, relocation of some major distant water fisheries fleets to the areas adjacent to exclusive economic zones has taken place, resulting in an increase in catches of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

<p class=copymedium>The over-general provisions of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea calling for cooperation among States, having been negotiated as part of a package deal, were not deemed by many to be sufficient and effective enough to prevent many problems resulting from unregulated fisheries. As a response to this shortcoming, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio in 1992, called for the convening of a specialised conference on straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

<p class=copymedium>The Conference adopted the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Stocks. The present compilation of documents of the Conference is an attempt to provide an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the Conference proceedings. Its value is increased by the fact that no summary verbatim records from the Conference are available owing to the financial constraints imposed upon the United Nations Secretariat.