New UN High-Seas Treaty Must Close Gaps in Biodiversity Governance, Warns New Report

摘要

Thousands of marine species could be at risk if a new United Nations high-seas biodiversity treaty does not include measures to address the management of all fish species in international waters, not just the commercial species, warns researchers, "Of the 4,018 known species of fish in the deep ocean, more than 95% are non-targeted species whose populations are not assessed by regional fisheries management organizations and are currently not being considered as part of the high-seas biodiversity to be monitored and protected under the new treaty," said Guillermo Ortuho Crespo, lead author The report found that only 4,8% of high-seas fish species have stock assessments or analogous forms of population models. For more than 85%, we have no information at all on their population trends, "These findings make a compelling case for covering the full scope of high-seas fish biodiversity in the new agreement."