Fischerei- und Wirtschaftszonen im Südpazifik. Grenzen und Möglichkeiten der Veränderung politisch- und wirtschaftsgeographischer Strukturen durch neue Rechtsnormen

Abstract

Since the solid part of the earth is already allocated, we are at present experiencing the distribution of the ocean. The “Convention on the Law of the Sea was completed on the occasion of the “Third U.N. Law of the Sea Conference in the Spring of1982. Its 200-mile zone regulation is of enormous significance for the South Pacific island countries in particular, since the ocean is their most important natural resource. At present economic activities there are focussed on the living resources, especially on tuna fishing. But most of the catches are taken by fishermen of far-distant fishing countries. The new Law of the Sea puts the small island states in the position to use these resources to their own benefit (i) by taking licence fees from foreign fishing vessels, (ii) by establishing an own market-orientated deep sea fishery and, (iii) by using their fishing potential as a political bargaining counter. But there are many obstacles: problems of surveillance; lack of capital funds, of technical expertise, of marketing techniques, of storage-, freezing- and processing equipment and so on. The mastering of these difficulties should become an aim of development programmes. In any case the problems force the small island countries into joint actions and give a new incentive to develop a regional consciousness; the establishment of the South Pacific Forum Fishery Agency demonstrates this process.