The Worldwide review of bottom fisheries in the high seas in 2016 is an update to the first Worldwide review of bottom fisheries in the high seas, published in 2009 based on information from 2003 to 2006. It provides states and other interested parties with a summary of the current status of high seas bottom fisheries worldwide. The present, updated review begins with a description of the demersal finfish and shellfish resources, before offering a global perspective on fisheries and management; it then provides specific, regional information over eleven chapters covering the high seas of the world’s oceans, by region. Drawing on data up to and including 2016, it provides a survey of the current state of bottom fisheries since the original Worldwide review, considering these fisheries in the context of their historical evolution.

The International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas (DSF Guidelines) were adopted by FAO in 2008. [Author] The first and only review of the implementation of the Guidelines took place in 2010. [Author] There have been many advances in implementation since then and it is timely to conduct another review. [Author] The DSF Guidelines have been used to guide regional fisheries management organizations and states in the development of spatial management processes defining fishing grounds and protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems. [Author] The DSF Guidelines also require that harvested fish stocks and impacts on bycatch species are assessed and managed, but this has been less well implemented. [Author]

The new edition of this essential text offers a comprehensive, critical and future-thinking commentary on international environmental law.

The marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) comprises 40 percent of the earth’s surface, it covers 64 percent of the surface of the ocean and 95 percent of its volume. The Common Oceans ABNJ Program (2014-2019) was implemented by FAO as a concerted effort to bring various stakeholders to work together to manage and conserve the world’s common oceans. The ABNJ Deep-Sea project, one component of the Common Oceans ABNJ Program, was of great assistance to newly-formed regional fisheries management organization and arrangements (RFMO/As), as well as some long-standing regional fisheries. The project showed positive results in safeguarding vulnerable marine ecosystems, strengthening monitoring, control and surveillance to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, mitigating bycatch mortality trends, and building awareness of cross-sectoral aspects in effective governance of ABNJ. Through its cooperation with RFMOs, the project has, to some extent, contributed to minimize the negative impacts of bycatch. Results achieved should be capitalized on and upscaled in a second phase.

This collection addresses the central question of how the current international framework for the regulation of fisheries may be strengthened in order to meet the challenges posed by changing fisheries and ocean conditions, in particular climate change. International fisheries law has developed significantly since the 1990s, through the adoption and establishment of international instruments and bodies at the global and regional levels. Global fish stocks nevertheless remain in a troubling state, and fisheries management authorities face a wide array of internal and external challenges, including operational constraints, providing effective management advice in the face of scientific uncertainty and non-compliance by States with their international obligations. This book examines these challenges and identifies options and pathways to strengthen international fisheries law. While it has a primarily legal focus, it also features significant contributions from specialists drawn from other disciplines, notably fisheries science, economics, policy and international relations, in order to provide a fuller context to the legal, policy and management issues raised. Rigorous and comprehensive in scope, this will be essential reading for lawyers and non-lawyers interested in international fisheries regulation in the context of profoundly changing ocean conditions.

This report describes the observations of the reporting officer aboard the FV Will Watch during a trip in June–July 2009 (Trip 36). The 49-day trip primarily involved bottom trawling for orange roughy around Walters Shoal in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the southwestern Indian Ocean. This report documents relevant information on operational issues related to aimed trawling, specific issues in this fishery, the potential for further collaboration with the deep-sea fishing industry in this region, as well as an overview of the fishery that is relevant to current and future policy.

Now more than 60 years old, this series remains one of the most cited sources in marine science and oceanography. A book/journal hybrid, it has a strong Impact Factor and a global reputation. Chapters are authored by leading experts from around the world, while an international Editorial Board ensures continued high quality and rigorous peer review of published articles. The ever increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative reviews summarizing the results of recent research. Three chapters in the volume are available Open Access.