Team 5 focused on the following issues: international fishing regulations, deep sea fishing and the polar regions.
Current UN Involvement:
A subcommittee of the FAO (the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department) has an outlined a FishCode programme, where objectives are "to raise the economic, social and nutritional benefits obtained from the fisheries and aquaculture, especially in developing countries, through the adoption of responsible development, management and conservation practices, including improved institutional and legal arrangements." The department has also created a Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which "sets out principles and international standards of behaviour for responsible practices with a view to ensuring the effective conservation, management and development of living aquatic resources, with due respect for the ecosystem and biodiversity," and also "recognizes the nutritional, economic, social, environmental and cultural importance of fisheries and the interests of all those concerned with the fishery sector. The Code takes into account the biological characteristics of the resources and their environment and the interests of consumers and other users." Within this Code of Conduct, the FAO has several suggested International Plans of Action (IPOAs) which would apply to "all States and entities and to all fishers." Specifically, for the management of fishing capacity, "States should take measures to prevent or eliminate excess fishing capacity and should ensure that levels of fishing effort are commensurate with sustainable use of fishery resources." Possible solutions in this case include well-defined property rights for international waters, "incentive blocking measures," and "incentive adjusting measures."
Sources: http://www.fao.org/fi/website/FIRetrieveAction.do?dom=org&xml=fishcode_prog.xml , http://www.fao.org/fi/website/FIRetrieveAction.do?dom=org&xml=CCRF_prog.xml&xp_nav=2, http://www.fao.org/fi/website/FIRetrieveAction.do?dom=org&xml=ipoa_capacity.xml