Book Review

in International Law, edited by Ellen Hey Developments(Kluwer Law International, The Hague, London, Boston, 1999), xi + 589pp, select bibliography. Index.

The 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (the LOS Convention) with its acceptance of 200-mile exclusive economic zones embodies a revolution in international fisheries law. This book is, however, mainly concerned with developments after the establishment of 200-mile zones. The book comprises a preface by Satya N. Nandan, the Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority, an introduction and conclusions by Ellen Hey as editor, and three parts. The first part examines the fisheries provisions of the LOS Convention, the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (the Compliance Agreement), the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (the Fish Stocks Agreement), the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code of Conduct), and the interrelationship between these global instruments. The Fish Stocks and the Compliance Agreements address the problems on the high seas, which the LOS Convention left unresolved. But all the three instruments also reflect another development in international fisheries law, i.e. the inclusion of the requirements of international , with its emphasis on sustainable development. The contributors provide a presentation of how these instruments became necessary, their negotiation and content. Several of the authors participated in the negotiations and present insights about the thorny issues. While the instruments respect the legal framework laid down by the LOS Convention, it is shown that they are innovative in their design. Moritaka Hayashi emphasises the precautionary approach applied by the Fish Stocks Agreement, its requirements of compatibility between conservation measures within and beyond 200 miles, and the strengthening of co-operation through

149 150 regional fisheries organisations or arrangements. David A. Balton stresses that the Compliance Agreement was initially aimed at countering the management problems raised by reflagging of fishing vessels, but it has a more general ambit in promoting respect for international management measures on the high seas. To this effect, it requires flag states to authorise vessels to be used for fishing on the high seas and to ensure that they do not undermine the effectiveness of international management measures. The flag states shall not authorise fishing by vessels that previously have not respected international conservation measures under another t?lag. But if the flag state does not fulfil its obligations, the Agreement implies that "the international community will find other ways to control fishing vessels on the high seas" (p. 33). The Code of Conduct is different from the two other instruments in applying to fisheries management both in coastal zones and on the high seas, and by being a non-binding instrument. It is also wider in its scope by not only establishing general management principles, but by applying to, for example, , coastal area management, post-harvest practices and trade. Gerald Moore formulates the interesting observation that the non-binding character of the Code "in itself and the wider scope of actors that the Code thus can target, may indeed be the Code's strongest point" (p. 104). As to the interrelationship between these instruments, Rosemary Rayfuse seems right in referring to the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros case (1997) and the need for a dynamic interpretation, especially of the LOS Convention (p. 157). The second part of the book contains "themes" in international fisheries law. This section includes a number of issues, such as the balancing of freedom of fishing and coastal state jurisdiction, the new principles contained in the above- mentioned instruments, the management of marine mammals and anadromous and catadromous species, and the management of stocks located solely within 200 miles. The Fish Stocks Agreement not only includes an important element of international environmental law, namely the precautionary approach, but also develops this principle. As pointed out by David Freestone, the Agreement makes precaution operational by imposing an obligation to adopt reference points for fisheries management, including a duty to ensure that when such points are approached, they are not exceeded. He maintains that although many would prefer a more radical formulation of the precautionary approach, the need for mainstreaming it into the practical use "is not perhaps best served by an overly proscriptive global regime" (p. 325). Although there were high hopes for improvement of fisheries management following the establishment of 200-mile zones, which cover 90 per cent of marine fisheries, Donna R. Christie shows that these zones have not prevented their . She claims that the LOS Convention's management standards are "largely ambiguous, incredibly flexible, and virtually unenforceable" and that the Fish Stocks Agreement "seems to hold the incentives necessary for the most immediate changes" also in the manage- ment of the (pp. 4189).