International Soft Laws against IUU Fishing for Sustainable Marine Resources: Adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance and Challenges for Taiwan

Tsung-Han Tai, Shih-Ming Kao and Wan-Chun Ho
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Tsung-Han Tai: Law School, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Shih-Ming Kao: Graduate Institute of Marine Affairs, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Wan-Chun Ho: Law School, Soochow University, Taipei 100006, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has become a key issue of increasing concern in the world. Led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), recent developments focused on the role of port states as the principal actor against IUU fishing. However, the FAO adopted the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance (the Guidelines) in 2013, implying that the principal role against IUU fishing still corresponds to flag states. As one of the leading distant-water fishing nations, Taiwan has adopted many domestic regulations in accordance with these international instruments voluntarily, regardless of its statehood debate. Although the adoption of the Guidelines is “a real breakthrough” against IUU fishing, the instrument is “soft law” in nature, meaning the implementation of the Guidelines may depend on the political will of states, and the effectiveness and efficiency of the Guidelines are thus highly questionable. Furthermore, the consensus among states to adopt a legally binding agreement on flag state performance in the near future, akin to the development of the Port States Measures Agreement that successfully evolved from a “soft law” to a “hard law” basis, is not yet clear.

Keywords: illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; Voluntary Guidelines; flag state performance; Taiwan; soft laws (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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