Throughout the world, the fishing industry has come under increased pressure to comply with environmental requirements. This pressure has been prompted by scientific evidence that most of the world's commercial fisheries stock have either been over-fished or are in danger of over­exploitation beyond their sustainable levels. This development must be seen in a wider international context. Since the past decade or so, there has been an intensification of international environmental consciousness with many international governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations putting pressure on governments to develop legal frameworks to achieve environmental protection at the international level. Consequently, a number of international environmental instruments have been negotiated in response to this new international environmental consciousness.

At the same time some individual countries, notably the United States of America, in response to domestic pressure from conservation groups and its powerful domestic fishing industry, has enacted a number of domestic legislation to impose certain conservation standards on the fishing industry. The implementation of these legislation also have significant international trade implications for the fishing industry.

The international environmental instruments affecting fisheries fall into two broad categories. The first category are those which may be described as treaties or conventions. They are legally binding on the parties to them. Some of these instruments are directly aimed at the fishing industry, whilst some are of general application but with potential implications for the fishing industry. In the second category are the so called "soft law" instruments which are resolutions or declarations by international organisations.

The broad findings of this report are that the objectives of fisheries management such as "conservation" and "optimum utilisation" of fisheries resources are stated in many binding instruments whilst the second wave of instruments which fall into the category of "soft" law, are more fisheries problem specific for example, protecting species, restoration, banning of specific gear, minimising bycatch and specific actions in management plans. The trend identified is that international environmental instruments relating to the fishing industry are moving from general objectives in currently binding instruments to more specific constraints and management methods in subsequent "soft law" instruments. The study also finds that the tightening of environmental constraints in fisheries management will be gradual, though the diversity of issues make the time for implementation of policies uncertain. These restraints will undoubtedly translate into more prescriptive legislation in respect of Turtle Exclusion Devices (TEDs or Trawling Efficiency Devices), fishing practices, closed areas, and species specific bans.

The report identified a number of internal and external strategic questions for the fishing industry in response to the growing international environmental instruments.