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A group of environmental NGOs recently urged the UN to establish a moratorium on bottom trawling on the high seas in order to protect deep sea coral and sponge communities. The call was issued during the fifth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS), held from 7-11 June in New York. The option of establishing such a moratorium was discussed at the UNICPOLOS. The results are still pending. However, so far no countries have voiced strong opposition against the proposal. According to the environmental groups, the overall value of high seas bottom trawling amounts to only 0.5 percent of global marine fish catch and therefore has no major economic value. Furthermore, 95 percent of bottom trawling is being undertaken by only eleven countries: Spain, Russia, Portugal, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Iceland, New Zealand and Latvia. So far only Norway has taken steps to stop the practice. The High Seas are the least protected areas of the world as they lie beyond the territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zones of countries and fall outside of national jurisdiction. Commenting on the weak legal status of the high seas David Kemp, Australian Environment Minister, said “this has the potential to lead to a classic tale of the tragedy of the commons unless we can put in place sustainability structures to ensure the oceans wealth is there for future generation as well as for today”.
“World Environment Day 2004: Conservation of Seas and Oceans, an Imperative for the Humanity,” IUCN, 4 June 2004; “World Oceans Day Brings Honors, Warnings,” ENS, 8 June 2004; “NGOs Press UN to Protect Deep Ocean Species,” TERRAVIVA, 9 June 2004.
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