{"id":3211,"date":"2026-04-07T22:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3211"},"modified":"2026-04-10T00:32:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T00:32:36","slug":"at-high-seas-treaty-summit-a-dispute-over-fisheries-managers-role-in-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3211","title":{"rendered":"At high seas treaty summit, a dispute over fisheries managers\u2019 role in conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-317117\">\n<div class=\"bulletpoints-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"bulletpoints\">\n<ul>\n<li><em>The high seas treaty was agreed to by the world\u2019s nations in 2023 and took effect in January. The treaty created a means to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in international waters, or the high seas.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>A summit to draft the treaty rules took place March 23-April 2 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Five multilateral organizations that manage high seas fishing, known as regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), jointly proposed changes in a bid to ensure their own work is not duplicated or displaced.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The draft rules that emerged from the summit, to be voted on at a future meeting, accommodated the RFMOs\u2019 wishes, according to critical observers, who argue the RFMOs are influenced by fishing industry priorities and may use authority conferred by the rules to inhibit MPA creation.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>In other news at the summit, parties also worked on developing rules governing the participation of non-state observers such as NGOs and a process for determining the location of the treaty\u2019s secretariat.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"content-expander\"><span>See All Key Ideas<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">For conservationists, one of the major achievements of the high seas treaty was that it created a means to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in international waters. High seas MPAs are viewed as essential to meeting the looming 2030 deadline to protect 30% of the Earth\u2019s ocean, especially since countries have only just reached one-third of that goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Now, the multilateral organizations that manage high seas fishing, known as regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), are pushing to make sure their own work is not duplicated or displaced. Some conservationists see the RFMOs\u2019 engagement as a way of inhibiting protection efforts, arguing that RFMOs are heavily influenced by fishing industry priorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The high seas treaty, more formally called the agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), was agreed to by the world\u2019s nations in 2023 and <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2026\/01\/a-new-treaty-comes-into-force-to-govern-life-on-the-high-seas\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">took effect<\/a> in January. A summit to draft BBNJ rules took place March 23-April 2 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. There, five major RFMOs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-03\/TunaRfmos_CoopArrang_23MarchRev2.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">jointly proposed<\/a> changes to the draft rules of procedure that would help enshrine their authority to be part of decision-making under the treaty. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/20260402BBNJPrepComIIICRP6IFBDec_Rev.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">draft rules<\/a> that emerged from the summit, to be voted on at a future meeting, accommodated the RFMOs\u2019 wishes, according to critical observers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe BBNJ agreement was intended to be this overarching agreement to protect all high seas biodiversity <i>because<\/i> [that protection] is fragmented, <i>because<\/i> it is inefficient,\u201d Gabrielle Carmine, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University who\u2019s researched <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2025\/12\/study-finds-more-laggards-than-leaders-among-high-seas-fisheries-managers\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">governance gaps<\/a> in RFMOs and who attended the meeting, told Mongabay. She emphasized the word \u201cbecause\u201d as she spoke. \u201cI have felt like saying, \u2018Does everyone remember why we\u2019re here? It\u2019s not because the existing frameworks and bodies are so functional and effective.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org.uk\/news\/regional-fisheries-management-organisations-are-on-the-precipice-of-weakening-the-high-seas-treaty\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">statement<\/a>, Megan Randles, global political lead for oceans at the Netherlands-based NGO Greenpeace, who attended the talks as an observer, said, \u201cThe organisations that have presided over decades of destruction on the high seas have made a completely unacceptable power-grab which would dramatically weaken the [treaty\u2019s] ability to protect the ocean. They are attempting to re-write the Treaty in favour of fishing industry vested interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">RFMO leaders told Mongabay the criticism was misplaced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cAny suggestion that the proposed text reflects anything beyond a desire for e\ufb03cient collaboration and smooth implementation is simply baseless,\u201d Dominic Vallieres, executive secretary of the Commission for Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, an RFMO that co-authored the joint RFMO proposal, told Mongabay in an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">At the summit, BBNJ parties also worked on developing rules on the participation of non-state observers, such as NGOs, and a process for determining the location of the BBNJ secretariat.