Hmm...gotta wonder how much -- if any -- the recent back-and-forth concerning whether fish stocks would collapse in the near future had any influence over the UN General Assembly this week. After all, the Assembly recently called on all nations to take "immediate action," to sustainably manage fish stocks, and protect vulnerable deep sea ecosystems from harmful fishing practices. Huzzah!

Concerned that overfishing, illegal catches, wasteful methods, and destructive techniques were depleting fish stocks and ruining marine habitats, the UNGA adopted a consensus resolution introduced by the U.S. that asks all countries to apply a "precautionary approach" and an "ecosystem approach" to the conservation, management, and exploitation of fish stocks. Coming down particularly hard -- and justifiably so -- on bottom trawling, the Resolution calls on Regional Fisheries Management Organizations to close vulnerable marine ecosystems to trawlers within 2 years. For areas where there are no RFMOs, states have been asked to stop authorizing vessels to conduct trawling until conservation and management measures are adopted.

While this Resolution is amazing and wondrous on several levels, the pessimist in me wonders how effective it'll be. After all, consensus resolutions are non-binding and largely symbolic -- and the UN is frequently ignored.