ABSTRACT
Five coastal states of the central Arctic Ocean (CAO) and five non-coastal actors concluded negotiations on the draft Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean in November 2017 after six meetings within two years. The Agreement is unique because it is highly precautionary – crafted even before the opening of any fisheries. This is because it is to be considered an interim instrument that is part of a “stepwise approach”, and because the negotiating states did not and do not have immediate fisheries interests in the high seas of the CAO. The United States was the driving force of the complex negotiations where interests of Arctic and non-Arctic actors were diverse and in conflict. They all place these fisheries negotiations within the context of their Arctic policies. Consequently, implications of topics and discussions relating to Arctic issues were strongly recognised by the actors in the negotiations. Amongst other things, a consensus decision-making system and a stepwise approach, paired with a mechanism of moving to a next step of considering the establishment of one or more regional fisheries management organisations, were created in order to accommodate the conflicting interests of both Arctic and non-Arctic actors alike.
