Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas

The Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas is an international agreement established to promote the sustainable management of marine life beyond national jurisdictions. Formulated in response to growing concerns over the impact of modern fishing technologies and the risk of overexploitation, the Convention seeks to ensure that living resources on the high seas are conserved through cooperative international action.
Adopted during the first United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, the Convention opened for signature on 29 April 1958 and entered into force on 20 March 1966. Its provisions laid the groundwork for subsequent developments in international marine conservation, anticipating later frameworks such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Purpose and Scope

The Convention recognises that the freedom to fish on the high seas must be balanced with responsibility for maintaining the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems. It encourages states to collaborate in:

• assessing the condition of fish stocks and other marine life;
• regulating fishing activities that endanger species through excessive harvesting;
• adopting conservation measures when evidence shows that stocks are threatened;
• exchanging scientific knowledge relevant to high seas ecosystems;
• resolving disputes regarding conservation practices.

The agreement covers living resources located in areas beyond national territorial waters, thereby addressing conservation needs in regions not covered by solely domestic legislation.

Participation

As of the most recent record, 39 states are parties to the Convention. These include a geographically diverse range of countries from multiple continents:

• Africa: Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda.
• Americas: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Venezuela.
• Asia-Pacific: Cambodia, Fiji, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga.
• Europe: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Additionally, 21 states have signed but not ratified the Convention. These include Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Uruguay.

Significance

The Convention marked an early multilateral effort to regulate human activity on the high seas, emphasising that conservation is a shared international responsibility. Although later superseded in influence by broader marine governance frameworks, it remains an important milestone in the development of international environmental law. It provided a foundation for scientific cooperation, sustainable resource use and the principle that states must act collectively to protect marine ecosystems.