Briefing Note
The Oslo Declaration on High Seas Fishing in the
Central Arctic Ocean
Erik J. Molenaar
On 16 July 2015, in Oslo, the coastal states of the Arctic Ocean – Canada, Denmark, Norway, the
Russian Federation and the United States (Arctic Five) – took a long-awaited further step in the
international regulation of Arctic Ocean fisheries by signing the ‘Declaration Concerning the
Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean’ (Oslo Declaration). Key
features of the Declaration are that it contains various political commitments, rather than international
obligations; it relates exclusively to fishing in the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean; it is
different than a ‘moratorium’, ‘ban’ or ‘freeze of fishing effort’; and it applies only to the Arctic Five.
The origins of the Arctic Five’s process on Arctic Ocean fisheries can be traced back to the United
States Senate joint &W6