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PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.

Campaign for the Protection of the Oceans and Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14

The Challenge: Our Oceans, Our Livelihood

The Sheng Chi Huei 12, a Taiwanese fishing vessel. Photo: Benjamin Lowy/Reportage; The Outlaw Ocean, Ian Urbina, The New York Times

The Ocean covers 70 percent of the world’s surface and provides for half of the oxygen in our atmosphere. This means that every second breath we take comes from the Ocean - yet laws governing its appropriate use are almost non-existent. Today’s maritime laws are outdated and have hardly developed in the past century.

Fisheries provide a vital source of livelihood, employment, recreation, trade and economic well-being for people throughout the world. Parliamentarians are a key missing piece towards sustainable success in saving our oceans. As the democratically-elected representatives of the people, parliamentarians have the voice, visibility and legislative power to bring about change.

To acknowledge the immense impact of the Ocean, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) specifically aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”

The Response: The Campaign for the Protection of the Oceans and Implementation of SDG 14

Parliamentary advocacy for the protection of the oceans is vital to ensure a sustainable future for all human kind. That is why in December 2016 in Dakar, Senegal, PGA’s Executive Committee reviewed the results of a feasibility study requested by PGA member Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), and determined to launch the PGA’s Oceans Campaign.

The goal of the campaign is to end impunity for crimes committed on and against the world’s oceans and their related human rights violations through increased transparency in the fisheries sector and seafood industry.

For this purpose, PGA encourages its members to take action to contribute to the implementation of SDG 14.4, 14.6, 14.b, and 14.c namely: 

  • 14.4. Effective regulation of harvesting and ending overfishing, IUU fishing and destructive fishing practices.
  • 14.6. Prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing.
  • 14.b. Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets.
  • 14.c. Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources.

Depending on availability of resources, PGA members may also contribute to the implementation of SDG targets 14.1 and 14.5, namely:

  • 14.1. Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
  • 14.5. Conserve at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information.
Podcast: Our Blue Planet - Protecting the Oceans
Tune in Our Blue Planet – Protecting the Ocean, Episode 6 of The Pew Charitable Trusts Podcast to learn more about this issue.
Petra Bayr
Listen here! Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), on launching the Oceans Campaign »

One Campaign, Multiple Projects

Within the PGA Oceans Campaign there are various ongoing projects, including:

Conserving 30 Percent of the Ocean by 2030 - Implementation of SDG 14.2 and 14.5

Climate health is directly linked to the ocean. The ocean absorbs nearly one-quarter of carbon dioxide emissions and roughly 90 percent of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions.

The Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the Oceans (CAP-Oceans) is the only gathering of legislators from around the world focused solely on the protection of the oceans and our fishers.

The Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the Oceans (CAP-Oceans) is the only gathering of legislators from around the world focused solely on the protection of the oceans and our fishers.

A resident of the National Tapajos forest of 35 communities living in government protected area sells a variety of fish caught in the Amazon River, running directly through the landscape. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

IUU fishing persists because a lack of transparency and regulation yields high profit with low risk. The oceans are a vast area to cover, but there is limited national capacity for fisheries monitoring, control, and surveillance.

Global Parliamentary Declaration Calling for a Moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining

Through this Declaration, parliamentarians around the world are united in adopting a precautionary approach for this common heritage of humankind, and the protection of the human rights for all people who depend on the Ocean.

Increasing Sustainability of Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) and Implementation of SDG 14.b

Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) differ from commercial fishing in that they are undertaken by fishing households using a relatively small amount of capital and energy and by using fishing vessels closer to shore.

Campaign Achievements

 

How We Work

Supported by an expert Secretariat, PGA members work together to educate, sensitize, build technical capacity, and strengthen the political will of parliamentarians to achieve campaign objectives through concrete legislative and policy initiatives. PGA works with individual parliamentarians in their national contexts through country-specific strategies, leveraging that capacity with international networking to facilitate connections among parliamentarians and build bridges with civil society, domestic and international policy-makers, and other stakeholders.

Read more on our Theory of Change

Resources - Oceans Campaign

Parliamentary Toolkit on Ending IUU Fishing

This Parliamentary Toolkit provides insight into IUU fishing, how it relates to human security, and highlights the role parliamentarians can play in protecting the Oceans and supporting the implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water.

Law and Governance Toolkit for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries: Best Regulatory Practices

This Toolkit presents a methodology for assessing the reform needs to strengthen SSF governance, along with examples of model regulatory language for the core governance elements.

Factsheet for Parliamentarians: Three Treaties to Address Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing

There are many actions MPs can take to contribute to the fundamental safety standards, decent working conditions, and legality of catch that together address IUU fishing.

Factsheet for Parliamentarians: The High Seas – Unregulated and Under Attack

Urgent action is needed to improve fisheries management in the open ocean, and to strengthen protection of related ecosystems to prevent devastating impacts on marine biodiversity, socio-economic well-being and food security for millions of people directly dependent on those fisheries.

Factsheet for Parliamentarians: Protecting the Deep Seabed

The scientific community, civil society, fishing industry, and politicians have raised concerns that the risks associated with further damaging the deep-sea outweigh any potential net benefits for humankind.

Factsheet for Parliamentarians: Timeline for Protecting the Deep Seabed

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has initiated negotiations to develop regulations for deep seabed mining (DSM) exploitation and is attempting to adopt them by July 2023.

Factsheet for Parliamentarians: Small-Scale Fisheries, Sustainable Development, and Food Security

Small-scale fisheries (SFF) account for more than 90 percent of the world's capture fishers and fish workers and supply approximately 50 percent of all global fish catches.

Factsheet for Parliamentarians: Sustainably Managed Marine Protected Areas and Climate Change

Currently, MPAs account for only 7.92 percent of the ocean, though at least 30 percent is needed to build the resilience of ocean life to sufficiently adapt to climate change and buffer it from other threats.

Latest News for this Campaign (view all)

Victoria Plan of Action (2023)

Victoria Plan of Action (2023)

At the conclusion of the 44th Annual Parliamentary Forum, parliamentarians adopted the Victoria Plan of Action to describe commitments and follow up actions.

Mobilization must be stronger. A huge international movement is taking shape, led by the States already calling for a moratorium.

Without oceans, no life on earth. The statement is clear.

Photo by GEORGE DESIPRIS: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-fishing-boat-722995/

This meeting brought parliamentarians from the National Assembly of Mozambique together with the Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, experts, and civil society representatives to reflect on opportunities to support the sustainable development of small-scale fisheries in Mozambique.

Campaign Donors

 

The Pew Charitable Trusts
Oak Foundation