The Australian and Antarctic Perspective on Global Ocean Governance

• Main Author: Warner, Robin M
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Research Online 2018
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Law; Antarctic; Indian; Pacific; Southern Ocean; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/3825; https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4857&context=lhapapers

Australia with its lengthy coastline, vast maritime jurisdiction, and multiple offshore territories undoubtedly fits the description of a maritime nation with an important stake in global ocean governance. It is surrounded on all sides by oceans and seas including the world's largest ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, the Tasman Sea, the Coral Sea, the Timar Sea, and the Arafura Sea. There are abundant living and non-living resources in Australia's coastal and marine areas many of which are largely untapped. Maritime security is a prominent concern for Australia given its geographic position to the south of major international shipping routes and the rising incidence of transnational criminal activities such as people smuggling and illegal fishing in its northern approaches. It has engaged with the global oceans agenda through ratifying and implementing in its national law and policy, key international law instruments such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), 1 the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, 2 multiple regional fisheries management agreements and regional seas agreements as well as the majority of International Maritime Organization agreements. It is also an active supporter of global and regional initiatives to protect and sustainably use marine biodiversity such as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Process, Sustainable Development Goal 14 on the oceans, the Pacific Oceanscape initiative, and the Coral Triangle Initiative.