UN should stop destructive deep sea fishing

Greenpeace has called on the UN to put an immediate end to destructive high seas bottom fishing at this year’s general assembly meeting, following today’s release of the UN Secretary General’s own review of the implementation of a resolution designed to protect deep sea life. The report concluded that States are still falling short of their commitments.

“It is outrageous that nearly three years after the UN agreed to put measures in place to protect our deep seas from destructive fishing practices, countries have still done very little to stop unregulated bottom fishing on the high seas,” said Farah Obaidullah, Greenpeace International oceans campaigner.

The 2006 UNGA resolution called on member states to implement specific measures to protect deep sea life in international waters by December 31, 2008 or to stop destructive bottom fishing altogether. Requirements included conducting environmental impact assessments, identifying vulnerable deep sea habitats, and ensuring that no bottom fishing takes place where these are known to exist or are likely to occur.

In June 2009, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition published its own review, which concluded that across all oceans, member states and regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) have fallen far short of living up to the commitments agreed to in 2006.

Even in the few places where impact assessments have been conducted, they have only been partially completed and have been inconclusive at best. Many areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known or likely to occur remain open to bottom fishing with few or no constraints. Finally, where measures have been taken, these are often weak and provide little, if any, protection to deep sea life.

For years the scientific community, as well as environmental organisations around the world, has warned governments about the long-term devastating impacts of destructive high seas bottom fishing. Bottom trawling lays waste to vast expanses of deep sea life, including fragile deep sea ecosystems and corals that can live for thousands of years.

“If bottom fishing continues at the current rate of destruction, in just a few decades our planet’s deepest and most mysterious habitats will disappear forever. If fishing states can't or won't comply they simply must stop fishing,” said Obaidullah.

Greenpeace urged the UN General Assembly due to meet in November to call for an immediate end to destructive bottom fishing by fleets whose flag States have failed to fully implement the very clear criteria adopted by the UNGA in 2006.