UN Johannesburg summit agrees to replenish fisheries by 2015

In a bid to reverse years of declining fish stocks, negotiators at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, agreed today to restore depleted fisheries by 2015.

About three quarters of the world's fisheries are fished to their sustainable limits or beyond, according to UN officials, and today's agreement marks a major commitment to marshalling resources and political will to ensure the responsible management of a valuable source of food.

"This agreement provides us with the crucial underpinning for government action," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic Affairs Nitin Desai, who is serving as the Summit's Secretary-General. "Overfishing cannot continue. The depletion of fisheries poses a major threat to the food supply of millions of people."

Meanwhile, delegates also made substantial progress in negotiations on the major issues relating to trade and finance questions in the Summit's draft plan of action.

The chairman of the talks on trade, finance and globalization, John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda, told a press conference that agreement had been reached on such financial issues as official development assistance, mobilizing domestic resources, and creating an enabling environment.

One key issue that remained to be resolved, Mr. Ashe said, was the phasing out of agricultural and export subsidies. There were also disagreements on how to characterize the effects of globalization.