Clare Brennan has worked for more than 15 years in international affairs. She joined the Commission from the Mayor of London’s office, where her role as Senior International Relations Officer entailed providing advice and support to the Mayor as a means of delivering and shaping his international policy agenda. She also spent a year seconded to the C40 secretariat as Senior Coordinator.

THE GOC'S OBJECTIVES

The objective of the Global Ocean Commission is to address the issues herein by formulating ‘politically and technically feasible short, medium, and long-term recommendations.

These final recommendations were to be published in early 2014, shortly before the UN General Assembly began discussions on protecting high seas biodiversity – a commitment made at the Rio+20 summit in 2013. The work of the Commission thus focuses on four key tasks:

1. To examine key threats, challenges, and changes to the ocean in the 21st century, and identify priority issues. The Commission will utilise both scientific and economic evidence, drawing on existing reports from world experts, as well as commencing original research in partnership with other organisations.

2. To review the effectiveness of the existing legal framework for the high seas in meeting these challenges. According to the Commission, this means a special focus on the effectiveness of regional fisheries management organisations, particularly with respect to their accountability, transparency, and performance. It also means reviewing the governance gap on biodiversity conservation and analysing options for combatting IUU fishing. The Commission will also assess the suitability of the existing legal regime for regulating emerging uses of the global ocean.

3. To engage with interested parties around the world, as well as the general public. The Commission will connect with fishers, military and merchant navies, recreational sailors, seafood companies, conservation groups and the emergent seabed mining business. The Commission also aims to raise understanding among policymakers, economists and other groups, including the general public, of the implications should high seas issues not be reformed.

4. To make recommendations regarding ‘cost-effective, pragmatic and politically feasible reforms of high seas governance, management and enforcement.’ While the threat analysis will take account of external issues such as climate change, recommendations will focus on reforms that can be achieved by evolving high seas governance. Some may concern the fundamental legal framework under which the global ocean is governed, whereas others may focus on improving the effectiveness of existing mechanisms.

The Global Ocean Commission
Somerville College
Woodstock Road
Oxford, OX2 6HS 

Tel: UK+44 (0) 1865 280747   

GLOBAL OCEAN COMMISSIONERS - CO-CHAIRS

THE COMMISSIONERS

GOC's SECRETARIAT

RICH COUNTRIES PAY ZOMBIES $5 BILLION A YEAR IN SUBSIDIES TO PLUNDER THE OCEANS - Without the subsidies, most of these businesses would fail. So thoroughly have industrial fleets over-fished the seas that they couldn’t afford the fuel to travel the ever-increasing distance needed to catch the same amount of fish if their governments didn’t lavish public funds upon them.

In economics, you’d call these zombies - unprofitable companies that would fail if governments didn’t prop them up. There are two big problems with zombies. First, they take resources that could go to support new, productive companies. And by subsidizing zombies, governments allow them to keep prices low, driving productive companies out of business.

 If industrial fleets weren’t subsidized, they’d go out of business. Small-scale fisheries that don’t need enormous amounts of fuel to catch huge hauls of fish - i.e. the ones using sustainable fishing practices - would then in theory thrive. Many of these fishermen are in poor countries whose governments can’t afford to compete in the industrial looting. Worse, there’s a double-whammy zombie effect going on in the fishing context. Government subsidies to highly destructive industrial fleets don’t just deprive small-scale fishermen of finite taxpayer dollars and edge them out of the market with cheap prices; they also rob them of current and long-term fishing stocks.

LINKS & REFERENCE

UPI Science News 2014 June group calls for reforms to protect oceans from fishing drilling and pollution

Telegraph US-royal-tour-Prince-of-Wales-makes-plea-for-cleaner-oceans

Prince-of-Wales-speech-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-event-titled-plastic-the-marine-environment-scaling

Daily Mail Charles-horrified-toll-plastic-dumped-sea-Prince-Wales-plea-solve-issue-sake-future-generations

The Guardian environment 2015 March 19 Prince-charles-calls-for-end-to-dumping-of-plastic-in-worlds-oceans

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/prince-charles-speaks-dangers-plastic-waste-oceans-29736519

Global Ocean Commission

National Geographic news 2014 June Global-ocean-commission-report-high-seas-fishing-environment

Virgin leadership and advocacy introducing global ocean commission

Wikipedia European_Commissioner_for_Maritime_Affairs_and_Fisheries

Reuters 2013 US oceans new global group to clean up

National Geographic 2014 global-ocean-commission-report-high-seas-fishing-environment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commissioner_for_Maritime_Affairs_and_Fisheries

http://www.virgin.com/unite/leadership-and-advocacy/introducing-global-ocean-commission

http://www.scienceifl.com/ocean-plastic-pollution.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/prince-charles-speaks-dangers-plastic-waste-oceans-29736519

http://www.globaloceancommission.org/

http://time.com/3750375/environment-prince-charles-oceans/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150318-prince-charles-oceans-trash-plastic-britain/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Ocean_Commission

http://www.itv.com/news/2015-03-18/prince-charles-makes-impassioned-plea-for-oceans-clean-up/

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