The objective of this voluntary commitment is to vigilantly guard against irresponsible actors who employ unsustainable and illegitimate practices contrary to the laws and principles in the UN Law of the Sea.

Fiji will place national prohibitions on destructive fishing practices and promote the use of sustainable fisheries. Such practices include the use of explosives, firearms, poisons and other noxious substances. Also included are drift-net fishing activities and any demersal trawling including trawling targeting benthic species. These prohibitions are established by our national fisheries laws and will be supported by Fiji's global advocacy to eradicate all forms of destructive fishing practices.

Global food demands continue to rise causing increased pressures on stocks and fisheries. We will continue to promote sustainable fisheries as the only solution.

Fiji remains concerned by the impacts of trans-boundary destructive fishing practices in areas beyond Fiji's jurisdiction. It is even more important therefore that, as a minimum, the Pacific region maintains a concerted approach to mitigate against the incidences of destructive fishing. We recognize that this will require practical enforcement mechanisms that can be agreed within the region.

Fiji's demersal water column is a clear geographical space for which there is a total prohibition on the use of demersal trawlers that also target benthic species. This is a precautionary approach by which the deep ocean is accorded full marine protection against destruction as there is a greater need for investigation through the promotion of research and data collection activities so as to facilitate the identification of vulnerable marine ecosystems.