The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted, on 8 December 2015, a Resolution (No.70/75) on sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and related instruments.
The Resolution noted with satisfaction the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Agreement on 4 December 1995 at New York, as well as the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (the Code).
While welcoming the convening by the FAO of Tenure and Fishing Rights 2015: a global forum on rights -based approaches for fisheries, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from 23 to 27 March 2015, the Resolution recalled the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale
Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).
The Resolution urged regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to improve transparency and to ensure that their decision-making processes are fair and transparent, rely on the best scientific information available, incorporate the precautionary approach and ecosystem approaches, and address participatory rights, including through, inter alia, the development of transparent criteria for allocating fishing opportunities.
The full text of the Resolution can be accessed at
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/75