Resolution Skillzzz

FORUM: Environmental Commission (EC) Sub-commission 1
QUESTION OF: Combatting the overfishing of seas and oceans
SUBMITTED BY: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Main co-submitters: Honduras, the Republic of Estonia
Co-submitted by: Kazakhstan, Romania, Mexico, St. Kitts and Nevis, Republic of Korea, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Republic of Finland, Cameroon, Switzerland, Dominican Republic, Portugal, UN-Water, Egypt, Swaziland, Nepal, Togo, Georgia, Seychelles, Suriname, Iceland, Libya, The United States of America, Barbados, Belize, Honduras, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Antigua and Barbuda, Mali, United Arab Emirates, Guyana, San Marino, Canada, Poland, Namibia, Argentina, Angola, Kiribati, World Bank, Austria, UN Habitat, Israel, ECA, Palestine, Pakistan, Malaysia, Ecuador, Algeria, Bosnia, Albania

THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION,

Defining “overfishing” as the practice of commercial and non-commercial fishing which depletes a fishery by catching so many adult fish that not enough remain to breed and replenish the population,

Reaffirming the Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed on December 10 1982,

Reiterating the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, 1995,

Noting with approval the efforts of myriad international bodies to investigate, document, and propose solutions on the issue, such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Greenpeace International, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF),

Alarmed by the United Nations Environmental Programme’s estimate of fishless oceans by 2050,

Further defining ‘catch-share systems’ as a fishery management system that allocates a secure privilege to harvest a specific area or percentage of a fishery's total catch to individuals, communities or associations (fishing entities) where each entity receives a share of a scientifically determined sustainable catch limit of fish, which they maintain exclusive ownership of, and are free to catch the amount of fish that correspond to their percentage anytime,

Emphasizing the harmful nature of Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing, which compounds the problem significantly, and the need to effectively curb its effects,

Further noting that up to 33% of the world’s annual catch may be from IUU sources that often utilize destructive practices,

Expressing the need for a universal solution that still respects the sovereignty of every nation, thus giving them the freedom to apply solutions to their individual needs,

1.     Calls for a set of laws recognized by member states to abolish illegal and commercial fishing practices that damage marine biodiversity, the goals of which should include but are not limited to:
a) 	determining catch-and-share quotas
b)	banning the use of non-selective fishing gear, such as bottom trawlers or gillnets
c) 	establishing fishing boundary requirements, the exact locations of which to be determined by member states in their coastal territory;
2.     Strongly encourages member states to support the protection of essential habitats by strictly adhering to the goal set by the Marine Conservation Institute that aims to:
a)     increase the number of protected areas tenfold
b)	make 10% of oceans become Marine Protected Areas by 2020;

3.     Endorses a new approach to identifying and persecuting IUU fishing while regulating legal fishing activity through the use of satellite technology that involves:
a) 	encouraging all countries to make activation of a vessel’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) compulsory
b)	cooperating with the Global Fishing Watch, an organization that:
i.  	monitors all fishing activity through a vessel’s AIS and makes it available publicly
ii. 	enables fishing activity to be regulated more closely by governments
iii.   allows the identification of suspicious fishing activity, such as sudden deactivation of AIS
c)       the availability of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data to all nations by storing all data at a location available to all governments invested in the matter
d)      the use of imaging technology to identify vessels operating outside of the law by creating a unique 9-digit code for every vessel that enables:
i.      identifying a vessel at a patrol or when entering and exiting a harbour; any ship without a code can be set aside for investigation whether any IUU fishing is taking place
ii. 	tracking legally operating vessels to ensure that they follow all regulations
iii.   easy recognition of vessels to make communication and transfer of information easier
iv.   allow government institutions to generate more data on fishing practices in the government’s respective fishing grounds;

4.     Strongly urges the implementation of catch-share systems by all member states to regulate fish conservation through maximum sustainable catch limits, to be determined by distinguished experts in the field of marine biology/oceanography and reviewed annually with reference the previous year’s catch, with the following specifications, to generate incentives for fishing entities to ensure fish stock health:
a)       registered fishing entities (using their 9-digit code as mentioned in clause 3 sub-clause d), are each entitled to a percentage of the total sustainable allowable catch of fish, specific to a region, and to be annually determined by marine biology/oceanography experts certified by the UN
b)      catch-share systems that should act as incentives for fishers to fish sustainably, while a deviation from an entity’s percentage can be punished in order to act as a disincentive for exploitation of fish stocks and less represented local fishers
c)       these shares grow in value as the overall fishery improves, providing fishing entities with a greater financial stake;

