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Trinidad and Tobago

, on behalf of the 12 member States of the Caribbean Community, said that notwithstanding the broad provisions for cooperation in the Convention on the Law of the Sea, high seas fishing has become one of the most pressing marine environmental issues on the international agenda as excessive fishing on a global scale threatens the sustainability of many fisheries. Caricom was encouraged by the progress made during the first substantive session of the Conference, including agreement to work within the framework of the Law of the Sea Convention, to harmonize management regimes inside and outside areas of national jurisdiction, and to embrace the emerging regional and sub-regional approaches to cooperation in the management of marine resources. There can be no effective global network to preserve fisheries resources without the full participation of developing countries, however, a substantial enhancement of the capacity of many developing countries is required to achieve this goal. Caricom supports the convening of two additional sessions of the Conference in 1994 and urged that appropriate steps be taken to encourage all fishing States and coastal States to participate in the Conference.

The representative from the Marshall Islands noted the good turnout of Pacific delegations to the Conference on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and supported the decision to have two further meetings in 1994. He noted that the dates suggested at the time were not ideal for his delegation, but they went along with consensus, even though they would have difficulties with scheduling clashes, particularly with the International Conference on Population and Development PrepCom III. It is also regrettable that there is now a clash with a religious holiday of some delegates. He hopes that the new dates that have been negotiated informally can be firmly agreed on but is sorry to see that once again smaller delegations are put in a position where they have to choose where to participate fully. In the future they would like to see more flexibility on the part of larger delegations so that scheduling clashes do not occur. [Return to start of article]