Fisheries Regulation in the Maritime Zones of Svalbard

Abstract

Abstract The main focus of this article is the regulation of fishing in the maritime zones of Svalbard in light of both the Spitsbergen Treaty and the international law of the sea. It examines the legal positions of Norway, other states and the European Commission/European Union on, inter alia, the spatial scope of the Spitsbergen Treaty and complements this with analyses of relevant (sub-)regional and bilateral fisheries instruments and Norwegian legislation. These analyses illustrate, inter alia, that the practice of many states and entities involved seeks to reconcile legal positions on the spatial scope of the Spitsbergen Treaty with a raft of other interests. The conclusions also devote attention to possible pathways to resolve diverging positions, as well as to the potential for Norway to address the issue of unregulated fisheries in the context of the rapid pace of climate change in the Arctic.