Fisheries Compatibility Disputes Agreeing to Disagree, Committed to Conserve

This book provides a fresh perspective on the enduring debate surrounding the sustainable regulation of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. Alexandros X.M. Ntovas highlights how these vital fish stocks occupy a contested regulatory space where sovereignty, science and sustainability converge.

Chapters explore the development of international fisheries law through key United Nations (UN) initiatives, including the 1958 UN Fishing and Conservation Convention, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement. Ntovas emphasizes the need for consistent interpretation of the law and examines the role of peaceful dispute settlements in fostering international cooperation and achieving ocean sustainability. Fisheries Compatibility Disputes underscores the importance of resisting unilateralism and creeping jurisdictionalism, situating the analysis within the broader jurisprudence of treaty interpretation.

This is a vital resource for students and academics of environmental law, public international law and environmental governance and regulation, particularly the law of the sea and international dispute resolution. Legal practitioners handling compatibility-related fishery disputes will also benefit from the author’s rigorous analysis of the doctrinal complexities involved.