Arctic countries prohibit commercial fishing in North Pole
▻http://news.mongabay.com/2015/08/arctic-countries-prohibit-commercial-fishing-in-north-pole
On July 16, all five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean — the United States, Norway, Canada, Denmark, and Russia — signed an agreement that prohibits commercial fishing in the international waters of the central Arctic Ocean.
This 2.8 million square kilometer high seas region surrounds the North Pole, lies beyond the five coastal countries’ exclusive economic zones, and is not owned by any country.
The Declaration Concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean, also known as the Arctic Fisheries Declaration, was signed in Oslo. It restricts commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean until there is an increased science-based understanding of the region’s ecosystem, and appropriate international standards of fishing are established.
The agreement and its measures are not legally binding on the five Arctic countries that signed it, according to a post on the University of Calgary Faculty of Law blog. But it declares the intent of the countries to conform to the measures in the declaration.
Given how the Arctic ecosystem is changing rapidly, experts are welcoming this agreement.