Press Release

New report outlines international action to prevent global fish stock destruction

10 August 2007

New report outlines international action to prevent global fish stock destruction

Amid growing evidence that fish stocks and marine ecosystems worldwide are being damaged by irresponsible fishing, a major report published today by Chatham House delivers key recommendations on how to improve the management of global fisheries.

Most marine fish stocks fall under the jurisdiction of one or more Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) - intergovernmental bodies with authority to establish conservation and management measures on the high seas.

It has often been suggested that RFMOs have failed to prevent the depletion of fish stocks, the destruction of marine ecosystems and curtailment of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization recently warned that more than two-thirds of high-seas fish stocks are either depleted or at risk of collapse.

Fishing nations have agreed that RFMOs must be strengthened and their performance must be regularly reviewed. The new report sets out clear guidelines for RFMOs to improve their performance and ensure the future sustainability of fisheries.

The guidelines include:

  • establishing controls to ensure compliance with conservation and management measures, including penalties for violators
  • creating a transparent process for allocating fish between members, independent from decisions on total allowable catches
  • improving decision-making procedures that are open to public scrutiny, and which ensure conservation and management measures are fully accepted and implemented by all members
  • not accepting new members into RFMOs until they clearly demonstrate their commitment to UN principles on management of fish stocks
  • ensuring RFMO members from developing countries are taken fully into account in RFMO decision-making
  • designing RFMO institutions and budgets to be robust enough to meet their conservation and management challenges

Read the full report, Recommended Best Practices for Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, or the executive summary.

Three new technical reports are also now available:

Note to editors:

The report was prepared by an independent high-level expert panel commissioned by the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in partnership with WWF International.

For further information click here to read about the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations Panel, or contact:

Sean Armstrong
Press Officer
Chatham House Press Office
+44 (0) 20 7957 5739
+44 (0) 7946 642 205
Email Sean Armstrong

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