The 2018 Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean: A Critical Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin J. Schatz ◽  
Alexander Proelss ◽  
Nengye Liu
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Conservation And Management ◽  
High Seas

Abstract Following almost ten years of negotiations, the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAOF Agreement) was concluded on 3 October 2018 in Ilulissat, Greenland. The CAOF Agreement is the first regional fisheries agreement adopted prior to the initiation of fishing in a specific area, and it has already been lauded as a science-based measure and a manifestation of the precautionary approach by representatives of States and Non-Governmental Organizations. This article provides a critical analysis of the content of the CAOF Agreement. It gives an overview of the negotiations which led to the conclusion of the CAOF Agreement and discusses its spatial and substantive scope. Particular attention is paid to the extent that the CAOF Agreement adopts a precautionary approach to conservation and management of high seas fisheries, and to the issue of participation in this regional fisheries treaty.

United States Reaches Agreement to Limit Arctic Fishing

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-315
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Near Future ◽  
High Seas

On November 30, 2017, the United States concluded negotiations on an agreement to limit fishing in the Arctic, titled the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean. Delegations from the European Union and nine countries—Canada, China, Denmark with regard to Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, and the United States—participated in the negotiations, which began in December of 2015. According to a statement made by the U.S. State Department: The Agreement will prevent unregulated commercial fishing in the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean, an area that is roughly 2.8 million square kilometers in size, roughly the size of the Mediterranean Sea. Commercial fishing has never been known to occur in this area, nor is it likely to occur in the near future. However, given the changing conditions of the Arctic Ocean, the governments in question developed this Agreement in accordance with the precautionary approach to fisheries management.

Some Icelandic Perspectives on the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-284
Author(s):  
Jóhann Sigurjónsson
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Scientific Cooperation ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Interim Management ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat ◽  
High Seas

This paper reflects on several aspects of the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean from the standpoint of Iceland, prior to, during and at the conclusion of the negotiations of the Agreement in late 2017. Particular reference is made to UNCLOS and coastal State interests, status of knowledge on the fish stocks and the importance of scientific cooperation which the Agreement facilitates. During the years 2008–2015, the so-called Arctic Five consulted on cooperation in Arctic matters including future management of fisheries in the central Arctic Ocean. These rather exclusive cooperative efforts were criticised by Iceland and other States that felt these matters were to be dealt with in a broader international context. It seems evident that Iceland’s desire to become a full participant in the process during the subsequent years was both based on legal arguments as well as fair and natural geopolitical reasons. Iceland became a participant in the negotiations in December 2015. The final version of the Agreement is a fully fledged platform for coordinating scientific research and it even allows for interim management measures until future regional management framework is in place. In essence, the Agreement can be taken as a regional fisheries management arrangement (RFMA), since most elements of relevance are incorporated in accordance with the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement. The opening of the central Arctic Ocean for fishing is not likely to take place in the nearest future, although the development of sea ice retreat is currently faster than earlier anticipated. While the Agreement is today regarded as being historic due to its precautionary approach, future may prove that it was a timely arrangement in a fast-moving world with dramatic changes taking place in the Arctic Ocean.

scholarly journals Evaluating Ontario immigration detention centres through the lens of non-governmental organizations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharyne Williams
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Immigration Detention ◽  
Detention Centre ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
It Impacts ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Background Content

This Masters Research Paper provides a critical analysis of the behavioural practices of immigration detention centres and how that affects the abilities of NGOs to support immigration detainees. This paper aims to identify the covert racism that is embedded within immigration detention centres in Canada, exploring how racialized detainees are susceptible to longer detention periods and mal-treatment due to increasing securitization. There will be focus on Ontario immigration detention centres in particular since many of Canada’s asylum claims and detention processes occur in Toronto and the greater Toronto area. This research fills the gap in directly addressing the impacts of racist practices of detention and how it impacts detainees’ ability to seek proper legal aid and interferes with NGOs abilities to aid detainees through their detention process. The methodology used begins with a theoretical framework using Critical Race Theory and background content on immigration detention centres, while drawing out the process of the criminalization of refugees. For this study there were one-on-on interviews conducted with 3 participants who are NGO representatives. Key words: immigration detention centre, detainees, national security, criminalization

scholarly journals Fisheries Enforcement on the High Seas of the Arctic Ocean: Gaps, Solutions and the Potential Contribution of the European Union and Its Member States

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efthymios Papastavridis
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fishing Activity ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
High Seas

Abstract Although there is no fishing activity within the central Arctic Ocean at present, commercial fishing activity does occur in the high seas areas of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and within the exclusive economic zone of the Arctic coastal States. Climate change will most probably lead to an increase in fishing activity, through the reduction in sea ice, opening up new areas of the Arctic to fisheries, including the Central Arctic Ocean. This prospect has fuelled intensive negotiations—still ongoing—for the signing of a legally binding agreement to prevent unregulated fisheries therein. What seems missing, though, from both the ongoing negotiations on this agreement and the scholarly literature is reference to fisheries enforcement in the Arctic. Accordingly, this article identifies the most effective tools that could be employed for fisheries enforcement purposes, including port and flag State measures, and addresses their potential application in the Arctic.

Warm Waters and Cold Shoulders: Jostling for Jurisdiction in Polar Oceans

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 465-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Rayfuse
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
International Community ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Polar Oceans ◽  
Ocean Ecosystem ◽  
High Seas

Abstract In May 2008 the five Arctic coastal states adopted the Ilullisat Declaration in which they asserted their role as stewards, for the international community, of the Arctic Ocean ecosystem. This paper discusses the legal basis for their claim to stewardship with particular reference to the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean, and their assertion that no need exists for a new comprehensive legal regime in respect of those high seas waters. It is argued that while the high seas regime of the Arctic may be extensive, it is not comprehensive. Thus, the legitimacy of the claim to stewardship rests on the willingness and ability of the Arctic coastal states to work to fill the lacunae and address the shortcomings in the legal regime for the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean.

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