United Nations General Assembly: Seventeenth round of Informal Consultations of States Parties to the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea..

Thank you, chair.

We welcome this ICSP session as a contribution to the international dialogue on climate change and fisheries management.

We were pleased to make a submission to this process, which we will not repeat here but rather highlight some key points from a New Zealand perspective.

Aotearoa New Zealand has an extensive marine area home to unique species and biodiversity. Like the rest of the world, we are experiencing the impacts of climate change – including in our fisheries. We place great value on the important food security and economic roles of the seafood sector, especially considering the relative low carbon footprint of the sector as we see further impacts of climate change on the immediate and long-term horizon.

New Zealand is working to incorporate climate considerations in our domestic fisheries management as well as supporting regional and international efforts to do the same.

Domestically, we are seeking to increase the level of available data we have for management and to fill knowledge gaps. This will increase our ability to further progress ecosystem-based management approaches and adapt more effectively to an increasingly changeable environment.

We have conducted preliminary climate risk assessments for three stocks, and will develop a formal framework for fisheries climate vulnerability assessment in New Zealand, drawing from approaches already used in other jurisdictions. This research will identify which species will be most affected by climate change, and help identify next steps for management.

We are also focused on our role as a Pacific State and contributing to regional efforts to adapt fisheries management and support the resilience of Pacific fisheries. New Zealand seeks to boost management capability and fish stocks’ sustainability as part of narrowing development gaps. We provide annual project funding of over NZ$4.8 million focused on reducing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the Pacific, improving management of the South Pacific longline fishery, and increasing economic returns to Forum Fisheries Agency members from their tuna fisheries.

New Zealand has also contributed NZ$30 million to the development of the Pacific Community’s integrated Climate Change Flagship programme, which has now completed the first year of implementation. This is one of four flagship programmes within the Pacific Community, designed to increase cohesion and integration across the technical divisions. It includes a work area on loss and damage, and also includes support that goes directly to the Pacific Community’s work to help better understand the impact of climate change on fisheries.

We are also involved in efforts in multilateral organisations to support effective and sustainable fisheries management in the face of climate change.

These efforts include trying to directly improve fisheries management systems and their responsiveness to climate change. They are also focused on sharing lessons and models with international counterparts. With this in mind, we listen today with great interest to the perspectives and experiences of others, with the open question of what this means for the sustainable management of fish stocks under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement but also more broadly for other fisheries.

Thank you.