of living resources and prevention, reduction and control of pollution respects both
the level of mediacy between such goals and the activities falling under them, as well
as the categorization adopted by UNCLOS itself.
10.1.1 Conservation of Living Resources
This item deals with the regulation of activities that primarily affect continental shelf
living resources’ conservation, i.e. sedentary species, according to the interpretation
of UNCLOS which defends the existence of right-duty of coastal States to manage
fisheries and conserve biodiversity under national jurisdiction. That view follows
from the application of Arts. 60 and 61 UNCLOS—on the right to manage and
conserve living resources of the EEZ—to Part VI on the continental shelf, a
procedure made possible by Art. 77 (1) and (4) UNCLOS, and the philosophy of
conserving and rationally using marine resources, pursuant to the Convention’s
Preamble. Hence, crucial activities to be analyzed are bottom-sea trawling and
marine spatial planning—and how the Brazilian legislation regulates them.
Upfront, and for the sake of clarifying the division between conservation marine
living resources and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution adopted in
this work, it is not intended here that activities such as oil and gas exploitation—
placed under the category of control of marine pollution—do not cause harm to
sedentary species. The distinction means solely that regulating bottom-sea trawling
or marine spatial planning—rather than controlling marine pollution—immediately
impacts the conservation of living resources.
10.1.1.1 Deep-Sea Fisheries on the Continental Shelf
Certain fishing activities may damage benthic communities on the continental shelf,
both of a sedentary and non-sedentary nature, thus harming species under a coastal
state’s jurisdiction, or other jurisdictions. That is the case of bottom trawling, or
bottom fishing on deep-sea habitats—which is not to be mistaken for “bottom
fishing”.
14 While the latter relates to sportive, non-industrial techniques to catch
fish stocks that are found near the shallow seafloor, the former consists of an
industrial fishing method where a trawl, or sizeable fishing net, is dragged across
the seafloor in search for deep-sea pelagic stocks and sedentary species.
15 One does
14 According to the online blog Fish Me, bottom fishing “can be done from a boat and also from the
land using either handlines or rods. The main aim of this technique is to take the bait to the bottom
of the sea and present it in a tempting way to the fish and to lure them into the hook”. Available at:
http://www.fishfishme.com/blog/bottom-fishing/. Accessed 12 April 2020.
15 Some of the species targeted by bottom trawling are shrimp, cod, rockfish, sole and flounder, or
seamount species, such as orange roughy. For the purposes of this work, a possible definition of
deep-sea follows the depth criterion, i.e. seafloor deeper than 500 m. See ECORYS (2014), p. 21.
10.1 How Far May Brazil Go?
301
the level of mediacy between such goals and the activities falling under them, as well
as the categorization adopted by UNCLOS itself.
10.1.1 Conservation of Living Resources
This item deals with the regulation of activities that primarily affect continental shelf
living resources’ conservation, i.e. sedentary species, according to the interpretation
of UNCLOS which defends the existence of right-duty of coastal States to manage
fisheries and conserve biodiversity under national jurisdiction. That view follows
from the application of Arts. 60 and 61 UNCLOS—on the right to manage and
conserve living resources of the EEZ—to Part VI on the continental shelf, a
procedure made possible by Art. 77 (1) and (4) UNCLOS, and the philosophy of
conserving and rationally using marine resources, pursuant to the Convention’s
Preamble. Hence, crucial activities to be analyzed are bottom-sea trawling and
marine spatial planning—and how the Brazilian legislation regulates them.
Upfront, and for the sake of clarifying the division between conservation marine
living resources and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution adopted in
this work, it is not intended here that activities such as oil and gas exploitation—
placed under the category of control of marine pollution—do not cause harm to
sedentary species. The distinction means solely that regulating bottom-sea trawling
or marine spatial planning—rather than controlling marine pollution—immediately
impacts the conservation of living resources.
10.1.1.1 Deep-Sea Fisheries on the Continental Shelf
Certain fishing activities may damage benthic communities on the continental shelf,
both of a sedentary and non-sedentary nature, thus harming species under a coastal
state’s jurisdiction, or other jurisdictions. That is the case of bottom trawling, or
bottom fishing on deep-sea habitats—which is not to be mistaken for “bottom
fishing”.
14 While the latter relates to sportive, non-industrial techniques to catch
fish stocks that are found near the shallow seafloor, the former consists of an
industrial fishing method where a trawl, or sizeable fishing net, is dragged across
the seafloor in search for deep-sea pelagic stocks and sedentary species.
15 One does
14 According to the online blog Fish Me, bottom fishing “can be done from a boat and also from the
land using either handlines or rods. The main aim of this technique is to take the bait to the bottom
of the sea and present it in a tempting way to the fish and to lure them into the hook”. Available at:
http://www.fishfishme.com/blog/bottom-fishing/. Accessed 12 April 2020.
15 Some of the species targeted by bottom trawling are shrimp, cod, rockfish, sole and flounder, or
seamount species, such as orange roughy. For the purposes of this work, a possible definition of
deep-sea follows the depth criterion, i.e. seafloor deeper than 500 m. See ECORYS (2014), p. 21.
10.1 How Far May Brazil Go?
301