International Legal Issues of Preventing Unregulated Fishing in the Arctic

• Published in: Moscow Journal of International Law
• Main Authors: V. K. Zilanov, E. V. Kienko, A. A. Lugovskaya
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) 2022
• Subjects: unregulated fishing; the high seas; the enclaves of the high seas; the arctic ocean; the central arctic ocean; the agreement to prevent unregulated high seas fishing in the central arctic ocean; 2018; the arctic region; the arctic states; non-arctic states; preventing iuu fishing; Law of nations; KZ2-6785; Comparative law. International uniform law; K520-5582; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Greenland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.24833/0869-0049-2022-3-49-67; https://doaj.org/article/326c35e0552548d48f26c7896b24cf6d

INTRODUCTION. At various times, the sustainable use of marine living resources in the high seas outside exclusive economic zones, as well as in areas under the jurisdiction of Arctic coastal states, has been severely damaged by illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. As the climate warms, the threat of unregulated fishing has also emerged on the high seas in the Central Arctic Ocean. As a result of multi-round negotiations on October 3, 2018 in Ilullissat (Greenland, Denmark) in the so-called «five plus five» format – representatives of five Arctic and four non-Arctic states, as well as the European Union, the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean was signed. This new international legal document reflects national interests in the optimal use of marine living resources of the Arctic states, the Arctic indigenous peoples and residents, as well as interested states. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The article shows the evolution of international legal instruments to prevent illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the high seas. Particular attention is paid to the study of normative and doctrinal materials revealing the treaty practice of states in the Arctic enclaves. The legal interpretation of the provisions of the 2018 Agreement is also given. In the study the authors used historical, comparative-legal and some other general scientific and special legal methods. RESEARCH RESULTS. From an international perspective, the 2018 Agreement is an innovative legal document that reflects the interests of not only the Arctic states but also non-Arctic states. Despite concerns about the participation of the latter (China, in particular)on the part of Western states, the Agreement was nevertheless signed and ratified before possiblecommercial fishing on the high seas in the Central Arctic Ocean starts. This would prevent illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in advance and thus prevent the depletion of marine living resources in this part of the Arctic Ocean, unlike it ...