The United Nations has recently recognised the global community’s environmental interests in ocean governance through the Sustainable Development Goal 14. The marine environmental protection targets stand in need of rejuvenating international environmental law, which fosters interconnection between oceans, climate, and terrestrial ecosystems. The existing literature on this aspect of ocean governance, however, is segregated and lacks an ecosystem-based approach. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the literature on ocean governance with an ecosystem-based approach becomes essential and is conducted through this research. This research has proposed that ocean governance programmes and plans need to be re-arranged under established legal frameworks at national and regional levels. Such a challenge can be addressed by taking the elements of governance provided by the list of targets of sustainable development goals. This research has facilitated the given hypothesis via a meta-ocean-governance framework that incorporates a deliberate regional monitoring system, intergovernmental review, capacity building techniques, national action through strong institutions, scientific decision making, and policy coherence. The idea is to fit the conceptualisation of ocean governance under international environmental law in the existing initiatives within a box of institutions to coordinate and encourage an ecosystem-based approach.

The present article discusses and analyses the role and contribution of International Maritime Dispute Settlement Bodies in sustainable fishery governance. From a maritime dispute settlement perspective, the discussion on preserving marine biodiversity, including fisheries and ecosystems, is unprecedented. However, dispute settlement impacts on marine biodiversity require serious attention from the viewpoint of effective implementation of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, International Environmental Law, and United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea. ‘Applicable law’ as primary contention, which could be utilised to preserve marine biodiversity, is preferably employed for ‘ship release’ and ‘delimitation’ issues under dispute settlement mechanisms. Perhaps, the political and legal obstacles in interpreting the ‘law of the sea’ are one area of critique, and the optional dispute settlement mechanism is another. All these significant issues are discussed to develop a rational approach utilising ‘applicable law’ to preserve marine biodiversity and develop sustainable fishery governance. The result will certainly help build a better understanding of the ‘applicable law’ jurisdiction that may be utilised to ensure the sustainability of marine biodiversity.

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