Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, chair, and congratulations on your election. You have our full support.
New Zealand is a strong supporter of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement as a fundamental tool in the conservation and management of shared fish stocks. Global cooperation towards full implementation of the Agreement is essential if we are to meet sustainable development goal 14.
New Zealand acknowledges the significant advancements made in the implementation of the Agreement since the last Review Conference. In particular, we acknowledge the wider ratification of the Agreement, and its role in guiding the development of RFMO frameworks represent important progress in sustainable fisheries management.
The Review Conference offers a key opportunity to identify the priority areas for fully realising the objectives of the Agreement of ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of fish stocks through its implementation. Mobilising the necessary action from States will depend on us identifying the areas of most importance, which in turn requires us to focus the scope of the Review Conference.
In recalling the breadth of previous Review Conferences, there are many issues of relevance to fisheries sustainability. But we should seek to be clear what issues are of particular relevance to implementation of the Agreement. New Zealand suggests that this Informal Consultation streamlines and refines both the process and the substance of the Review Conference, to hone in on the most important opportunities and challenges.
I will expand further on these under agenda item 6(b).
While important progress has been made since 2016, the advance reporting material identifies areas in which progress has been lacking. As an international community, we also see broader challenges, most notably the ongoing need for reform of harmful fisheries subsidies; climate change mitigation and resilience; and considering the interface with other Agreements, such as the new UN Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.
In the coming years, meaningful collective efforts will become even more paramount for the effectiveness and sustainability of our fisheries management. These challenges will be most felt by Small Island States, such as those in the Pacific, and it is important that the interests and realities of those nations are incorporated.
Finally, New Zealand would like to congratulate fellow UN members on a momentous achievement earlier this month, with the substantive agreement on a new global treaty to protect and restore high seas biodiversity.
This is a clear demonstration that the international community is united in our commitment to do more to protect the long-term sustainability of our fish stocks and oceans. It is also clear that this commitment is needed, if we are to realise the opportunities from full implementation of the Agreement. New Zealand looks forward to working with others through the Review Conference to address these challenges with collective ambition and determination.
Thank you.