International Ocean Law

1. International Ocean Law Jurisdiction Marine Pollution International Fishing

2. Fisheries

3. Jurisdiction

4. Fishing has increased four-fold since 1950s

5. Fisheries • Impacts of increased fishing • 2/3 of world’s fisheries are overfished • Some of the largest fisheries have collapsed • Fishing fleet doubled from 1970 through mid-2000s, but catch has been the same or declined since 1990 • = more effort to catch

6. Fish Stocks

7. Fisheries • What happens to caught fish? • Food for humans • Developing countries: 20% of Africa’s population depend on fish for their protein • Fish is main protein source for a billion people • Bait • Fertilizer (30% of caught fish!) • Bycatch = unintentionally caught fish

8. Fisheries • Why has fishing increased so much? • EEZs = exclusive national jurisdiction over marine resources • Promoted domestic fishing industries • Once they exploited all the fish in their EEZs, they moved to the high seas/international waters • Technology • More effective harvesting and tracking technology • Factory ships: process fish at sea, allow ships to store more and more fish

9. Fisheries • Why has fishing increased so much? • More boats: fleet doubled between 1970-1990 • 585,000 to 1.2 million commercial boats • Does not include millions of smaller boats • Subsidies • Countries give fishing industries loans and payments = $54 billion/year in 1993 • Contrary to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimate that need to remove 23% of world’s fishing fleet to rehabilitate fisheries

10. Fisheries • Why has fishing increased so much? • Regulation outside of EEZs is lightly regulated • Regulation within EEZs often is, too • National governments are reluctant to require fishermen to reduce catch • Would probably require fishermen to leave the industry and might bankrupt some of the fishermen

11. Fisheries • Why has fishing increased so much? • EEZ regulatory model • Scientists set range for allowable catch (e.g., XXX tons of tonno from the fishery) • Regulators pick allowable catch from the range • Often the highest number = not precautionary • Even if regulators pick a conservative number, politicians may intervene • It is easier for regulators to allow too high of catch – and allow the fishermen to drive themselves out of business because the fish are gone – than it is for the regulators to force some fishermen out of business by reducing the catch

12. Fisheries • Spiraling consequences of overfishing • Killing top-level predators • Bycatch

13. Fisheries • Killing top-level predators • Humans like tuna, swordfish, halibut = carnivorous fish that eat other predators • If you catch the top-level predators, then the next level has no population control • They will overconsume the next group in the food chain = disrupted ecosystems

14. Fisheries • Fishing techniques exacerbate the problems • Trawling • nets • Longlines • They also increase the need to fish more • Expensive equipment need more money need more fish need more equipment

15. Driftnet

16. Driftnet

17. Purse Seine Net

18. Longlines

19. Bottom Trawling

20. Fisheries • Bycatch • Discarded species not intended to be caught • E.g., dolphins in the tuna fishery • Small or unfit target species • Can also include urchin, sponges, sea turtles, birds, etc. • Direct impacts on the bycatch themselves • Indirect effect = damaging the food chain – target species have nothing to eat

21. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Overarching concepts • Exploitation must be conducted on “rational basis” = with conscious, reasonable objectives, taking account of scientific advice • Species must be regulated as a biological unit – i.e., within its whole range • All ecological factors that affect conservation of species and habitat must be considered • Translating these into laws is difficult!!

22. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • UNCLOS - overview • Territorial sea = coastal state has exclusive sovereignty to regulate fisheries • EEZ = coastal state retains exclusive rights to explore, exploit, and manage living marine resources • Subject to responsibility to manage and conserve the living marine resources

23. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Four categories of fish • Straddling stocks – EEZ + high seas • Highly migratory species – many EEZs + high seas • Anadromous = born in fresh water, live in ocean, return to fresh water to spawn • Catadromous= live in fresh water, spawn in salt water • We’ll discuss the first 2

24. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • UNCLOS Articles • EEZ rights • Conservation of living resources • Utilization of living resources • Straddling stocks • Highly migratory species • Freedom of high seas • Right to fish on high seas • Duty of states to conserve on high seas • Cooperation + conservation on high seas

25. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • EEZ rights • Coastal states have sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing • Coastal state shall have “due regard” to rights and duties of other states

26. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Conservation of living resources • Coastal state shall determine the allowable catch of the living resources in its EEZ • Shall, taking into account best scientific evidence, ensure proper conservation and management to avoid over-exploitation • Should cooperate with other governments and organizations

27. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Conservation of living resources • Shall maintain or restore populations to maximum sustainable yield • As qualified by relevant environmental/economic factors • Including economic needs of coastal fishing communities • Taking into account interdependence of stocks and generally recommended standards

28. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Utilization of living resources • Coastal states shall promote optimum utilization of living resources • Shall determine capacity to harvest living resources • If coastal state doesn’t have capacity to harvest the entire allowable catch, shall give other states access to the surplus of the allowable catch • Other states and their citizens must comply with coast state laws when harvesting

29. Maximum Sustainable Yield

30. Maximum Sustainable Yield

31. Optimum Yield

32. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Freedom of high seas • High seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked • Freedom of high seas = • Freedom of navigation • Freedom of fishing, subject to • Need to exercise “due regard” for interests of other States and rights under the convention

33. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Right to fish on high seas • Subject to • Treaty obligations • Rights and duties and interests of coastal states

34. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Duty of states to conserve on high seas • All states have a duty to take measures for their nationals as may be necessary for conservation of living resources

35. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Cooperation + conservation on high seas • All shall cooperate in the conservation of living resources

36. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Conservation of living resources • In determining allowable catch • Take measures to produce maximum sustainable yield, as qualified by environmental and economic factors • Consider effects on harvests and associate species to avoid harvesting at levels where reproduction may be seriously threatened.

37. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Straddling stocks • Where the same stock/stocks of associate species occur within EEZ of 2 or more coastal states, States shall work to manage stocks cooperatively • Fishing interests shall, through subregional and regional organizations, agree on measures necessary

38. Fisheries – The Legal Regime • Highly migratory species • Coastal state and other states whose nationals fish for highly migratory species shall cooperate with international organizations to ensure conservation and optimum utilization of the species throughout the region • If no regional organization, shall cooperate