5.     Requests member states to support the International Fishers Union  (IFU), a new sub body under the UNFAO, which will have the following roles and responsibilities:
a)       IFU will act as an information hub and make available information collected by the following Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RMFO’s) readily available to most fishermen:
i.  	International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
ii. 	Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)
iii.   Inter-American Tropical tuna Commission (IATTC)
iv.   Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT)
b)      IFU will be responsible for suggesting different fixed prices for fish through the following:
i.  	monitoring the amount of fish caught in different areas
ii. 	monitor the state of natural disasters in different areas
iii.   take into account the minimum weekly/monthly/annual wage required for local fisher folk to survive
c) 	IFU will monitor the RMFOs and also require them to send in annual reports on the migration and fish levels
d)	IFU will act as a mediator between larger companies and smaller fishing unions for the following purposes:
i.      to ensure that the smaller unions have equal representation at an international level
ii. 	to ensure that the legal proceedings that ensue between larger companies and smaller unions will be completely fair and that there will be no bully tactics employed by the larger company
iii.   to ensure that advice can be offered to both parties when there is any ambiguity brought about due to a misunderstanding in any proposal put forth by both parties
e)       IFU will also include a branch directed towards the prevention of illegal fishing activity that entails:
i.  	a marine international police force to eliminate harmful fishing practices and to ensure the safety and adherence of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
ii. 	a body composed of fishing representatives, fishing experts, marine scientists, and members of the aforementioned police force to provide an annual report on illegal fishing practices developments or harmful commercial fishing practices, as well as a structured plan of action for the IFU for the following year
iii.   prosecution of fishing parties who violate the marine biodiversity laws of clause 1;

6.     Recommends Member States’ respective governments to create port checkpoints through which all fishing vessels may request entry, and be examined for IUU fishing if no code is provided by following the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), adopted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (2009), and ratifying it to ensure that the ports chosen for that purpose are:
a)     of sufficient capacity to conduct inspections
b)    made known to other Member States of their presence, through the assistance of relevant international organizations, such as the UNFAO
c)     requesting the following information from fishing vessels:
i.      date and time of arrival
ii. 	the name of the flag State of the vessel
iii.   purpose of the vessel’s arrival and reason for requesting entry
iv.   the type of vessel and equipment used for fishing
v. 	vessel’s contact information
vi.   permission by Member State
vii.  evidence of the vessel’s and owner’s identity, by requesting paper documents or through the development of an electronic document system that may be attached to fishing vessels, providing the information in electronic form, hence enabling convenient access to information that would have been easy to forge in paper form
d)	inspecting all fishing vessels but in order of priority and urgency by initially:
e) 	inspecting fishing vessels previously denied access to the specific or to another Member State
f) 	inspecting fishing vessels that may be thought of as suspicious by international organizations other neighbouring Member States, or civilians
g) 	examining vessels with clear grounds for suspicion
i.        transmitting the results of the inspections to the flag state, fishery management organizations as well as any relevant party, or organization through a specifically created electronic medium of exchange of information regulated by international organizations;

7.     Approves of nations who recognize the importance of the following methods to increase the amount of food available to locals:
a)       promote animal husbandry to increase current food stock levels
b)      increase the usage of high protein seeds
c)       increase the amount of genetically modified crops available as these are more durable than natural varieties and can survive in harsher environments;

8.     Draws the attention of Member States, international organizations and RMFOs to the importance of educating the local fishermen and the public about the significance of limiting overfishing and the devastating consequences overfishing can cause to their income, source of food, environment and country as a whole and raise awareness and encourage funds for:
a)       raising awareness to inform tourists regarding the origin of the products that they buy, and the damaging effects the production of such goods may have on nature
b)      encouraging Member States who are either directly or indirectly affected by the issue of overfishing to provide funds for Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) as well as international organizations, in order to enable them to continue their work of extending the education of optimum use of resources, and creating electronic information mediums of exchange to facilitate communication among Member States
c)       encouraging governments to offer subsidies and rewards for new fishing technologies that combat overfishing in various ways, such as but not limited to:
i.      decreasing bycatch, and thus reducing the amount of unwanted marine animals harmed by fishermen throwing them away
ii. 	electromagnetic deterrents to scare sharks and other, non-target marine animals away from fishing nets, without harming them
d)	educating consumers on the more environmentally friendly fish to eat, outlining the more replenished fish stocks, and the marine species in danger, through methods such as but not limited to:
i.      advertisements on various platforms,
ii. 	encouraging restaurants and shops to inform their customers of the current stock state of marine animals for sale;

9.     Further approves of nations who recognize the importance of the following additions or modifications to national legislature:
a)     the jail term for poaching should be increased to a minimum of 15 years with an indefinite maximum term
b)    the setting of a sufficiently high fine on any person found guilty of violating fishing laws
c)     nations should make poaching a threat to national security thus allowing for maximum persecution under the nation’s law
d)    nations should cancel the licenses of fishermen and women who have been persecuted multiple times before;

10.  Further requests that member states construct and pass the set of laws mentioned in clause 1 by December 2016, and provide sufficient and reasonable evidence of progress in above actions by 2018 and their implementation by 2021;

11.  Resolves to remain actively seized in the matter.