A/RES/58/14 Noting that the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“the Code”) 3 and its associated international plans of action set out principles and global standards of behaviour for responsible practices to conserve, manage and develop fisheries, including guidelines for fishing on the high seas and in areas under the national jurisdiction of other States, and on fishing gear selectivity and practices, with the aim of reducing by-catch and discards, Noting with satisfaction the Strategy for Improving Information on Status and Trends of Capture Fisheries recently adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 4 and recognizing that the long-term improvement of the knowledge and understanding of fishery status and trends is a fundamental basis for fisheries policy and management for implementing the Code, Recognizing the need to implement, as a matter of priority, the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”), 5 in relation to achieving sustainable fisheries, Deploring the fact that fish stocks, including straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, in many parts of the world are overfished or subject to sparsely regulated and heavy fishing efforts, mainly as a result of, inter alia, unauthorized fishing, inadequate regulatory measures and excess fishing capacity, Concerned that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing threatens seriously to deplete populations of certain fish species and to significantly damage marine ecosystems, to the detriment of sustainable fisheries as well as the food security and the economies of many States, particularly developing States, Recognizing that inadequate flag State control over fishing vessels, including those fishing for straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and insufficient monitoring, control and surveillance measures exacerbate the problem of overfishing, Recognizing also that the interrelationship between ocean activities, such as shipping and fishing, and environmental issues needs further consideration, Calling attention to the circumstances affecting fisheries in many developing States, in particular African States and small island developing States, and recognizing the urgent need for capacity-building to assist such States in meeting their obligations under international instruments and realizing the benefits from fisheries resources, Noting the obligation of all States, pursuant to the provisions of the Convention, to cooperate in the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and recognizing the importance of coordination and cooperation at the global, regional, subregional as well as national levels in the areas, inter alia, of data collection, information-sharing, capacity- _______________ 3 International Fisheries Instruments with Index (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.98.V.11), sect. III. 4 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Report of the twenty-fifth session of the Committee on Fisheries, Rome, 24–28 February 2003, appendix H. 5 Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August– 4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex. 2