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

Grace Elizabeth Shephard (1) , Kari Dalen (2) , Regina Peldszus (3) , Sara Aparício (4) , Larissa Beumer , Roger Birkeland (5) , Nikolaos Gkikas (6) , Melina Kourantidou (7) , Panagiotis Ktenas (8) , Peter Wilhelm Linde (9) , Francesco Marazzi (10) , Ruth Beatriz Mezzalira Pincinato (11) , Jaziar Radianti (12) , Bernhard Schartmüller (13) , Eike Ingrid Stübner (14) , Alix Varnajot (15) , Magali Vullierme (16) , Irina Zhilina (17)

1 UiO - University of Oslo
2 SINTEF Energy Research
3 Leuphana University of Lüneburg
4 NOVA - Universidade Nova de Lisboa = NOVA University Lisbon
5 NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology [Trondheim]
6 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
7 SDU - University of Southern Denmark
8 Tufts University [Medford]
9 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
10 UNIMIB - Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca = University of Milano-Bicocca
11 University of Stavanger
12 UIA - University of Agder
13 TU Wien - Vienna University of Technology = Technische Universität Wien
14 UNIS - The University Centre in Svalbard
15 UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
16 CEARC - Cultures, Environnements, Arctique, Représentations, Climat
17 UiT - The Arctic University of Norway [Tromsø, Norway]

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.

Mots clés: Arctic Ocean; Fishing; Resource management; Arctic five; Declaration

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Grace Elizabeth Shephard, Kari Dalen, Regina Peldszus, Sara Aparício, Larissa Beumer, et al.. Assessing the added value of the recent declaration on unregulated fishing for sustainable governance of the central Arctic Ocean. Marine Policy, 2016, 66, pp.50 - 57. ⟨10.1016/j.marpol.2016.01.013⟩. ⟨hal-01872738⟩