C4 - International Landscape and Key Events

Purpose

• International context
• Canada’s international priorities and our engagement mechanisms
• Key international fora of interest on the horizon

International Context

Global Context

Effective Governance and Enforcement

• Multilateral and bilateral collaboration to develop solutions for fisheries and ocean health (including Regional Fisheries Management Organizations)
• Sustainable Development Goal 14 - Life below water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources (including ocean finance)

Global Trade

• Advance economic cooperation, expand and diversify fish and seafood trade of sustainable Canadian products and reduce trade barriers

Conservation

• Protect, conserve and restore the marine environment

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

• Combat IUU fishing through governance, partnerships, and enforcement
• Heightened geopolitical tensions affecting multilateral cooperation

Sustainable Ocean Wealth

• Development of sustainable ocean economy
• Efforts to enhance transboundary, straddling and high seas fish stock sustainability
• Ocean economy to double by 2030, to US $3 trillion

Climate Change:

• Role of the oceans in climate change mitigation
• Increasing focus on ensuring management is adaptive and robust to a changing climate
• Additional science required to underpin decision-making

Legal Context

• UNCLOS: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)
• UN Fish Stocks: United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (1995)
• Regional fisheries: Regional Conventions and Agreements to regulate fishing (various)
• Trade obligations: E.g., World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (2022), Free Trade Agreements
• Multilateral Environmental Agreements: E.g., Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)

Canadian International Priorities

The Department works with federal and international partners to advance Canada’s interests in the sphere of fisheries and oceans, through multilateral and bilateral engagements.

Sovereignty and Rule of Law

• Influence multilateral conservation efforts in support of domestic objectives
• Uphold the principles, rights, duties, and obligations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
• Uphold and enforce international rules to protect the economic and environmental viability of fisheries and oceans, e.g., through Operation North Pacific Guard, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs)

Nature and Climate Change

• Ensure new industries, such as seabed mining, are effectively regulated to mitigate impacts on ocean ecosystems
• Incorporate climate change considerations in ocean governance and include ocean considerations in climate plans
• Work to address marine debris/plastics, i.e., ghost gear
• Advance progress on global marine conservation targets, including through ratification and implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Fisheries

• Maintain access to international fish stocks (e.g., RFMOs)
• Combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing
• Ensure trade does not undermine environmental objectives, while supporting global markets
• Expand fish and seafood exports by leveraging free trade agreements and working with partners to address trade barriers
• Collaborate on sustainable aquaculture

Increase Knowledge

• Engage with international partners in policy and scientific initiatives and research activities to support domestic and global policy making
• Strengthen global ocean knowledge systems
• Promote Regional Stability
• Inform and influence efforts of multilateral bodies; e.g., Arctic Council, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
• Enforce international rules, e.g., through Operation North Pacific Guard
• Support capacity-building through knowledge sharing and funding partners to develop self-sustaining approaches; e.g., Shared Ocean Fund

Engagement Mechanisms

Multilateral International Organizations

• United Nations and associated bodies (e.g., UN Food and Agriculture Organization, UNFCCC, CBD, CITES, BBNJ)
• World Trade Organization (e.g., fish subsidies)
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• Ocean science focused (e.g., ICES/PICES, IOCUNESCO)

Regional

• Legally-binding fisheries agreements and management measures through RFMOs
• Non-binding fisheries arrangements (e.g., Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement)
• APEC
• All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA)
• Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME)
• Americas for the Protection of the Ocean

Bilateral

• Canada-U.S. Fisheries Treaties and Agreements (e.g., Pacific Salmon Treaty)
• High Level Dialogues with International counterparts (e.g., Canada-France Ocean Declaration; U.K.; Norway; EU)
• Domestic stakeholders
• Environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs)
• Free Trade Agreements

Multilateral/Plurilateral

• Commonwealth
• G7/G20
• High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy
• Arctic Council
• Global Ocean Alliance (GOA)
• High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC)
• IUU-Action Alliance
• Ocean Acidification Alliance

Intra-Governmental

• Advancing international relations (e.g., through Canada’s Indo Pacific Strategy)
• Working with other government organizations on cross-cutting issues (e.g., climate change; safety and security; trade; and, to encourage rules based order)

Key International Events: 2026-27

1. World Ocean Summit & Expo (Montreal, March 4-5)
2. Seafood Expo North America (Boston, March 15-17)
3. Seafood Expo Global (Barcelona, April 21-23)
4. Meeting with the European Commission (Brussels, April 23)
5. [Placeholder] G7 Ocean Ministerial (Date and location TBD)
6. European Union High Level Dialogue (Brussels, May 18-19)
7. Norway High Level Dialogue (Oslo, May 21-22)
8. Our Oceans Conference (Mombasa, Kenya, June 16-18)
9. 28th Meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) (Nairobi, Kenya, July 27 – August 1)
10. UN General Assembly and Ocean Panel Annual Leaders’ Meeting (New York, September)
11. Arctic Circle Assembly (Reykjavik, Iceland, October 8-10)
12. CBD COP 17 (Yerevan, Armenia, October 19-30)
13. Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) (China, November)
14. UNFCCC COP31 (Antalya, Türkiye, November 9-20)
15. First Meeting of the COP to the BBNJ Agreement (New York, December or January)
16. 6th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC6) (Dakar, Senegal, February)