Global overview of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks: The nonsustainable nature of high seas fisheries

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Abstract
This article presents a global overview of the efforts undertaken by coastal states, distant water fishing nations, and regional organizations to manage high seas fisheries following extension of jurisdiction and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In particular, the article examines the management and conservation of those stocks defined under Article 63 of the convention as “straddling”; fish stocks, occurring both within areas of national jurisdiction and in the high seas area beyond and adjacent to the exclusive economic zone; and “highly migratory species,”; defined to include tuna and tuna‐like species, whose migration patterns cover vast expanses of ocean space. The inability of coastal and distant water fishing states to cooperate in the management and conservation of these resources has led to unsustainable fishing and collapse of many stocks. As a result the United Nations has convened an international Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.