COFI/2003/Inf.9

SUMMARY 1. The Norway-FAO Expert Consultation was held in recognition of the fact that the management of shared fishery resources remains one of the great challenges on the way towards achieving long-term sustainable fisheries. The Expert Consultation considered, in particular, the management of transboundary fish stocks and straddling fish stocks. 2. The Expert Consultation directed itself to the practical problems to be faced in the management of these resources within the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Fish Stocks Agreement and other relevant international instruments. As such, it was not designed to prescribe solutions, but rather to serve as a neutral forum in which options and their implications for management could be reviewed in a constructive manner. 3. The Consultation concluded that, with very few exceptions, non-cooperative management of shared fishery resources carries with it the threat of overexploitation. Cooperation in the management of these resources is to be seen as an essential pre-requisite for effective resource management, but not as a guarantee of effective management. 4. With respect to cooperative management, the Consultation noted the obvious but often ignored fact that no attempt to establish a cooperative arrangement can be expected to succeed unless each participant anticipates receiving long-term benefits from the cooperatively managed fishery that are at least equal to the long-term benefits it would have expected to receive in the absence of collaboration. 5. The Consultation emphasized: a) the need for cooperative management arrangements to be resilient enough to be able to absorb unpredictable shocks stemming from natural variability, climate change or other unpredictable ecological or economic disruptions; b) that the sharing of the benefits from the fisheries should not be restricted to allocations of TACs, or the equivalent, to national fleets; c) that consideration should also be given to the use of what the Consultation referred to as "negotiation facilitators", or "side payments", such as quota trades, or mutual access arrangements. These would allow broadening the scope for bargaining over allocations, assist in achieving compromises when there are differences in the management goals of cooperating States/entities, and enhance the flexibility and resilience of the cooperative arrangements over time. 6. With respect to cooperative management of straddling fish stocks, the Consultation noted two critical issues: the issue of new members or participants in regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements, and the issue of what in fact constitutes a "real" interest of a State in a straddling stock fishery. The Consultation reviewed approaches currently being taken to address the issue of new members or participants. 7. Finally, the Consultation emphasized the fact that problems of implementation and enforcement are far more complex for shared fisheries, than those encountered with non-shared fisheries.