Historic International Agreement to Ban Fishing in Central Arctic Ocean Comes into Effect

INTERNATIONAL一The United States and several other countries signed a historic bill that came into effect on June 26 to prevent unregulated high seas fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean, according to a June 28 article from ScandAsian.

The agreement will be set in place for the next 16 years, during that time the parties involved are tasked with finding a greater scientific understanding of the area and its ecosystem and then putting measures in place to regulate commercial fisheries.

After the 16 years are up, the agreement can be extended for additional five-year periods, according to the article.

Part of the agreement also states the research and monitoring program will need to include the participation and inclusion of Arctic Indigenous People and Northern communities.

This agreement was signed three years ago in 2018 and included signatures from Norway, Denmark, Iceland, China, Canada, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the European Union in respect of Greenland.