066 - Guidance to identify industrial fishing incompatible with protected areas

066 - Guidance to identify industrial fishing incompatible with protected areas

Latest version in this language: Version for electronic vote | Published on: 30 Sep 2021

RECALLING that urgent clarification is needed to implement Recommendation 6.102 Protected areas and other areas important for biodiversity in relation to environmentally damaging industrial activities and infrastructure development (Hawai‘i, 2016), which states that effective management of marine protected areas (MPAs) requires that they do not have any environmentally damaging industrial activities or infrastructural developments located in, adjacent to, or otherwise negatively affecting them, and calls on government to prohibit environmentally damaging industrial activities and infrastructure development in all IUCN categories of protected area;

RECOGNISING that the IUCN MPA Standards published in 2018 are consistent with Recommendation 6.102, and WELCOMING the guidance that any industrial activities and infrastructural developments (e.g. mining, industrial fishing, oil and gas extraction) are not compatible with MPAs;

NOTING that further guidance is needed to define what any environmentally damaging and industrial activities or infrastructural developments mean for different marine industries, in particular industrial fishing inside MPAs;

MINDFUL that IUCN Protected Area Guidelines identify protected areas as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring, where under the control and conditions that are most appropriate to ensure their conservation, low-impact scientific research activities and ecological monitoring related to and consistent with the values and restrictions of the protected area can be carried out, particularly when collection cannot be conducted elsewhere;

RECOGNISING that IUCN Protected Area Guidelines allow sustainable resource use by indigenous people to conserve their traditional spiritual and cultural values, provided this is done in accordance with cultural tradition;

RECALLING that IUCN Guidance for Protected Area Category VI allows for a proportion of the area having low-level non-industrial use of natural resources, including sustainable commercial or recreational fishing, as long as it is compatible with nature conservation, has a stated primary conservation aim, meets the overall definition of a protected area, and achieves verifiable ecological sustainability;

ACKNOWLEDGING the six IUCN Protected Area Management Categories and four Governance Types and the importance and relevance of IUCN’s existing Resolutions and Recommendations regarding environmentally damaging industrial activities and infrastructure projects in MPAs;

RECOGNISING that ‘industrial fishing’ activities can be identified by variables including the capacity and size of vessels and the method and volume of fish extraction, and that in the context of protected areas, ‘industrial fishing’ is defined here as (>12 m long x 6 m wide) motorised vessels, with a capacity of >50 kg catch/voyage, requiring substantial sums for their construction, maintenance, and operation and mostly sold commercially, and that all fishing using trawling gears that are dragged or towed across the seafloor or through the water column, and fishing using purse seines and large longlines, is defined as industrial fishing; and

AWARE that when there is fishing activity in marine protected areas, it must be well managed, sized and adapted to the specific environment of the marine protected area to ensure the sustainability of resources, the environment and the coastal community;

The IUCN World Conservation Congress, at its session in Marseille, France:

1. CALLS ON the Director General and the Commissions to provide guidance to countries to ensure that ‘industrial fishing’ is not being allowed in MPAs and OECMs to the extent that it is not compatible with the conservation objectives and the management goals of these areas, using Recommendation 6.102 Protected areas and other areas important for biodiversity in relation to environmentally damaging industrial activities and infrastructure development (Hawai‘i, 2016);

2. CALLS ON Commissions, Members, and state and government agencies to apply the definition of ‘industrial fishing’ formulated above, to promulgate its usage in policy frameworks; and

3. CALLS ON state and government agencies to accurately report their MPAs and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) taking into account all IUCN Standards and Guidance.

This motion attempts to define industrial fishing to determine what is and is not allowed within marine protected areas (MPAs). In 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature published the guidelines for applying their Global Conservation Standards to MPAs. (https://www.iucn.org/commissions/world-commission-protected-areas/our-work/marine/marine-protected-areas-global-standards-success) These guidelines reinforce the primary purpose of MPAs which is to conserve nature above all and to layout industrial activities that are not compatible with MPAs. In this publication a direct definition of 'industrial fishing' was not put forth and this omission may lead to inconsistencies on how governments manage and report MPAs. This motion is meant to fill in this gap.

MPAs are the most practical and cost-effective means of maximizing ocean conservation and sustainably conserving marine life. Effectively managed MPAs are designed to conserve biodiversity as their primary goal and have also been demonstrated to bring back depleted and over-exploited fish stocks and maintain key and essential habitats that provide important ecosystem services including carbon storage and sequestration, spawning grounds, storm protection and food provisioning. Enhanced environmental productivity is contingent on effective ecosystem-wide management of the MPA , as biomass from wildlife spill-over will benefit adjacent impoverished and exploited fisheries. With enhanced protection, effectively managed MPAs may also serve to promote greater resilience to the threats from climate change due to increased habitat complexity and wildlife abundance.

IUCN Protected Area Guidelines state that extractive activity is only allowed for scientific research, and only if the research cannot be conducted elsewhere. Certain extractive activities by indigenous peoples are also permitted given that resources are taken sustainably to conserve their traditional, spiritual, and cultural values, in accordance with cultural traditions in MPAs . It should be noted that IUCN Protected Area Category VI allows for a proportion of the protected area having low-level and non-industrial use of natural resources. These uses include sustainable commercial or recreational fishing, but only if it is compatible with nature conservation, has a stated primary conservation aim, meets the overall definition of a protected area, and achieves verifiable ecological sustainability . Industrial fisheries disguise themselves within the above categories, to continue fishing in protected areas – using the categories as loopholes.

Therefore, we propose that 'industrial fishing' activities can be identified by the size of vessels and the method and volume of fish extraction. Industrial fishing in the context of protected areas is defined as large (> 12 meters in length) motorized vessels requiring large sums for their construction, maintenance, and operation; operating in any waters; and landing a large volume of catch that is sold commercially. In addition, all fishing using trawling gears that are dragged or towed across the seafloor or through the water column, as well as fishing using purse seines and large longlines, is defined as industrial fishing.
  • Earth Day Network [United States of America]
  • Grupo Jaragua [Dominican Republic]
  • Island Conservation [United States of America]
  • Micronesian Shark Foundation [Palau]
  • Para la Naturaleza [Puerto Rico]
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts [United States of America]
  • The WILD Foundation [United States of America]

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