Print

The sea divided into east and west.

Diplomats and fisheries officials from five Arctic states will meet in Washington later this month to discuss regulations on commercial fishing near the North Pole.

Government representatives from five Arctic states, i.e. Norway, Denmark, Canada, United States and Russia, agreed yesterday to meet later this month in order to discuss the laws that will apply to commercial fishing within the Arctic Circle.

About 70 percent of the world's total white fish supply comes from Arctic waters. This marine resource is extremely significant to Arctic regional and coastal communities.

Fishing in the Circumpolar North has been and is a significant economic resource. Fishing is also rooted in the culture of many of the Arctic nations.

World catch in numbers

Now Exclusive Economic Zones divide where nations can catch fish but this economic activity has shaped the cultural values in the Arctic and is an important factor in the daily life of the coastal residents.

If an agreement is made, it will represent the third such accord struck by countries in the far north to manage the commercial development and industrialization of the region, which is expected to increase with global warming. The other two agreements reached so far regulate oil spill response and search and rescue.

The 12th Conference on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography that will take place in Seattle, Washington on 29th of April, is sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and organized by the AMS Polar Meteorology and Oceanography Committee.

This year it will treat not only about natural science but also serve as a place to discuss legal and political issues between Arctic stakeholders.

Source

Barents Observer

Fishing Portlet