Flag State responsibility in international fisheries law - effective fact, creative fiction or further work required?

Abstract

The principle of flag State jurisdiction is one of the most widely acknowledged in international maritime law, yet it remains one of the most contentious. The rights of flag States have remained largely unchanged since the original evolution of the concept, but the list of their responsibilities has grown exponentially. In the international fisheries sector, attention is centred on the responsible flag State as the key panacea for combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the concept of flag State responsibility itself is still evolving. This paper considers the rationales, rights, responsibilities and lessons learned regarding flag State responsibility in both the general maritime context and the sphere of international fisheries, and makes some observations about the effectiveness of flag State responsibility and the alternatives that might be available.