Category: Fisheries

Categories
Fisheries Oil and gas

EEZs in the Adriatic: challenges and opportunities in a semi-enclosed sea

By: Thomas Bickl

PDF Version: NCLOS Blog Bickl III_EEZs Adriatic

Matter commented on: EEZ declarations of Croatia and Italy

I. Introduction

This blogpost is going to discuss the implications of the EEZs of Croatia and Italy in the Adriatic with regard to the interests of and open issues with third States, hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, maritime transport, fishing, and opportunities for offshore renewable energies.

The Adriatic Sea, a sub-sea of the Mediterranean, as a semi-enclosed sea previously accounted for three riparian States: Albania, Italy, and Yugoslavia. The dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in the early 1990s has led to the establishment of four new littoral States: Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Generally, the Adriatic’s eco-system is particularly vulnerable as its waters are shallow and the exchange or renewal of waters with the Ionian Sea through the relatively narrow Strait of Otranto is limited (Vidas 2013: 353; Blake and Topalović 1996: 4; see also Gačić et al 2001).

Fig. 1     Riparian States and main ports in the Adriatic (source: author; base map: d-maps.com)

Continue reading “EEZs in the Adriatic: challenges and opportunities in a semi-enclosed sea”
Categories
Fisheries

Assessing the role of equity in fisheries allocation decisions

By: Maddalena H.L. Visser

PDF version: JCLOS Blog 31.8.2018 Assessing the role of equity in fisheries allocation decisions

Document commented on: Findings and Recommendations of the Review Panel with regard to the objection by the Republic of Ecuador to a decision of the Commission of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (CMM 01-2018)

In June of this year, a Review Panel, established under article 17 and annex II of the Convention for the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources of the South Pacific Ocean (the Convention), released its Findings and Recommendations with respect to an objection presented by the Republic of Ecuador.

Ecuador objected to Conservation and Management Measure CMM 01-2018, adopted by the Commission of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) on 3 February 2018. CMM 01-2018 allocates the quota of the total allowable catch (TAC) for Jack mackerel for 2018 among the states parties to the Convention participating in the fishery.

Continue reading “Assessing the role of equity in fisheries allocation decisions”
Categories
Arctic Fisheries

The December 2015 Washington Meeting on High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean

By: Erik J. Molenaar

PDF Version: The December 2015 Washington Meeting on High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean

Matter commented on: The first meeting of the so-called ‘Broader Process’ on  international regulation of high seas fishing in the central Arctic Ocean, held in Washington, D.C. between 1-3 December 2015.

Between 1-3 December 2015, delegations from the five Arctic Ocean coastal States – namely Canada, Denmark, Norway, the Russian Federation and the United States (the so-called ‘Arctic Five’) – as well as delegations from five other States and entities – namely China, the European Union (EU), Iceland, Japan and South Korea – met in Washington, D.C. for a meeting on high seas fishing in the central Arctic Ocean. The meeting was initiated, hosted and chaired by the United States. A Chairman’s Statement on the meeting (2015 Washington Chairman’s Statement) was released on 3 December.

Continue reading “The December 2015 Washington Meeting on High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean”
Categories
Arctic Fisheries

The Declaration Concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean

By: Seamus Ryder 

PDF Version: The Declaration Concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean

Matter Commented On: The Declaration concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean

On 16 July, 2015, Ambassadorial-level representatives from all five Arctic Ocean coastal states – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States (the Arctic Five) – met in Oslo to sign the Declaration concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean (the Declaration). The Declaration follows up on the substantive outcome of the February 2014 Nuuk Meeting on Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries and builds upon discussions toward the development and implementation of interim measures to prevent unregulated fishing in the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean and related scientific matters. In this sense, the Declaration can be seen as the latest development in a so-called “Arctic Ocean coastal state process” on the regulation and management of Arctic Ocean fisheries. This blog post looks at the substantive output of this latest development and makes some initial observations regarding the contribution of the Declaration to the legal and policy framework for Arctic fisheries (background information and discussions on both the Nuuk meeting and the Arctic Ocean coastal state process on Arctic Ocean fisheries can be found in an earlier blog post). If nothing else, this post aims to clarify a number of apparent misconceptions and inaccuracies in media reports on the Declaration.

Continue reading “The Declaration Concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean”
Categories
Fisheries Marine Protected Areas

The Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitral Award and its Ruling on Fishing Rights

By: Endalew Lijalem Enyew

PDF Version: The Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitral Award and its Ruling on Fishing Rights

Decision commented on:  The Matter of the Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration, Between the Republic of Mauritius and The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereafter UK), Award of 18 March 2015 (Registry, the Permanent Court of Arbitration).

Pursuant to Articles 286, 287 and Article 1 of Annex VII of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), on 20 December 2010, the Republic of Mauritius instituted arbitral proceedings concerning the decision of the United Kingdom to establish a Marine Protected Area around the Chagos Archipelago. The Arbitral Tribunal (hereafter Tribunal) was fully constituted on 25 March 2011.

