14 October 1994

Doc. 7184

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on fisheries management policy

presented by Mr HOLTE, Norway, LDR, and others

      The undersigned, members of the Assembly,

1.       Are concerned that overfishing may threaten the very resource-base for the fishing profession and the existence of many coastal communities. The extensive use of intensive fishing methods, "fish-mining", could also jeopardise the balance of coastal and ocean ecosystems, and it may even threaten food security for an important part of the world population;

2.       Deplore the practice of allowing by-catches in fisheries to be thrown back into the seas, regret many short-sighted measures which permit the catch of young fish or the destruction of their habitat and are particularly worried that pollution should have lasting negative effects on life in the oceans;

3.       Are not satisfied with the present fisheries management regimes for international waters mainly covered by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in particular the lack of an enforcement authority, but welcome, however, the work done by the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks;

4.       For these reasons, the undersigned ask the Assembly to call on member governments, governments of countries having special guest delegations with the Assembly, the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations:

i.       to work for an immediate stop to particularly wasteful fishing practices such as the throwing of by-catches, the use of large-scale pelagic driftnets and other intensive fishing methods;

ii.       to review existing fisheries policies to fully include the principle of sustainability;

iii.       to take steps to improve the management of common resources in international waters by supplementing existing international agreements in this field, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, by new legal instruments.

signed :

Holte - Norway - LDR

Thompson J. - United Kingdom - SOC

Mackie of Benshie - United Kingdom - LDR

Håvik - Sweden - SOC

Szymanski - Poland - SOC

Holand - Norway - UEL

Hansen - Denmark - EDG

Ringstad - Norway - LDR

Mändmets - Estonia - EDG

Gunnarsson - Iceland - SOC

Alexander - United Kingdom - EDG

Couveinhes - France - EDG

Roman - Spain - SOC

Bolinaga - Spain - EPP

*       SOC - Socialist Group

      EPP - Group of the European People's Party

      EDG - European Democratic Group

      LDR - Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group

      UEL - Group of the Unified European Left