Report of the NAFO Performance Review Panel - Northwest Atlantic ...

NAFO Performance Review 2011 117. UNCLOS does not expressly mention the ecosystem approach but implicitly addresses the basiccomponents of it. Article 61 provides that in establishing conservation measures in the EEZ, coastalStates shall take into consideration the effects on species associated with or dependent upon harvestedspecies with a view to maintaining or restoring populations of such associated or dependent speciesabove levels at which their reproduction may become seriously threatened. Article 119 (1) (b) imposessimilar obligation upon States with respect to fishing on the high seas. In respect of the marineenvironment, Article 192 of UNCLOS establishes the general duty of all States to adopt measures toprotect and preserve the marine environment. States are also required to take the measures necessaryto protect and preserve rare or fragile ecosystems and the habitat of depleted, threatened orendangered species and other forms of marine life (Article 194(5)).8. UNFSA Article 5 (d) lists as one of the general principles the obligation on States to assess theimpacts of fishing, other human activities and environmental factors ‗on target stocks and speciesbelonging to the same ecosystem or associated with or dependent upon the target stocks‘. The term‗species belonging to the same ecosystem‘ implies a broader range of species than those associatedwith or dependent on the target species (Churchill and Owen, 2010). Article 5(f) establishes anobligation on States to minimize pollution, waste, discards, catch by lost or abandoned gear, catch ofnon-target species, both fish and non-fish species, and impacts on associated or dependent species, inparticular endangered species, through measures including, to the extent practicable, the developmentand use of selective, environmentally safe and cost-effective fishing gear and techniques. The term‗non-target species‘ presumably includes both fish and non-fish species. There is also a commitmentin the general principles to protect biodiversity in the marine environment (Article 5(g)). Article 6 (3)(d) further obliges States, in implementing the precautionary approach, to take into account the impactof fishing activities on non-target and associated or dependent species… and to protect habitats ofspecial concern.9. The Code of Conduct stresses the importance of ecosystems to fisheries and calls for due respect forand protection of ecosystem and biodiversity. Articles 6.1 and 6.2 provide that States and fishersshould conserve aquatic ecosystems, and management measures should not only ensure theconservation of target species but also of species belonging to the same ecosystem or associated withor dependent upon the target species. Other components of the ecosystem approach are addressed bythe Code including the need to develop selective and environmentally safe fishing gear in order tomaintain biodiversity, the need to minimize waste, catch of non-target species, discards, and impactson associated or dependent species, and the need to protect critical fisheries habitats (Articles 6.6, 6.8and 7.2). The provisions of the Code have been supplemented by technical guidelines developed byFAO to facilitate implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (FAO, 2003). The TechnicalGuidelines identify a number of principles to facilitate and guide States and RFMO in implementationof an ecosystem approach to fisheries.10. The principles outlined in the FAO Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries(EAF) provide that: (a) fisheriesshould be managed to limit their impact on the ecosystem to the greatest extent possible, (b)ecological relationships between harvested, dependent and associated species should be maintained,(c) management measures should be compatible across the entire distribution of the resource (acrossjurisdictions and management plans), (d) the precautionary approach should be applied because theknowledge of ecosystems is incomplete, and (e) governance should ensure both human and ecosystemwell-being and equity. From an operational perspective, the FAO Approach emphasizes: (i) theattaining of high long-term yields, (ii) avoiding unacceptable depletion of harvested stocks, (iii)allowing recovery of overfished stocks, (iv) reducing or eliminating by-catch and the risk of depletingby-catch species, (v) maintaining food-web function, including ensuring prey availability fordependent species, particularly in protecting endangered species, and (iv) protecting habitats andbiodiversity.11. Paragraph 30(c) of the JPOI encourage States and regional organizations to apply by 2010, theecosystem approach, noting the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the MarineEcosystem and decision V/6 of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.