Problems and Progress in Combating IUU Fishing

Are transboundary fisheries management arrangements in the Northwest Atlantic and North Pacific seaworthy in a changing ocean?

“…The NPFC is a new intergovernmental organization established in 2015 by the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific (NPFC Convention). The consultations to establish the organization began in 2006 following the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions urging states to take action to protect VMEs in the deep sea from destructive fishing practices and ensure sustainability of deep sea fisheries (UNGA 2004, 2005, 2006, Moon 2016 NPFC's stated objective is to "ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fisheries resources in the Convention Area while protecting the marine ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean in which these resources occur" (Article 2). "Fisheries resources" is a defined term that captures all marine species except sedentary species that are subject to sovereign rights of coastal states under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); indicator species of VMEs under the NPFC Convention; catadromous species, marine mammals, marine reptiles, and sea birds in addition to other marine species already covered by an international fisheries management agreement (Article 1(h)).…”