In advance of UN negotiations taking place now in New York for an agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond jurisdiction, the State Dept. today held a virtual meeting to provide an overview of the negotiating session and hear viewpoints from U.S. stakeholders.
Deputy Asst. Sec. for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs Maxine Burkett cited unsustainable fishing, plastic pollution, and climate change as drivers for a strong agreement on the high seas, adding that it would also provide a straightforward approach to protecting 30% of the global ocean by 2030.
State Dept. officials noted that the Biden administration has re-examined the textual proposals provided by the United States in 2020, that some positions may change, and that there is a desire to focus on things that can be addressed in light of the fact that no single country can block a position given that the negotiation process is not consensus-based. Additionally, officials said that another negotiating session later this year is likely, but that the delegation is preparing as if the March session will be the final round of negotiations.
In addition to NOPC, others participating on the call included the American Tuna Boat Association, Western Fishboat Owners’ Association, Hawaii Longline Association, International Cable Protection Committee, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations, High Seas Alliance, Greenpeace, Pew, Natural Resources Defense Council, and International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Commercial and recreational interests noted the potential for marine protected areas on the high seas to adversely affect food producers in the Pacific given existing protections in U.S. waters that preclude fishing access, called for not undermining relevant existing legal instruments and frameworks, noted the need to recognize regional fishery management measures as area-based management tools, and voiced opposition to large-scale, static closures through marine protected areas given their inconsistency with sustainable use and detrimental environmental effects (shifting fishing to areas where yields are low).
They also highlighted the need for a consensus-based approach to decision-making (or at minimum, veto power for nations that are adjacent to areas being considered for marine protected area designations on the high seas), voiced support for the U.S.’s textual changes submitted in 2020 (including not granting authority to establish marine protected areas, but instead enabling development of recommendations for consideration by individual countries), requested access to revised text in lights of the Biden administration’s re-evaluation of the 2020 text, and underscored the importance of regulatory certainty and clearly defined rules for the undersea cable sector.
Comments from environmental organizations included the need for a new decision-making body to establish and manage marine protected areas on the high seas, preference for a majority rather than consensus approach to decision-making, sentiment that fisheries not be excluded from the agreement, and the need to see revised text given that some positions have changed since the 2020 negotiations.
