Sustaining Tomorrow's Central Arctic Ocean Today

The central Arctic Ocean is becoming accessible for the first time in human history. As climate change diminishes the region's traditional meters-thick sea ice cover, the potential for a commercial fishery is growing. In precautionary response to the ecological disaster that overfishing would cause to the central Arctic Ocean ecosystem, 10 parties (Canada, Denmark in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Norway, Russia, the United States, China, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union) signed the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA) in October 2018, with the agreement entering into force in June 2021. This report examines best practices and lessons learned from regional fisheries management organizations, other relevant organizations and agreements, and subject matter experts to inform good fisheries governance within the central Arctic Ocean as well as good governance within the greater Arctic environment.