Management Strategies to Limit the Impact of Bottom Trawling on VMEs in the High Seas of the SW Atlantic

Abstract

For the past nine years, the issue of protecting biodiversity in the deep sea in areas beyond national jurisdiction – the high seas (HS) – has been widely debated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and in other international fora. The UNGA adopted a series of resolutions, beginning with Resolution 59/25 in 2004, which called on high seas fishing nations and regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) to take urgent action to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) from destructive fishing practices in areas beyond national jurisdiction (Rogers & Gianni, 2010; UNGA, 2004). In December 2006 the UNGA adopted resolution 61/105 on Sustainable Fisheries, calling on flag states, RFMOs and arrangements to immediately act for the sustainable management of fish stocks and to protect VMEs from destructive fishing practices (Portela et al., 2010; UNGA, 2007). In 2009, the UNGA adopted Resolution 64/72 reaffirming the 2006 resolution and made it clear that the measures called for in Resolution 61/105 should be implemented, consistent with the 2009 FAO International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High Seas (FAO Deepwater Guidelines), by flag states and RFMOs. Resolution 64/72 placed particular emphasis on conducting impact assessments of bottom fisheries on the high seas (UNGA, 2009: Paras 119–120).