Six major
aspects of the global, regional and national concerns about unsustainability
in fisheries for transboundary oceanic fish
stocks are discussed - some of them are inter-related :
the impact
on target transboundary oceanic fish stocks;
the impact
on non-target fish stocks;
the impact
on other species of interest (such as marine mammals, seabirds and
turtles);
the impact
of fishing around seamounts;
the impact
on foodwebs; and
the impact
on biodiversity.
RATIONALE
FOR GEF SUPPORT
The global
concerns addressed by the GEF in activities in the focal area include:
“Excessive
exploitation of living and nonliving resources due to inadequate management
and control measures (for example,
overfishing…)”[1];
and the
overall strategic thrust of GEF-funded IW activities is:
“to
meet the agreed incremental costs of (a) assisting groups of countries to
better understand the environmental concerns
of their International Waters and work collaboratively to address them; (b)
building the capacity of existing institutions
(or, if appropriate, developing the capacity through new institutional
arrangements) to utilise a more comprehensive
approach for addressing transboundary water-related environmental concerns;
and (c) implementing measures that
address the priority transboundary environmental concerns.”[2]
Within the
GEF IW focal area:
sustainable
management of regional fish stocks is identified as one of the major
environmental issues that SIDS have in
common and a target for activities under the SIDS component of OP 9, the
Integrated Land and Water Multiple Focal
Area Operational Program; and
the
adoption of an ecosystem-based approach to addressing environmental problems
in Large Marine Ecosystems is promoted
through activities under the Large Marine Ecosystem Component of OP 8, the
Waterbody-Based Operational Program.
Consistent
with this framework, GEF financing for the South Pacific SAP Project has been
supporting the implementation of an IW
Pacific Islands SAP, including a pilot phase of support for the OFM Component,
which underpinned successful efforts to
conclude and bring into force the WCPF Convention.
[1] Ch.
4. Operational Strategy of the GEF.
[2] as for 21 above.