General Assembly

Description: The World Assembly:

AWARE that fish and other aquatic species are important sources of food, economic growth, and revenue for many nations and their people;

CONCERNED that many aquatic ecosystems are over-exploited;

WORRIED that without proper safeguards, populations of aquatic animals may be harvested out of existence;

CONVINCED that imperilling or extinguishing whole populations of aquatic life would cause serious ecological problems and bring disaster to the people who rely on those populations;

DETERMINED to ensure the long-term viability of aquatic populations within the jurisdiction of Member Nations and - to the extent possible - international waters;

HEREBY:

1. DEFINES "Overfishing" (for the purposes of this Act) as: "Harvesting a population of an aquatic species in a manner that is impossible for that population to support over time, resulting in an overall decline in the health of the population and imperilling its long term viability."

2. DEFINES "Maximum Sustainable Yield" (for the purposes of this Act) as: "The maximum number of individuals - possibly within specified ranges for age and size - that can be harvested from a population without resulting in Overfishing."

3. DEFINES "Invasive Species" (for the purposes of this Act) as: "A species that is not native to a particular ecosystem whose presence has proven disruptive or harmful to the local ecology," and clarifies that actions taken to control Invasive Species do not fall under this Act's restrictions on Overfishing;

4. REQUIRES that Member Nations determine and publish the Maximum Sustainable Yield of aquatic species populations inhabiting their national waters and any international waters over which they have an internationally-recognized jurisdictional right.

5. PROHIBITS Overfishing in the national waters of Member Nations and in international waters over which Member Nations have an internationally recognized jurisdictional right.

6. REQUIRES Member Nations to prohibit Overfishing by their own people in all other waters if the other nations that harvest those particular waters agree to refrain from Overfishing in them as well.

7. ENCOURAGES Member Nations to prohibit Overfishing by their own people in all waters regardless of whether other nations agree to do so.

8. TASKS the World Assembly Science Programe (WASP) with the following duties: :

• To provide Member Nations with any and all assistance they require to determine Maximum Sustainable Yield of aquatic species populations in their national, territorial, and jurisdictional waters;

• To evaluate and determine the Maximum Sustainable Yield of aquatic species populations in unclaimed waters;

• To propose plans for sharing international stocks among nations in a way that will prevent Overfishing of those stocks.

10. CLARIFIES that Member Nations may temporarily permit Overfishing in order to meet the needs of an emergency, so long as (a) Overfishing is permitted only to the extent necessary to meet the emergency, (b) no populations are reduced to levels from which they would be unable to recover (in the WASP’s opinion), and (c) the Overfishing period is followed by a period in which the targeted populations are allowed to recover.

Co-authored by: Bears Armed

Votes For: 3,251

Votes Against: 719

[Delegate Votes]

Voting Ends: in 3 days 15 hours