Sjálfbærar fiskveiðar og málefni hafsins
Hjálmar W. Hannesson, fastafulltrúi Íslands hjá Sameinuðu þjóðunum, ávarpaði í dag 6. fund óformlega vettvangsins um málefni hafsins, sem haldinn er árlega til undirbúnings viðræðum um ályktanir S.þ. um sjálfbærar fiskveiðar og málefni hafsins. Til umfjöllunar á fundinum í ár eru tvö málefni; fiskveiðar og áhrif þeirra á sjálfbæra þróun og rusl á hafinu. Í ávarpinu er fjallað um helstu áherslur Íslands í þessum málefnum.
Mr. Co-chair,
At the outset, I would like to commend the Secretariat, in particular the very able staff of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, for their comprehensive report.
Iceland is satisfied with how the informal consultative process has matured and values its significant contribution to our ongoing discussion on ocean affairs.
I would like to welcome Ambassador Cristian Maquieira of Chile to the important position of Co-chair and thank him and his colleague, Mr. Philip D. Burgess, for their commitment to our work. Allow me also to thank the previous Co-chair, Ambassador Felipe H. Paolillo, for his contribution to the work of the informal process and wish him success in his new duties.
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Iceland remains of the view that the informal consultative process should be based on the foundation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements. The Convention must be fully implemented and its integrity maintained.
New global instruments in this field should as a general rule not be introduced, without existing instruments having first been fully implemented. In exceptional cases, gaps in a legal regime may need to be filled through the adoption of implementing agreements. The 1995 Agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks is a case in point. The Agreement is of paramount importance, as it strengthens the framework for conservation and management of the stocks involved by regional fisheries management organizations. Obviously, the effectiveness of the Agreement depends on its wide ratification and implementation and we encourage those States that have not ratified the Agreement to do so.
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The areas of focus for this sixth meeting of the informal consultative process (“Fisheries and its contribution to sustainable development” and “Marine debris”) are both complex and challenging. Iceland welcomes the growing attention given by the General Assembly to marine issues, in particular through this informal process, as the health and responsible management of the oceans are of critical importance to many of our countries, including developing countries.
There is little doubt that fisheries are confronted with considerable challenges, both environmental and socio-economic, in some parts of the world. Fisheries and ocean issues in general attract a multitude of actors to the table, beside the millions whose lives are dependant on the resource, all with agendas and ideas as to how best to influence this landscape. An inadequate institutional and legal framework is often ill prepared to accommodate the challenges that accompany such a politically charged atmosphere.
Iceland shares many of the concerns expressed over the state of the oceans and of fish stocks in some regions. While such concerns make it incumbent on states to work together, they may not necessitate that we address them with additional global instruments or solutions. Responsible management of the oceans resources is best carried out at the local and regional level, in partnership with those who are closest to and depend on the resource for their livelihood.
Regional organizations have a vital role to play in fisheries management cooperation, monitoring, control and surveillance. Iceland is actively engaged in work on various ocean issues within bodies such as the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR). In view of ongoing discussions on the role of regional organizations, we do indeed support the view that the role of such organization should be strengthened.
At the heart of every meaningful discussion on the deterioration of the oceans, including on overfishing, we find the need to address the implementation of sustainable fisheries management systems.
Iceland is engaged in international efforts to contain and eliminate IUU fishing, spearheaded by the FAO. We have also supported endeavors to diminish the overcapacity of the world’s fishing fleets, in our view a contributor to overexploitation and depletion of fish stocks in many regions, and contributed to the completion of ecolabelling guidelines, adopted at the last Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting in February.
In this context I am pleased to inform you that the Government of Iceland has recently decided to more than double current levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA). The goal is to reach this level of assistance in 2009. In its development efforts, Iceland has put particular focus on the promotion of the sustainable use of natural resources. In that context, sustainable fisheries will in the future be given the attention they deserve.
To many countries, including my own, fisheries are fundamental to the economic sector. Fisheries represent over 60% of Iceland’s total export of goods. In more than 20 countries fisheries exports account for between 10 and 75 percent of total merchandise exports. In 38 other countries, fisheries exports contribute between 2 and 9 percent of trade receipts.
