Tuna Management in the Pacific: An Analysis of the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency

摘要

From a biological perspective, highly migratory species should be managed on a regional basis. Any management scheme should encompass the entire range of these species and involve the participation of all nations and territories whose waters these fish migrate through and spawn in, as well as the participation of all foreign fishing nations. The actual management of highly migratory tunas is plagued, however, with complex legal, political, and operational problems. The South Pacific island countries regard tuna temporarily in their fishing zones as their own property and subject to each individual nation's management, authority and control. United States legislation requiring tuna to be managed by international agreement clashes with the Forum countries' stance on highly migratory tuna. These United States laws have created significant tension between the island nations and the United States. The successive negotiating text of UNCLOS III, including the 1980 Draft Convention, all recognize the need for, and call for international and regional cooperation to ensure the conservation and optimum use of highly migratory species. Simultaneously, however, these negotiating texts also grant to the coastal nations sovereign rights to exploit and manage tunas within their exclusive economic zones.