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About international fisheries
Australia shares responsibility for the management of fish stocks with neighbouring countries in the Asia-Pacific, Indian Ocean and Antarctic regions.
Australia engages in international fisheries issues on a bilateral, regional and global level, in order to promote more sustainable fisheries management practices worldwide and to achieve long-term and commercially viable access to regional migratory and straddling stocks for Australian fishers.
In pursuit of these goals, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) develops policies and programs to address Australia’s international rights and obligations, and represents Australia’s interests in a number of international fora. Chief amongst these fora are Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), which are bodies established to govern the management of fish stocks.
In order to protect our regional fisheries interests, Australia participates in the following RFMOs:
- the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
- the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT)
- the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)
- the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
DAFF is the lead agency with responsibility for Australia’s involvement in the CCSBT, IOTC and WCPFC. The Australian Antarctic Division is the lead agency for CCAMLR.
Australia also participates in a number of fora which aim to promote regional development through sustainable fisheries management. These include:
- the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), through its Committee on Fisheries
- the APEC Fisheries Working Group, and
- Pacific Fisheries Fora (including Australia’s involvement in the Pacific Island Countries-US Treaty)
Australia maintains a strong and productive dialogue with its close neighbours, in order to promote regional fisheries cooperation. Australia conducts bilateral meetings with its neighbours to tackle issues such as shared and highly migratory fish stock management, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and fisheries and aquaculture development. There are also a number of bilateral agreements or arrangements between Australia and neighbouring countries to ensure the sustainable use of shared resources. The neighbouring countries with which Australia shares cooperative ties include:
- Indonesia
- East Timor
- Papua New Guinea (including Torres Strait issues)
- New Zealand
There are also several overarching multilateral agreements and arrangements to which Australia is a signatory or a Party. These include:
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- 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 Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UN Fish Stocks Agreement)
- Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and
- Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance Agreement).