Mauritius made four submissions requesting the Tribunal to find that:

  1. The UK is not entitled to declare a marine protected area (MPA) or other maritime zones because it is not the ‘coastal state’ within the meaning of, inter alia, Articles 2, 55, 56, and 76 of the LOSC; and/or
  2. Having regard to the commitments that it has made to Mauritius in relation to the Chagos Archipelago, the UK is not entitled unilaterally to declare an MPA or other maritime zones because Mauritius has rights as a ‘coastal state’ within the meaning of, inter alia, Article 56(1)(b)(iii) and 76(8) of the LOSC;
  3. The UK shall take no step that may prevent the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf from making recommendations to Mauritius in respect of any full submission that Mauritius may make to the Commission regarding the Chagos Archipelago under Article 76 of the LOSC;
  4. The UK`s purported MPA is incompatible with the substantive and procedural obligations of UK under the LOSC, including inter alia Articles 2, 55, 56, 63, 64, 194, and 300, as well as Article 7 of the 1995 UN Fish Stock Agreement.
Continue reading “The Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitral Award and its Ruling on Fishing Rights”
Categories
Fisheries International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

ITLOS issues its Advisory Opinion on IUU Fishing

By: Eva Romée van der Marel

PDF Version: ITLOS issues its Advisory Opinion on IUU Fishing

Decision commented on: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Case No. 21 (Request for an advisory opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC)

Introduction and context

On the 27 March 2013, the Permanent Secretary of the SRFC seized the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (‘the Tribunal’), pursuant to Art. 138 of the Rules of the Tribunal, with a request for an Advisory Opinion (‘AO’) on the following four questions: 

  1. What are the obligations of the flag State in cases where IUU [Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated] fishing activities are conducted within the EEZ of third party States?
  2. To what extent shall the flag State be held liable for IUU fishing activities conducted by vessels sailing under its flag?
  3. Where a fishing license is issued to a vessel within the framework of an international agreement with the flag State or with an international agency, shall the State or international agency be held liable for the violation of the fisheries legislation of the coastal State by the vessel in question?
  4. What are the rights and obligations of the coastal State in ensuring the sustainable management of shared stocks and stocks of common interest, especially the small pelagic specis and tuna?
Continue reading “ITLOS issues its Advisory Opinion on IUU Fishing”
Categories
Arctic Fisheries

The Nuuk Meeting on Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries

By: Seamus Ryder 

PDF Version: The Nuuk Meeting on Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries

Matter commented on: Meeting on Arctic Fisheries, Nuuk, Greenland, 24-26 February 2014

As reported in the New York Times the potential development of unregulated fisheries in the central Arctic Ocean has secured the attention of all five Arctic Ocean coastal states – Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States (the Arctic Five). Government officials from these states met most recently in Nuuk, Greenland from 24-26 February 2014 to discuss the development of interim measures to prevent unregulated fishing in the central Arctic Ocean and related scientific matters. However, despite a mutual understanding among the Arctic Five on the substance of interim measures as well as on the need to adopt an agreement on central Arctic Ocean fisheries, no such interim measures or agreements have been formalized. Relations among the Arctic Five have recently become strained because of recent events in Ukraine.  As a result, at least for the time being, the outcome of the Nuuk meeting might be the closest we will get to a regional agreement on central Arctic Ocean fisheries management. As such, it warrants closer investigation.

Continue reading “The Nuuk Meeting on Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries”
Categories
Fisheries Svalbard Treaty

Norwegian by-catch regulations are not discriminatory

By: Irene Dahl

PDF Version: Norwegian by-catch regulations are not discriminatory

Case commented on: The Kiel case

http://lovdata.no/dokument/HRSTR/avgjorelse/hr-2014-577-a

On March 21, 2014 the Supreme Court of Norway gave judgement in the Kiel case. The background to the case is discussed in Prof Henriksen’s post here. As stressed in that post, the case may have consequences for the management of the natural resources of the Norwegian High North. The case concerns the legality of imposing fines and confiscations on the master and owner (the accused) of a German flagged vessel for violating by-catch regulations for haddock within the 200 nautical miles Fisheries Protection Zone (FPZ) established off Svalbard. The accused sought an acquittal on the basis that the regulation violates the Svalbard treaty.

Continue reading “Norwegian by-catch regulations are not discriminatory”
Categories
Fisheries Svalbard Treaty

Norwegian by-catch regulations alleged to violate the Svalbard Treaty

By: Tore Henriksen

PDF Version: Norwegian by-catch regulations alleged to violate the Svalbard Treaty

Matter commented on: The Kiel case

On March 11 and 12, 2014 the Supreme Court of Norway heard a case that may have consequences for the management of the natural resources of the Norwegian High North. The case concerns the legality of imposing fines and confiscations on the master and owner (defendants) of a German flagged vessel for violating by-catch regulations for haddock within the 200 nautical miles Fisheries Protection Zone established off Svalbard. The defendants seek an acquittal on the basis that the regulation violates the Svalbard treaty. Within a couple of weeks we will know the answer.

Continue reading “Norwegian by-catch regulations alleged to violate the Svalbard Treaty”
Categories
European Union Fisheries

The Faroe Islands’ Response to EU Trade Restrictions on Atlanto-Scandian Herring

By: Nele Matz-Lück

PDF Version: The Faroe Islands’ Response to EU Trade Restrictions on Atlanto-Scandian Herring

Proceedings commented upon: European Union – Measures on
Atlanto-Scandian Herring

The Faroe Islands have initiated international proceedings in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union (EU) in response to trade restrictions on herring and mackerel and derivative products caught under Faroese authority and control. With Denmark acting on behalf of the Faroe Islands this is the first time that an EU member State has brought a case to WTO dispute settlement as a complainant. It is one of the particularities of the dispute that Denmark, as an EU member, has initiated this case against the EU on behalf of a self-governing entity, the Faroes, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but not a member of the EU.

Continue reading “The Faroe Islands’ Response to EU Trade Restrictions on Atlanto-Scandian Herring”