Priorities in international cooperation with respect to Marine biodiversity

The Dutch government will also promote the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources through international cooperation. Special attention will be devoted to making fishing more sustainable, with a focus on improving policy, management and control, particularly with respect to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, since these human activities are among the most harmful for marine biodiversity. All operations at sea must be carried out in such a way that marine life is not threatened and is preserved for future generations. The Netherlands will therefore play its part in formulating an integrated and generic policy to protect marine biodiversity, for example by pressing for the creation of a worldwide network of marine protected areas. Efforts to protect marine biodiversity will be guided by the precautionary principle and the ecosystem approach, the aim being to ensure the sustainable use of the marine environment, subject to the basic conditions of protection and conservation.

The government's aim is to have achieved the following results in international cooperation by 2011:

• An international, legally binding instrument that can be used by port states to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) and a global database of vessels involved in IUU fishing.
• Better tracking and tracing of the trade in caught fish, e.g. through coordination and cooperation between regional fishery management organisations (RFMOs) between these organisations and the FAO, and CITES and purchasing organisations.
• Capacity building in developing countries to assist them in developing sustainable fishery management and combating IUU fishing.
• Worldwide coverage by regional fishery management organisations of areas of the open sea.
• An independent review of the performance of RFMOs, adjustment of their mandates, and the exchange of best practices between RFMOs.
• The preservation of marine biodiversity and sustainable fishing as equal points of departure in RFMOs, and the adoption of the ‘maximum sustainable yield' principle as the goal of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) (2015).
• The creation of an international regime (besides that of fishery management) for the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in marine areas outside national jurisdiction.
• The design of a consolidated system of designation (criteria, classification systems) and management (UNCLOS Implementation Agreement Biodiversity) of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in areas outside national jurisdiction.
• The creation of a network of marine protected areas in the North Atlantic (particularly OSPAR/NEAFC) and the West African region.
• A contribution to sustainable ecoregional development in the field of marine ecosystems in at least one priority region, starting with West Africa. This initiative will make a direct contribution to transforming the regional fisheries consultation platform Cecaf into a full RMFO.
• Implementation of the recommendations made by the fish meal and fish oil chain round table for sustainable aquaculture and assistance in developing instruments and capacity in this chain.