Marine

In Deep at the UN – the verdict

August 5, 2016 by Marine Scotland Communications No Comments | Category Fisheries, Marine Directorate Science

Dr Francis Neat in New York

At the end of July, we featured a blog about Marine Scotland scientist, Dr Francis Neat, and his upcoming visit to the United Nations to discuss deep-sea fishing regulations and conservation in the high seas. The intrepid traveller has now returned and tells us how it was for him:

“This week the UN General Assembly held a workshop on progress made on the implementation of several of its resolutions aimed at sustainably managing deep-sea fish stocks and conserving vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) in the high seas. I was there to act as a scientific advisor to the EU delegation.

The word ‘awesome’ is used all too often in today’s conversation, but if you have never been to New York, it can really only be described as awesome. It’s just off-the-scale of all other cities! The modestly high (39-storey) UN HQ building is down on 1st Avenue in the heart of midtown Manhattan. I met the three other EU delegates (two from the EC and a second scientific advisor from Spain) and we were issued with our security passes to enter the General Assembly. The format of the workshop was a series of presentations by member states, scientists, regional fisheries management organisations and non-governmental conservation organisations. Each presentation was followed by participation of delegates from all over the world.

Over the two days it became clear that much progress had been made. Ten years ago only around a third of the high seas had any competent regulatory authority, now that figure has increased to around two-thirds and seen the creation of new regional fisheries management organisations. Ten years ago there were very few areas set aside to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems. Now we know much more about these VMEs and there are vast protected areas in all oceans. Ten years ago any vessel with authority to fish could fish were it chose. Now bottom fishing is restricted to within the areas it has traditionally operated and thus the days of exploratory fishing and the risk of unwittingly damaging VMEs are over. Ten years ago there were virtually no analytical stock assessments of deep-sea species. These have now been developed for some areas and are even forming the basis of applying for MSC accreditation in the case of one New Zealand orange roughy fishery.

Inside the United Nations

Although the conclusions were generally positive, there were some outstanding issues identified including compliance and the lack of scientific data for many areas. Deep-sea mining and exploration of oil and gas were highlighted as emerging activities with the potential for significant adverse impacts. Thus while much of the work has been done to ensure the high seas deep-sea is more sustainably managed and its remarkable biodiversity is protected, these issues can’t quite be put to bed just yet. It was a great experience to participate in the workshop and hear specific mention of how data Marine Scotland collect were used by the EU in formulating its policy. The advisory work we do with ICES was also referred to on several occasions. It was impressive to see how real progress toward sustainability can be made through the dialogue and action of scientists, policy makers and stakeholders from both industry and conservation. Most of all, however, it is the power of the UN to make this happen that is very inspiring.”

More Information

Dr Francis Neat’s biographical information

Previous blog post on the UN visit

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