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_317118\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crew members of the Spanish longliner <em>Naboeiro<\/em> haul up a shark in the Canary Guinea Convergence Zone off West Africa in March 2026. Countries in the region have identified the zone, an ecologically rich area where two ocean currents meet, as the possible site of a high seas marine protected area (MPA). Greenpeace staff members said this is likely a blue shark (<em>Prionace glauca<\/em>). Image courtesy of Maarten van Rouveroy\/Greenpeace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"p1\">RFMO-BBNJ interplay<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">The New York summit was the final <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/en\/third-session-23-march-2-april-2026\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">preparatory commission<\/a> for the BBNJ before the first conference of the parties (COP), which will take place in January 2027, also at U.N. headquarters. The treaty applies to all of the ocean that lies outside countries\u2019 exclusive economic zones, which generally extend 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from coastlines. In addition to MPAs, the treaty deals mainly with the sharing of marine genetic resources, the completion of environmental impact assessments for ocean projects and the transfer of ocean-related technology to low-income countries. It doesn\u2019t directly address fisheries, and its relationship with RFMOs remains to be fully worked out. The draft rules on BBNJ interactions with RFMOs, like many other contentious issues, will be decided at COP1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The post-summit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/20260402BBNJPrepComIIICRP6IFBDec_Rev.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">draft rules<\/a> state that interactions between the BBNJ and bodies such as RFMOs shall be guided by \u201cthe recognition of the mandate complementarity and various synergies\u201d between them and \u201cthe need to develop strategies to manage overlapping mandates and avoid duplication of efforts, including, where appropriate, by leveraging the expertise and best practices of relevant instruments, frameworks and bodies, and existing cooperation and coordination arrangements and platforms.\u201d Like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2024-08\/Text%2525252520of%2525252520the%2525252520Agreement%2525252520in%2525252520English.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">treaty text<\/a> itself, it says that RFMOs shouldn\u2019t be undermined.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The language differs from what the RFMOs requested in their joint proposal. However, some experts regarded it as overly deferential to RFMOs and predicted it would allow the RFMOs significant power to determine how the BBNJ conducts its science and makes decisions about MPAs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Ryan Orgera, global director of Accountability.Fish, a U.S.-based advocacy group, said he was \u201cconcerned\u201d about BBNJ-RFMO interactions following the summit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201c[RFMOs] are not equipped as bodies, philosophically nor logistically, to add value to MPA creation processes,\u201d Orgera told Mongabay in a text message. \u201cMany of the actors internal to RFMO processes are publicly opposed to the creation of MPAs in their respective treaty-areas. RFMOs fail in ecosystem protection \u2014 they don\u2019t think of systems in meaningful ways , they often treat individual fisheries as discrete entities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe ocean, and humans, need BBNJ to be fully functional if it is ever to retool the shortcomings of multilateral fisheries governance,\u201d he continued. \u201cBBNJ nations must speak with one voice in both BBNJ and RFMO venues , they cannot allow their Environment\/Foreign Ministries to be pro creation of MPAs in BBNJ and then turn around and allow their Fisheries Ministries, on behalf of their respective industries, [to] fight tooth and nail against high seas MPAs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Like Vallieres, key figures at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), two prominent RFMOs that co-authored the joint proposal, pushed back against criticism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Paul de Bruyn, the IOTC\u2019s executive secretary, said RFMOs have established mandates under BBNJ and other international law, and their leaders\u2019 goal is to \u201censure that these mandates are respected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe RFMOs are not seeking to restrict the possibility of implementing area based management, they are simply seeking to ensure that they are duly consulted on these proposals and are part of the decision-making process,\u201d he told Mongabay via email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Rhea Moss-Christian, the WCPFC\u2019s executive director, made similar remarks in an email to Mongabay. She emphasized that many WCPFC member countries were signatories or parties to the BBNJ and that WCPFC was attending BBNJ to cooperate and share information.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">On April 2, Greenpeace published a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/82460\/fishing-industry-rmfos-global-ocean-treaty-influence-greenpeace\/?_gl=1*ulzy5r*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTE5MTA1NjY0My4xNzc1NDQ1OTAy*_ga_94MRTN8HG4*czE3NzU0NDU5MDIkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzU0NDU5MDgkajU0JGwwJGgxNDQ4MzI1ODU4\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">report<\/a> that found that, on average, nearly one-third of the people on national delegations to RFMO meetings are industry representatives, based on an analysis of eight major RFMOs over the last five years, including the three mentioned in this article. The industry representation was especially common among \u201cmajor distant-water fishing powers,\u201d including the European Union, the report said. The European Commission, the EU\u2019s executive branch, declined to comment for this article.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Vallieres, de Bruyn and Moss-Christian all questioned the analysis in the report. They said the number of industry members in a delegation doesn\u2019t clearly indicate industry influence, and that NGOs have a large presence and role in RFMOs as well.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_266261\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-266261\" src=\"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775781154_310_At-high-seas-treaty-summit-a-dispute-over-fisheries-managers.jpg\" alt=\"Delegates work into the early morning hours to agree on a provision on disputed areas.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775781154_310_At-high-seas-treaty-summit-a-dispute-over-fisheries-managers.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/03\/08142000\/to-agree-on-a-provision-on-disputed-areas-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/03\/08142000\/to-agree-on-a-provision-on-disputed-areas-610x407.jpg 610w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/03\/08142000\/to-agree-on-a-provision-on-disputed-areas-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/03\/08142000\/to-agree-on-a-provision-on-disputed-areas.