The role of law in the regulation of fishing activities in the Central Arctic Ocean

• Published in: Marine Policy
• Main Author: Rayfuse, Rosemary
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019
• Subjects: Law; Miljörätt; Environmental law; Arctic; Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c13a7b37-ed38-4947-98d1-a2dc8539caa4; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103562

The history of commercial exploitation of fish stocks is replete with instances of over-exploitation and stock collapse. Particularly in situations where little is known about a species or a particular fish stock, unregulated expansion into new fisheries may effectively wipe out a species or stock before its existence is even formally recognised or understood. Globally, there has been a strong interest in ensuring that such a fate does not befall any fish stocks that either exist in or may migrate in future into the high seas portion of the Central Arctic Ocean. The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean establishes a framework for the acquisition of science upon which precautionary, ecosystem-based management measures can be based, if and when they become necessary in the future. This article examines the role of international law in facilitating both the adoption of the Agreement and the adaptive management of fisheries in the high seas portion of the Central Arctic Ocean. It will be shown that the Agreement provides the initial framework for precautionary, ecosystem-based, adaptive and environmentally sound decision making regarding potential future fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.