On 29 November 1989, in Wellington, the Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Driftnets in the South Pacific was opened for signature. The text is dated four days earlier. English and French, equally authentic. Depositary: the Government of New Zealand. Article 10: open to members of the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and to States or Territories in the Convention Area. Article 11: no reservations. Article 13: it enters into force on the deposit of the fourth instrument of ratification or accession. Entry into force: 17 May 1991. Article 14: registration under Article 102 of the UN Charter.

The preamble: marine living resources of the region; damage now being done by pelagic driftnet fishing to the albacore tuna resource and to the environment and economy; a navigational threat; increasing fishing capacity. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in particular Parts V, VII and XVI. The South Pacific Forum Declaration at Tarawa, 11 July 1989. The resolution of the 29th South Pacific Conference at Guam calling for an immediate ban in the South Pacific Commission region.

Article 1: the Convention Area, lying within 10° N and 50° S, 130° E and 120° W, and also all waters under the fisheries jurisdiction of any Party. A driftnet: a gillnet or other net or a combination of nets more than 2.5 kilometres in length, the purpose of which is to enmesh, entrap or entangle fish by drifting. Driftnet fishing activities include searching, transhipping and processing catch, and supplying vessels equipped for that fishing.

Article 2: each Party shall prohibit its nationals and vessels documented under its laws from engaging in those activities within the Convention Area. Article 3: no assistance or encouragement; prohibition of the use of driftnets in waters under its fisheries jurisdiction and of transhipment; optional measures on landing, processing, importation, port access and possession of driftnets on board. Stricter measures remain permitted. Article 4: application, collaboration on surveillance, and withdrawal of good standing on the FFA Regional Register of Foreign Fishing Vessels.

Article 6: the FFA collects information and prepares an annual report. Article 8: cooperation on conservation and management measures for South Pacific albacore tuna. Article 9: protocols. Protocols I and II were concluded at Nouméa on 20 October 1990, not in 2000. General Assembly resolution 46/215 of 20 December 1991, on a worldwide moratorium, later cited the Convention’s entry into force; it is not the Wellington text.

The Beehive and Parliament, Wellington. The city where the Convention was opened for signature, not the signing hall. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

For context: Wellington Convention. The text: Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Driftnets in the South Pacific.