Governments accountable for 40% of the world’s coastlines have pledged to stop the flow of plastic pollution into the oceans, restore declining fish populations, and end overfishing in the next decade.
On December 2, the leaders of 14 countries set out a series of commitments that mark the world’s largest ocean sustainability initiative. These countries include Norway, Australia, Palau, Portugal, Namibia, Mexico, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Japan, Jamaica, Chile, and Canada.
The government’s vow:
- To end subsidies that contribute to overfishing,
- To stop illegal fishing through better management and more vigorous enforcement,
- To reduce bycatch and discards,
- And to implement national fisheries plans based on scientific guidance.
The countries involved, members of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, have also promised to sustainably manage all the ocean areas within their national jurisdiction (called exclusive economic zones) by 2025. Overall, those areas are equivalent to the size of Africa. Read more…
