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Bottom trawling. (Photo: DSCC)
Coalition insists deep sea protection boosts are inadequate
(WORLDWIDE, 7/29/2016)
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) considers the implementation of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) landmark Resolutions to protect the deep sea in the last decade has been inadequate and urges the States to meet them fully. Although the non-government organisation recognises there has been progress, it points out 100 per cent of the goals have not been met.
The DSCC shared this conclusion with the scientists attending the International Marine Conservation Congress in Canada this week after reviewing ten years of international commitment to conserve biodiversity in the deep sea.
The report issued by the coalition recognises that in these ten years significant improvements in the ability to prevent damage from destructive fishing practices have been achieved but it ensures that there are vast parts of the ocean that are unprotected from destruction by deep-sea bottom trawling.
Matthew Gianni, lead author of the report said: “We’re saying progress has been made in protecting deep-sea ecosystems from the harmful impacts of fishing but much more needs to be done.”
The DSCC analysis has been timed to coincide with the UNGA’s formal Review of progress towards the implementation of UN Resolutions 59/25 (2004), 61/105 (2006), 64/72 (2009) and 66/68 (2011) taking place in New York on August 1-2.
These Resolutions commit high seas fishing nations to preventing damage to deep-sea ecosystems via a series of well-defined actions. They represent a decade’s worth of political commitment to prevent fisheries damage to deep-sea ecosystems.
The report, which offers a region-by-region analysis of the actions required and taken by States, highlights a series of important developments, which have undoubtedly resulted from the UNGA Resolutions.
These include three new agreements establishing regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) entering into force to manage high seas bottom fisheries in the North Pacific, South Pacific and Southern Indian Ocean, as well measures taken by several RFMOs to restrict certain destructive bottom fishing gear and/or protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.
However, the analysis also shows that there are significant areas where the requirements of the Resolutions remain either partially or entirely unfulfilled, leaving vast areas of the ocean unprotected. Many of the impact assessments that have been carried out for bottom fisheries in the high seas are not consistent with UN FAO established criteria, while cumulative impact assessments have not been conducted in any region.
DSCC report also stresses that many areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known or likely to occur remain open to bottom fishing, and trawling continues to be the most pervasive form of bottom fishing on the high seas. In its view, this takes place despite concerns repeatedly highlighted by science regarding the destructive impact of deep-sea bottom trawling on species, ecosystems, biodiversity and - more recently - the capacity of deep-sea species and sediment ecosystems to capture and sequester carbon.
Furthermore, the report makes a number of recommendations to States and RFMOs, including a sharper focus on impact assessments and a keener approach to vulnerable marine ecosystems which are still overlooked by some regions meaning protective measures are not taken.
In this regard, Susanna Fuller, of the Ecology Action Centre and co-author of the report, pointed out: “At the upcoming review of actions taken to protect deep sea ecosystems and fisheries from the impacts of fishing, we will be making a strong case for commitment of States to fully implement these resolutions – and set a clear timeline for this work and its completion.”
For his part, Duncan Currie, Legal Advisor to the DSCC and co-author of the report, added, “We are calling on delegates to show they are still care by upholding the Resolutions and committing to another Review. Regardless of what happens in New York this week, we need an agreement that damage to the vulnerable marine ecosystems in the deep must be stopped.”
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