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| United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/215 | ||||||
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Link
to text of agreement
Status of agreement
| Basic information |
| Date of adoption | 20 December 1991 |
| Place of adoption | New York |
| Entry into force | n/a |
| Authentic text(s) | Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Russian |
| Summary of instrument |
United Nations Driftnet Resolutions
Following concerns about the impact of large-scale driftnets on the high seas, notably in the Pacific, the issue of driftnet fishing was pursued in the United Nations General Assembly, leading to an annual series of Resolutions and Decisions. Resolutions 44/225 and 46/215 represent the two most important of these Resolutions, in that they contain the substance of the General Assembly's recommendations.
Resolution 44/225
On 22 December 1989, the General Assembly, expressing concern at the use and impact of high seas driftnets, adopted, by consensus, Resolution 44/225, which recommended the following measures:
(a) A moratorium on all large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing on the high seas by 30 June 1992, subject to a proviso that it would not be imposed in a region or, if implemented, could be lifted, should effective conservation and management measures be taken to prevent the "unacceptable impact" of such fishing practices and to ensure the conservation of the living marine resources of that region.
(b) Immediate action to reduce large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing activities in the South Pacific, leading to the cessation of such activities by 1 July 1991. This was designed only to be an interim measure, until appropriate conservation and management arrangements in the region were entered into by the parties concerned.
(c) Immediate cessation of any further expansion of large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing on the high seas in the North Pacific and all the other high seas outside the Pacific Ocean, with the understanding that this measure will be reviewed subject to the same conditions described in (a) above.
Resolution 46/215
This Resolution was the third in the series, adopted on 20 December 1991, and built upon the measures proposed in Resolution 44/225. It proposed, on the basis that States had not been able to demonstrate that driftnets could be used without "unacceptable impacts," that the moratorium should be implemented, and a revised timetable was set. Beginning on 1 January 1992, fishing effort in existing large-scale pelagic high seas drift-net fisheries should be reduced so as to achieve, by 30 June 1992, a 50 per cent reduction in fishing effort and the moratorium fully implemented by 31 December 1992.
| Further information and references |
- Internet sources
UN Reports on driftnet fishing
- Bibliographic references
W. T. Burke, M. H. Freeburg and E. L. Miles, ‘United Nations Resolutions on Driftnet Fishing: An Unsustainable Precedent for High Seas and Coastal Fisheries Management’, (1994) 25 Ocean Development and International Law 127
G. J. Hewison, ‘The Legally Binding Nature of the Moratorium on Large-Scale High Seas Driftnet Fishing’, (1994) 25 Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce 557 E. Hey, W. T. Burke, D. Ponzoni and K. Sumi, The Regulation of Driftnet Fishing on the High Seas: Legal Issues, FAO Legislative Study No. 47, (Rome: FAO, 1991)
- Associated instruments
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UNGA Resolution 55/8 (2000) |
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UNGA Resolution 53/33 (1998) |
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UNGA Resolution 52/29 (1997) |
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UNGA Resolution 51/36 (1996) |
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UNGA Resolution 50/25 (1995) |
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UNGA Resolution 45/197 (1990) |