The European Parliament, meeting in Brussels on Thursday 1 June, adopted a resolution setting out its expectations of the forthcoming High-Level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (UN Ocean Conference) which will take place in New York from 5 to 9 June 2017.
Parliament hopes that the conference will “focus attention on the need to act globally to reduce the adverse impact of human activities on the oceans”.
It notes that despite the international commitment to curb overfishing by 2015, 31.4% of the world’s fish stocks are still overfished. An ecosystem-based and precautionary approach are needed to rebuild and maintain exploited fish stocks above levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), MEPs say.
Small-scale fishing. With its adoption of a GUE/NGL group amendment, Parliament calls for any decisions on fisheries subsidies “to take into account the specificities of artisanal and small-scale fisheries, their local character and their fundamental role in ensuring food sovereignty and the economic and social survival of coastal communities”.
Ocean acidification has serious negative impacts on many marine organisms. Parliament calls for adaptation and mitigation measures to be developed in order to build resilience to ocean acidification and harmful impacts of climate change.
Member states are encouraged to assume their respective responsibilities as flag, coastal, port and market states (compliance with rules by vessels flying their flag, tackling illegal fishing, etc.).
Lastly, Parliament stresses the importance of “conserving at least 10% of coastal and marine areas, in line with UN SDG 14.5” and calls for stronger regional cooperation in fisheries management among all states. The fourth high-level Our Ocean Conference will be organised by the EU in Malta on 5-6 October 2017. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)