Conservation of marine and fisheries resources: tropical tuna, conclusion of the Convention for the strengthening of the Inter-American Commission IATTC, established by the 1949 Convention between the United States and Costa Rica called Antigua Convention

PURPOSE : to conclude the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

LEGISLATIVE ACT : Council Decision 2006/539/EC on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community of the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission established by the 1949 Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica.

CONTENT : the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) is a Regional Fisheries Organisation which has the competence to regulate fisheries in the Eastern Pacific Ocean for highly migratory fish stocks. It was established by the 1949 Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica. The IATTC adopted a Resolution in 1998 launching the process of drafting the text of a new IATTC Convention to replace that of 1949. The new Convention is known as “the Antigua Convention”.  The Antigua Convention is a comprehensive text that effectively strengthens the IATTC and ensures that it will exercise its responsibilities towards the effective conservation and management of the EPO highly migratory fish stocks according to the principles and standards set out in the 1982 United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Community has participated in the drafting of the Antigua Convention and has actively contributed to the process.

This Decision formally concludes the Antigua Convention on behalf of the Community.  The Antigua Convention replaces, for all the parties to the Convention, the 1949 Convention as soon as the former enters into force. Spain will denounce the 1949 Convention when the Antigua Convention enters into force.