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Delegates work into the early morning hours on March 4, 2023, to agree on a provision in the high seas treaty, which was finalized that day and signed by more than 100 countries later that year. The treaty entered into force in January 2026. Image courtesy of Mike Muzurakis\/IISD\/ENB.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"p1\">Debates over observers and the secretariat seat<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">After much debate, the parties in New York developed draft rules on the participation of observers, which can include NGOs and Indigenous groups, at future COPs , this was part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/20260402BBNJPrepCom3CRP1RevCOPROPs_clean.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">rules of procedure <\/a>document. Observers deliver statements, serve as advisors to other participants and submit their views in writing but have no voting or decision-making power. The debate concerned whether parties to BBNJ could ban certain observers and how many parties it would take to institute such a ban.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The draft rules, considered a compromise, call for a two-step process that would allow countries to object to particular observers but give the COP the final decision on any such objections, presumably meaning a majority of countries could overturn objections and allow an observer in. Duncan Currie, a legal advisor at the High Sea Alliance (HSA), an umbrella group of NGOs, said that the observer rules, which include a hard-to-parse footnote, were not written clearly and were devised to win China\u2019s agreement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cDoes it make sense? No,\u201d Currie, who attended the summit, told Mongabay in a text message. \u201cDoes it keep China happy? Apparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">An HSA <a href=\"https:\/\/highseasalliance.org\/2026\/04\/03\/progress-made-but-critical-gaps-remain-as-high-seas-treaty-prepcom-talks-conclude\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">statement<\/a> said that the rules were \u201cnot as restrictive as other options on the table [but] the approach still introduces uncertainty and could result in inconsistent or restrictive participation across bodies, especially for less well resourced observers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The European Union stood up for observer rights during the debate, according to both Currie and Carmine of Georgetown.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_314046\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-314046 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775781154_322_At-high-seas-treaty-summit-a-dispute-over-fisheries-managers.jpg\" alt=\"All American and European eels are born in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic, and then drift to rivers and estuaries through oceanic currents.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775781154_322_At-high-seas-treaty-summit-a-dispute-over-fisheries-managers.jpg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/02\/10165239\/American-eel-2-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/02\/10165239\/American-eel-2-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/02\/10165239\/American-eel-2-610x407.jpg 610w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/02\/10165239\/American-eel-2.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Endangered American (Anguilla rostrata) and critically endangered European (A. anguilla) eels spawn in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Sargasso Sea is one of eight locations that the High Seas Alliance, an umbrella group of NGOs, has identified as ideal for the development of a high-seas marine protected area. Image courtesy of Rafael Enrique Baez Segui via iNaturalist (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">CC BY-NC 4.0<\/a>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">Three countries are vying to host the BBNJ secretariat: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-01\/BBNJSecHostOfferBelgium.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">Belgium<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2025-12\/BBNJSecHostOfferChile.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">Chile<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-03\/BBNJSecHostOfferChinaEn.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">China<\/a>. The BBNJ parties wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/20260402BBNJPrepComIIICRP9SelectionOfSeat_0.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">draft rules<\/a> on a voting process to determine which it should be. They say if parties can\u2019t reach a simple consensus, the winner will be chosen by a two-thirds majority in a secret ballot vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Some people familiar with backroom discussions at the New York summit said China appeared the favorite to host. In private meetings, its diplomats argued that their country was stepping up to assume more responsibility given the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2025\/04\/under-trump-us-retreats-from-global-fisheries-and-oceans-leadership\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">reduced role<\/a> of the United States in BBNJ and other international institutions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/d631be6c-f31d-4d20-8986-9cc5300dd1d1?accessToken=zwAAAZ1p8ZmokdPWMb5s8x1NINOJhpzFMA3R0Q.MEUCIF5C8OlWiM4YJPCaW8srJ9FtGJfOgjbUOUt2TQZqP84VAiEA8hC8UZR9tLZ5CZWvZWz2D3jWDWxL5DggvLBaZx3reME&#038;sharetype=gift&#038;token=ee9c9b0d-ce1d-4047-b294-7886454e98aa&#038;syn-25a6b1a6=1\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">according to the Financial Times<\/a>. China made a roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/webtv.un.org\/en\/asset\/k1v\/k1vrotehhh?_gl=1*ujtyxg*_ga*MTc3OTI5NTc1LjE3Mjc2MzA3MDA.*_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z*czE3NzU0NDM3ODAkbzg0JGcxJHQxNzc1NDQ1MTc5JGo1OSRsMCRoMA..