Agreement to prevent unregulated high seas fisheries in the central Arctic Ocean

PURPOSE: to approve the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement to prevent unregulated fishing on the high seas in the Central Arctic Ocean.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2019/407 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.

CONTENT: the Council adopted a Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement to prevent unregulated high seas fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.

The Agreement was signed on 3 October 2018, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

Its aim is to prevent unregulated fishing in the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean through precautionary conservation and management measures as part of a long-term strategy to preserve the health of marine ecosystems and to ensure the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fish stocks.

Under the common fisheries policy, the Union has exclusive competence, under the Common Fisheries Policy, in adopting measures for the conservation of marine biological resources and entering into agreements with third countries and international organisations in this respect.

Becoming a party to the Agreement will promote consistency in the Union's conservation approach across oceans and reinforce its commitment to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of marine biological resources globally, and is therefore in the Union's interest.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 18.3.2019.