Plenary
4 October 2006
Informal consultations of the plenary to review action taken in response to paragraphs 66 to 69 of UN General Assembly Resolution 59/25 regarding the impact of fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems
Statement of Australia
Delivered by His Excellency the Hon Robert Hill
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia
to the United Nations
(Check against delivery)
Madam Chair,
In 2004, the global community, in UN General Assembly Resolution 59/25, expressed a shared and strong desire to take urgent action to address the impacts of destructive fishing practices, including bottom trawling, in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Not enough has been done.
We know that bottom trawling can have significant impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems such as seamounts, cold-water corals, sponge fields and hydrothermal vents. Other fishing practices too, such as gill-netting, can have destructive impacts on these fragile deep sea habitats. Australia urges all States to be mindful of our commitments and take new, positive actions that will make a lasting difference.
Madam Chair,
Australia is a long-time advocate for improved high seas governance as the key to better conservation and management of marine biodiversity, including fisheries. We recognise the importance and primacy of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, or RFMOs, in the management of responsible and sustainable fishing. Australia has been a lead nation in progressing the establishment of two new RFMOs, in the Southern Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.
Madam Chair,
As noted by the Secretary-General in his report, while some States have taken strong action to protect fishery habitats in their national jurisdictions, this has not flowed through to the high seas. Meanwhile, the destruction of largely unexplored deep-sea marine ecosystems continues.
We are calling for a firm political commitment by States to end unmanaged bottom trawling and implement tougher RFMO regulation and public scrutiny of fishing practices which could have destructive impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems. To achieve this, we are advocating the following:
• First, RFMOs with competence to regulate destructive fishing practices must develop and implement conservation and management to manage such practices on vulnerable marine ecosystems by the end of 2007 – otherwise, a ban would apply;
• Second, to afford protection to the large expanses of ocean where RFMOs are currently under development, States negotiating these agreements need to develop interim conservation and management measures as a matter of priority, and before the end of July 2007 – otherwise, a ban would apply; and
• Third, we are seeking an immediate prohibition on unmanaged bottom trawling in areas beyond national jurisdiction. We need to be sure that, consistent with the precautionary approach, bottom trawling is not causing long-term or irreversible impacts on vulnerable deep sea habitats.
Madam Chair
It is no longer enough for us to call on RFMOs to implement measures to “effectively regulate” destructive fishing practices on vulnerable marine ecosystems. We demand that RFMOs use the best scientific evidence available to establish a litmus test for such activities, namely a transparent determination that fishing will not cause significant damage to vulnerable marine ecosystems. Otherwise, fishing should not take place.
To ensure implementation of these measures, RFMOs need to modernize their mandates and structures expeditiously to adopt contemporary approaches to fisheries management – in particular, the precautionary and ecosystem approaches. We look forward to considering measures for reviewing and improving RFMO performance during consideration of this year’s resolution on sustainable fisheries.
And finally, RFMO conservation and management measures must be underpinned by effective enforcement and compliance measures, consistent with the legal frameworks and tools we already have at our disposal.
Madam Chair
This year, Australia is looking beyond mere talk and high aspirations. We need to respond to the call and commitments of 2004 by taking urgent action to address the impact of destructive fishing practices. We must move forward, and progress can only be made through international cooperation on a global, regional and subregional basis.
We urge all States to agree on strong and positive actions to address responsibly the pressing environmental issue of marine biodiversity on the high seas. It is an important first step for us to take. We are, after all, considering the global commons. We stand ready to work with others to develop ways and means for improving governance, and strong enforcement and compliance mechanisms for areas beyond national jurisdiction.