International regulatory authorities charged with monitoring and stopping overfishing in the high seas are failing to meet conservation goals, according to a new study led by Duke University researchers.
The result is ongoing biodiversity declines across two-thirds of the world’s oceans, the study found.
The findings about the lackluster performance of 16 multilateral bodies, called “regional fisheries management organizations,” or RFMOs, could make it more difficult to meet the conservation provisions agreed to by countries that have signed onto the United Nations’ “High Seas Treaty,” which takes effect in January.
Advertisement
Four countries ratified the treaty in September, pushing it over the needed threshold.
