A/HRC/55/49 workers are especially prevalent on the high seas, often beyond the reach or oversight of relevant State authorities.45 39. One of the most effective ways to ensure dignified work, secure livelihoods and the realization of human rights is through social protection. Social protection also creates a fair, well-regulated sector that in turn enables resource conservation. 46 Countries with robust social protection systems in place were those most adept to respond rapidly to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, by tweaking existing social protection programmes to alleviate income losses in fisheries and aquaculture through temporary cash and in-kind transfers, as well as input subsidies (e.g. fuel).47 40. Social protection and decent work have been recognized as priority issues. 48 However, at the national level, most of the relevant international commitments and instruments have not been fully adopted or implemented,49 and the fishery sector is relatively farther behind. II. Climate change, fish stock depletion and biodiversity degradation: issues of governance and inequality 41. The proportion of biologically unsustainable fisheries increased from 10 per cent in 1974 to 34.2 per cent in 2017. Moreover, climate change is projected to create irreversible losses in the ecosystems of many regions, with negative consequences for human ways of life, economy and cultural identity. Climate change is also raising water temperatures and changing the pattern of fish migration as fish stocks shift from lower to higher latitude regions, causing fishers to shift poleward and diversify harvests. These changing patterns increase the risk transboundary management conflicts among fisheries users, and negatively affect the equitable distribution of seafood. Plant and animal populations have already vanished locally, and the projected trend indicates a rise in extinction rates, particularly in warmer regions. It is clear that reducing overfishing and unsustainable practices would increase fish stocks and increase the adaptive capacity of fishing.50 42. The exploration and extraction of oil and gas in open waters and the life cycle of offshore projects are escalating threats for both the climate and small-scale fishers. Offshore projects account for over 30 per cent of the world’s oil and gas production. By exacerbating the climate crisis, posing a threat to entire marine ecosystems and generating economic and physical displacement, offshore activities directly undermine a number of human rights and endanger the food security of entire regions. 43. Undersea pipelines can create safety hazards by entangling fishing equipment and vessels, endangering life and property. Routine discharges from transport vessels contaminate oceans with hydrocarbons, toxic metals and dangerous chemicals in a rampant practice called “bilge dumping”.51 Noise pollution from drilling and exploration activities interferes with fish communication and migration patterns. Construction of infrastructure often destroys crucial fish habitats. Even after an offshore project is closed, unplugged or poorly plugged wells and abandoned infrastructure can continue to leak oil, radioactive materials and other toxins into the ocean.52 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 GE.23-26071 A/HRC/40/56, para. 42. FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022, pp. 134 and 135. See https://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/resources-details/en/c/1382680/. See, for example, target 1.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals; ILO, Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202); ILO, Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188); Voluntary Guidelines, sect. 6; and FAO, 2021 COFI Declaration for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (Rome, 2021). FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022, pp. 134 and 135. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Hans-Otto Pörtner and others, eds., Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (2022), pp. 19, 61, 200, 381, 382, 766 and 767. Submission from the Center for International Environmental Law – joint contribution (42 signatories). Ibid. 9