UN passes resolution emphasizing significance of sustainable fishing

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly passed by consensus a resolution here Tuesday that reaffirmed the specific importance of sustainable fisheries.

The resolution, passed by the 193-state representative body recognized the "significant contribution of sustainable fisheries to food security, income, wealth and poverty alleviation for present and future generations," while condemning the depletion of fish stocks in an unsustainable manner.

Through the resolution, the assembly deplored "the fact that fish stocks, including straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, in many parts of the world are overfished or subject to sparsely regulated and heavy fishing efforts."

The resolution added that the overfishing problem often happens because fishing is not regulated carefully enough by the authorities or because such illegal activities are underreported, and acknowledged that the nature of the problem can be transnational.

The UN's legal framework on these issues derives from the Convention of the Law of the Sea, which entered into force in 1994 and aims to set out standards to govern the peaceful and equitable uses of seas and oceans as well as methods of marine conservation and protection.