Evolving principles of international fisheries law and the north pacific anadromous fish commission

Abstract

International fisheries law, now shaped by the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, has been subject to a philosophical evolution in the latter half of the twentieth century, from protecting freedoms of high seas fishing nations to supporting proprietary rights of coastal nations. This shift is illustrated by events in North Pacific international anadromous stocks management, which have recently culminated in the restrictive Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean, the founding instrument of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC). Organizations like NPAFC will shape future international fisheries management for a world with growing human populations and growing potential for international conflicts over natural resources. The place of the NPAFC Convention in the law of the sea regime, the relationship between NPAFC and other international resource management bodies, and the flexibility that the organization maintains through its future management challenges will cycle into future international legal philosophy on cooperative marine resource management.