Fisheries, as was observed earlier, are also of fundamental importance for many developing countries, for their livelihood, food security, foreign exchange earnings and thus key to their social and economic development. Fish is the prime source of animal protein for one billion people in the developing world. Of the 30 countries most dependent on fish as a protein source, all but four are in the developing world.
Many developing countries have not been able to improve their fisheries management to a level where they can effectively govern their waters and allow for the sustainable utilization of their marine resources. Iceland recognizes the need for capacity-building, as one of the pillars of its development aid policy is to assist developing countries in sustainable fisheries, building on our own experiences and practices. The United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme is an integral part of this endeavor.
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At the Johannesburg Summit in 2002, Iceland’s Prime Minister announced the intention of Iceland to make readily accessible, via modern electronic media, the wealth of information it produces on the marine environment.
Iceland, a modern fisheries nation, recognizes the need for a comprehensive management system for all species, where effective measures, including limits on catches and efficient monitoring and enforcement are prerequisite for the sustainable use of its marine resources. Iceland has in place a comprehensive regime for managing living marine resources, a regime that is science based and market driven.
We are now well under way in expanding the information activities further. Our aim is to provide comprehensive in-depth information on the Icelandic marine ecosystem. Interested parties will be assisted in obtaining all the available scientific data they require, be it on research on individual fish stocks, monitoring of pollution, salinity or temperature in different parts of the Icelandic waters, to name a few examples.
We hope this effort will serve as a good example of how to enhance the transparency of natural resource utilization and thus enable all citizens to take part, on an equal footing, in informed debate about our common resources.
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The state of the marine ecosystem is of growing concern for the international community. Nearly half the world’s population lives within 60 kilometres of the coast and that ratio will increase in this century. Coastal zones are the most productive ecosystems on earth. They are also, particularly vulnerable because of pollution from human activities. Such pollution not only causes local health problems; it can affect the marine ecosystem as a whole. Land- and sea based sources of marine debris are an integral part of this problem, affecting shorelines, coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans throughout the world.
Marine litter travels over long distances with both ocean currents and wind and is subsequently found in almost all marine and coastal areas, both the densely populated regions and the remote ones far away from any obvious sources. The main sources of litter in the ocean and in coastal areas are poorly managed landfills, various types of waste carried by wind from urban areas and waste carried by sewage systems and rivers into the ocean as well as shipping.
Measures have been taken by Iceland to prevent and reduce marine debris, including legal measures such as waste management acts, marine pollution prevention acts, effective implementation and enforcement of international instruments, construction of reception facilities as well as providing information and education to influence behaviour.
Iceland has ratified Annex V to the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships that deals with the handling of waste resulting from the operation of ships. Substantial efforts were made to reduce the release of waste into the ocean and establish adequate receiving points for litter in Iceland's harbours. From the beginning of 2005, a recycling fee has to be paid for fishing gear, lines and nets that contain plastic. Return of plastic waste from gear, nets and lines at harbours, is therefore free of charge for the disposer. The same applies to metal, where scrap metal can be brought to collecting facilities free of charge, or stored in the harbour area for later use or recycling. Furthermore, organic fish waste from the Icelandic fishing fleet is estimated at 32.000 tons per year of which 95% is recycled.
The Global Programme of Action for Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) is an important mechanism that addresses the linkages between waste management, freshwater and coastal and marine environments. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation reiterates the value of the GPA as a tool for achieving internationally agreed goals and targets.
Iceland has always highlighted the importance of mechanisms such as the GPA and worked from the beginning towards the implementation of the GPA. We will continue to participate actively in the work of the GPA, and to support the secretariat in the Hague.
Iceland is grateful for the generous offer of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to host the second Intergovernmental Review Meeting of the GPA in 2006. The meeting will serve as an important contribution to furthering implementation of the goals and targets associated with the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Declaration. Furthermore the meeting will contribute to the review of oceans and seas, marine resources, Small Island Developing States and disaster management and vulnerability scheduled to be undertaken by the Commission on Sustainable Development in 2014-2015. To ensure the success of the Review Meeting, a broad participation of ministers and high-level officials is essential.
I thank you, Mr. Co-chair.