Assessing the added value of the recent declaration on unregulated fishing for sustainable governance of the central Arctic Ocean

Abstract

The 'Declaration concerning the prevention of unregulated high seas fishing in the central Arctic Ocean' signed by the Arctic 5 nations, limits unregulated high seas fishing in the central part of the Arctic Ocean, and holds potential social, economic and political impacts for numerous stakeholders. In this paper, the four Interim Measures in the Declaration are discussed and what value these measures bring beyond the existing international agreements is explored. It is found that even though the Declaration fills a gap in the management of potential fish stocks in the central Arctic Ocean, adopts an appropriate precautionary approach and encourages joint research activities, there are both opportunities and challenges connected to its implementation. The most valuable and urgent interim measure is that of joint scientific cooperation, which will facilitate more region-specific research and an increased understanding of the fisheries as well as the broader Arctic environment. Furthermore, the research generated by this measure will provide an important decision base for both regulation and management of human activity in the Arctic.

Global connectivity and cross-scale interactions create uncertainty for Blue Growth of Arctic fisheries

“…The Arctic5-Declaration bans unregulated fishing within the 2.8 million km2 area of the CAO and is a precautionary measure as no large scale commercial fishing is expected in this region in the nearest future. In addition, the declaration has implications for joint international scientific research [45,46].…”

“…Currently, no regional fisheries management platform exists for most of the CAO, and unless property rights and responsibilities are resolved, it will be difficult to initiate one. It has been suggested that the CAO could be included in an already existing RFMO, e.g., the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) or that new "RFMO-type" collaboration could be developed [46] in case commercial fishing moves to this region. The RFMOs host intergovernmental dialogue around issues relevant to the UNCLOS Straddling Fish Stocks Agreement and hence they are important structures for sustainable high seas fisheries management.…”

“…This declaration follows the precautionary principle by stating that no commercial fishing should take place in the CAO before sufficient scientific knowledge and regional fisheries management structures (e.g., RFMOs) are in place [46]. The Arctic5-Declaration highlights the importance of knowledge-base for CAO fisheries management and is largely seen as a platform to facilitate international scientific collaboration of the region [46].…”

“…This declaration follows the precautionary principle by stating that no commercial fishing should take place in the CAO before sufficient scientific knowledge and regional fisheries management structures (e.g., RFMOs) are in place [46]. The Arctic5-Declaration highlights the importance of knowledge-base for CAO fisheries management and is largely seen as a platform to facilitate international scientific collaboration of the region [46]. This can eventually improve the future projections of the Arctic by increasing understanding of currently less-known local and regional scale processes, which in turn is a prerequisite for making accurate management responses [113,114].…”

“…In the CAO, on the other hand, the institutional structures are still largely lacking. The Arctic5-Declaration, with emphasis on the international research collaboration and ecosystem monitoring [46], can, however, contribute to learning, and hence strengthen the adaptive capacity [135]. As the examples above highlight, this research effort would optimally include ecological, evolutionary and socioeconomic dimensions and their dynamic interaction.…”