Sea ecosystem and impact on native benthic communities2

.

Research to quantify the impact of king crab thus remains a high priority.

Management challenges and opportunities Between the opening of commercial harvesting in 2002 and until 2007, the population of red king crabs in the Barents Sea was jointly managed between Norway and Russia, with the objective of harvesting the red king crabs as an economically sustainable population2

Invasive species and MEAs

Invasive alien species have been identified as one of the most important issues threatening aquatic habitats and biodiversity in general24,25

. Many multilateral

environmental agreements require party states to take action to prevent, reduce, monitor, and control the introduction and transfer of invasive alien organisms. These include: • United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982)

• Rio Declaration of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, 1992)

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) and its Jakarta Mandate (1995)

• Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR, 1992)25

The CBD is the major international agreement relating to invasive species, to which both Norway and Russia are party. Article 8 of the CBD calls on parties to “prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species” and to “develop or maintain necessary legislation and/or other regulatory provisions for the protection of threatened species and populations”24

.

Guiding Principles for the implementation of the above article have also been adopted by the Conference of Parties to the CBD26

.

Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission set quotas for each country, based on scientific advice from Norwegian and Russian scientists. Since 2007, Norway and Russia have agreed to manage the red king crab separately within their respective economic zones23

and have set their own national quotas. . During this period the

Since 2004, Norway has taken measures to limit the spread west along Norway’s coast by implementing two management regimes. East of 26° East (Northern Cape), within a limited area, the red king crab is managed as a sustainable resource, and quotas are set accordingly. West of this point an open and non-legislated fishery has been set up in order to limit the spread of the crab until more information on the impact of the species is obtained14

.

The Government of Norway considers the measures implemented so far in its waters are in line with the country’s international commitments13

exterminate the red king crab in its waters – a decision subject to scientific research, monitoring, and assessment13

. Indeed,

within the framework of bilateral cooperation between Norway and Russia, the two countries have undertaken joint research on the red king crab since 1992, including the effects on native marine ecosystems and commercially-important fishes. A three-year joint research programme completed in 2008 has contributed much to improve the current understanding of red king crab ecology. A new joint 3-year research programme was agreed upon in March 201027

.

The Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) in the Barents Sea Region identifies the modification of marine ecosystems by invasive species, in particular the red king crab and snow crab, as one of the most important and growing issues facing its waters10

. The red king crab has also served

as an indicator for the Barents Sea region, in demonstrating that its waters are receptive to alien species. Unfortunately, there is clear evidence that international agreements and instruments have been ineffective in dealing with the problem, despite efforts of various international and national organizations10

king crab can be expected10

, and further westward expansion of the red .

RELEVANCE OF MULTI-LATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS 79 II

I

. It sees no legal obligation to