The Proposed Implementing Agreement: Options for Coherence and Consistency in the Establishment of Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide initial thoughts on potential conflicts between the mandates of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and any mechanisms for establishing Marine Protected Areas in the high seas and how these conflicts might be avoided. The article addresses first, whether the fears that may exist concerning the conflicts are, as a matter of international law, real and to the extent that they are real, how an Implementing Agreement (IA) might be shaped to avoid them. As the article is intended to provide only initial thoughts, the range of RFMOs and possible conflicts are only illustrative and are not intended to be comprehensive. With the potential conflicts in mind, the article then provides, in the third section, possible approaches that the drafters of the IA could adopt to avoid and/or mitigate these conflicts. Finally, the article offers some concluding remarks.