The international legal framework for the conservation and management of fisheries resources is rooted in customary international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention offsite link (1982 Convention) including, inter alia, in the 1982 Convention's provisions that set forth States' rights and obligations with respect to living resources in Exclusive Economic Zones (Part V offsite link) and on the high seas (Part VII offsite link, Section 2). This legal framework has been further developed through subsequently adopted binding and non-binding international instruments, in particular The United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UN Fish Stocks Agreement) offsite link, which elaborates upon obligations of States to cooperate in the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. Other instruments and activities of relevance include the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, offsite link the FAO Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance Agreement) offsite link, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and Arrangements, International Plans of Action adopted under the framework of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and U.N. General Assembly Resolutions offsite link.

Additional reference information: 

• NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs
• International Agreements Concerning Living Marine Resources of Interest to NOAA Fisheries
• United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea offsite link
• U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture Department offsite link
  • International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing offsite link
  • Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing offsite link
• David Balton, International Instruments for International Fisheries. Economic Perspectives 8(1):17-20 (Jan. 2003).

 Last updated October 18, 2017