Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdic

[GordMay]

Fishing, shipping, pollution and climate change pose a threat to the high seas. A new global treaty* may help preserve marine biodiversity.
In 1982, the UN adopted the Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which, when it became active in 1994, regulated sea-bed mining and cable-laying to some extent.
The US rejected the UNCLOS treaty back in 1994, and is reticent about these new proposals. Some whale-hunting countries, such as Japan, Iceland and Norway, are said to be cautious about the idea, because they fear it will restrict their fishing operations. Russia is also said to be dragging its feet.
The current high seas governance system is weak, fragmented and unfit to address the threats we now face in the 21st Century from climate change, illegal and over-fishing, plastics pollution and habitat loss.
This will be a historic opportunity to protect the biodiversity, and functions, of the high seas, through legally binding commitments.

* See ➥ https://www.un.org/bbnj/

And ➥ https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en/outpu...s/ocean-treaty

“International legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyondnational jurisdiction” ~ UN Resolution 72/249 adopted on December 24, 2017
➥ https://undocs.org/en/a/res/72/249

Parties to UNCLOS ➥ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...Law_of_the_Sea

[tkeithlu]

Thank you, Gord. I look forward to a US government that takes such things seriously.

[ImaginaryNumber]

I hope the proposed treaty is effective, as ocean ecosystems are under increasing pressure.

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Ocean-wide biomass declines projected due to climate change

https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/e...climate-change

Climate change will cause fish biomass to decline 5 percent for every one degree Celsius of warming, according to the most comprehensive analysis of marine ecosystem models to date.

The decline in biomass will be more severe if humanity continues to emit high amounts of greenhouse gases, but even a certain amount of decline is already locked in under low emissions scenarios. If current trends continue, marine biomass will decline 17 percent by 2100, while it will decline only 5 percent if humanity implements strong mitigation programs.

The study finds that it didn’t make a difference whether fishing pressure remains or disappears entirely — the effect is driven entirely by the warming waters that are leading the oceans to be less-effective producers of life.

Study URL: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/26/12907

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See also:
Impacts of historical warming on marine fisheries production
https://science.sciencemag.org/conte...6430/979?rss=1

Abstract

Climate change is altering habitats for marine fishes and invertebrates, but the net effect of these changes on potential food production is unknown. We used temperature-dependent population models to measure the influence of warming on the productivity of 235 populations of 124 species in 38 ecoregions. Some populations responded significantly positively (n = 9 populations) and others responded significantly negatively (n = 19 populations) to warming, with the direction and magnitude of the response explained by ecoregion, taxonomy, life history, and exploitation history. Hindcasts indicate that the maximum sustainable yield of the evaluated populations decreased by 4.1% from 1930 to 2010, with five ecoregions experiencing losses of 15 to 35%. Outcomes of fisheries management—including long-term food provisioning—will be improved by accounting for changing productivity in a warmer ocean.

[GordMay]

SOURCE ➥ https://www.iucn.org/resources/issue...l-jurisdiction

[ImaginaryNumber]

Great Barrier Reef outlook downgraded to 'very poor' as threats mount

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/c...30-p52mb8.html

The Great Barrier Reef is at "a critical point" with the marine park's outlook downgraded on Friday from "poor" to "very poor" due to coral bleaching and deforestation. Climate change resulting in rising sea temperatures was blamed in the federal government's five-year Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019 highlighting the most significant threats to the reef.

Separately, the inshore reef scored a "D" for overall condition, according to the annual Reef Report Card – released on Friday by the federal and Queensland governments. The score is based on the state of coral, seagrass and water quality, and matches the rating for seven of the past eight reports.

[GordMay]

Delegates Discuss Environmental Impact Assessment Reports, Establishment of Scientific Body, as Marine Biodiversity Treaty Negotiations Continue
➥ https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sea2117.doc.htm