ABSTRACT
In this chapter we discuss the transformation of high seas fisheries from open access (res communis) to managed access “in the common interest of the international community” – concepts discussed in Chapter 1. Today, straddling stocks – fish that move between EEZs and the high seas – and high seas fisheries (especially tuna) come under the management of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) that have powers defined in the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (1995). It is widely believed, however, that RFMOs have failed to conserve fish stocks that amount to about one-third of all marine species. 1 The chapter is mainly descriptive in that we look at the international legal framework governing RFMO and the members’ obligations. The next chapter asks why things are the way they are and is the more analytical of these two chapters on international fisheries management.
