An international framework has been developing to address fisheries management since the adoption of UNCLOS in 1982, with an increasing number of fisheries management instruments beginning in the 1990s. This framework is comprised of both binding agreements and voluntary instruments which facilitate the management of fisheries at the global, regional and national level.
Within this framework, a number of provisions and requirements specifically address IUU fishing, with provisions and guidance relating to port State measures, flag State performance, coastal State responsibilities, market State measures, or a combination of all or some of these.
More recently, instruments have been formulated and agreed which specifically address IUU fishing. Together, these instruments comprise a powerful suite of tools to combat IUU fishing, and IUU fishing can only be eliminated when States fullfill their responsibilities under this framework.