The 2018 agreement to prevent unregulated high seas fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean: A critical analysis

• Main Authors: SCHATZ, Valentin, PROELSS, Alexander, LIU, Nengye
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAOF Agreement; CAOFA); Ilulissat Agreement; high seas fisheries; central Arctic ocean (CAO); precautionary approach; moratorium; regional fisheries managementarrangement; Biodiversity; Environmental Law; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Greenland; Ilulissat
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4123; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6081&context=sol_research

Following almost ten years of negotiations, the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO F Agreement) was concluded on 3 October 2018 in Ilulissat, Greenland. The CAO F Agreement is the first regional fisheries agreement adopted prior to the initiation of fishing in a specific area, and it has already been lauded as a science-based measure and a manifestation of the precautionary approach by representatives of States and Non- Governmental Organizations. This article provides a critical analysis of the content of the CAO F Agreement. It gives an overview of the negotiations which led to the conclusion of the CAO F Agreement and discusses its spatial and substantive scope. Particular attention is paid to the extent that the CAO F Agreement adopts a precautionary approach to conservation and management of high seas fisheries, and to the issue of participation in this regional fisheries treaty.