\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">20-minute presentation<\/a> on its bid at the summit. It noted that no U.N. institutions have their international headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, home to 60% of the world\u2019s population. Having the BBNJ seat in China would make global governance more \u201cjust, equitable [and] balanced,\u201d it stated. (Chile has also put forth an equity-based argument, citing a lack of U.N. institutions in Latin America.) Xiamen, a city on the country\u2019s southeastern coast, is the proposed site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Carmine expressed reservations about China hosting the secretariat, pointing to the limitations the country places on the free academic inquiry of its own citizens and to its role as the largest distant water fishing fleet in the world. Chinese vessels operating in the high seas have been <a href=\"https:\/\/theoutlawocean.com\/investigations\/china-the-superpower-of-seafood\/findings\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">tied<\/a> to illegal fishing practices as well as human rights and labor <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2026\/03\/chinas-pacific-squid-fishery-rife-with-labor-fishing-abuses-report\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">violations<\/a>. It is widely considered an authoritarian state with a weak civil liberties record by institutions such as the Sweden-based NGO V-Dem and the U.K.-based Economist Intelligence Unit that maintain democracy indexes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">An <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-does-chinas-host-bid-mean-for-the-high-seas-treaty-279317\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">article<\/a> published March 26 in <i>The Conversation<\/i> by scholars at the University of British Columbia argued that the location of an institution\u2019s secretariat matters greatly to how it functions and pointed to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2025\/11\/antarctic-conservation-summit-closes-with-stalemate-on-mpas-krill-fishing-rules\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">China\u2019s resistance to developing MPAs around Antarctica<\/a>. Yet the scholars also raised the possibility that hosting the secretariat could strengthen China\u2019s commitment to marine conservation and help national authorities in Beijing bring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0308597X22003918?via=ihub\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">provincial authorities<\/a> and fishing operators under more control. Many NGOs haven\u2019t taken public positions on which country should host the secretariat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which took part in the New York summit, didn\u2019t respond to Mongabay\u2019s request for comment for this article.<\/p>\n<p>The Alliance of Small Island States, a bloc of 39 countries that tends to advocate for stringent marine and climate protections in international fora, condemned the lack of progress made at the summit. It called the summit \u201cdisappointing\u201d in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/bbnjagreement\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/AOSIS_Closing_2April.pdf\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">closing statement<\/a>, referring to the parties\u2019 inability to resolve numerous issues and an \u201cincredibly difficult\u201d negotiating process. The statement, delivered by Palau\u2019s delegation, said disputes that had \u201cnothing to do with the Ocean\u201d interfered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201c[The BBNJ] was built because the international community chose to rise above its fractures in the service of something larger,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWe owe it to that history \u2014 and far more urgently, to the Ocean itself and the people who depend on it \u2014 to do better as we head towards the first Conference of the Parties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Banner image:<\/strong> Seagrass and coral reef off Lord Howe Island in Australia. The island, situated between the Australian mainland and New Zealand, is near Lord Howe Rise and the Tasman Sea, areas that are viewed by conservationists as a potential site for the development of a high seas marine protected area. Image courtesy of Matt Curnock\/Ocean Image Bank.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>Citations: <\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Carmine, G., Cronin, M. R., Barkley, C., Tuohy, C. L., Crespo, G. O., \u00d6sterblom, H., \u2026 Halpin, P. N. (2025). An expanded evaluation of global fisheries management organizations on the high seas. <i>Environmental Research Letters<\/i>, <i>20<\/i>(12), 123001. doi:<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1088\/1748-9326\/ae1b1e\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">10.1088\/1748-9326\/ae1b1e<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Zhou,\u00a0H. (2023). Provincial variations and entrepreneurialism in the development of China\u2019s distant water fisheries (2011\u20132020).\u00a0<i>Marine Policy<\/i>,<i>\u00a0147<\/i>, 105344. doi:<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.marpol.2022.105344\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">10.1016\/j.marpol.2022.105344<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>Feedback:\u00a0<\/b>Use <a href=\"https:\/\/form.jotform.com\/242982212235352\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">this form<\/a>\u00a0to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n<div id=\"single-article-footer\">\n<div class=\"container in-column about-editor-translator gap--40 pv--80\">\n<div class=\"container grid--3 repeat gap--40\">\n<div class=\"in-row gap--16\">\n<div class=\"author-avatar\">\n                    <img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773143944_603_Seafood-fraud-is-rampant-imperiling-fish-populations-report-finds.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ad8c16344913da83c7915b85cfde3bbae07708c472b1bb5ed0e966bb1b28204?s=64&#038;d=identicon&#038;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-32 photo\" height=\"32\" width=\"32\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/>        <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>                            <span class=\"article-comments\"><a href=\"\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\"\/><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The high seas treaty was agreed to by the world\u2019s nations in 2023 and took effect in January. The treaty created a means to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in international waters, or the high seas. A summit to draft the treaty rules took place March 23-April 2 at the United Nations headquarters in New [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-biodiversity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3213,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3211\/revisions\/3213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}