ENB:07:17
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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.
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