Following two decades of negotiations, the BBNJ Agreement, which so far has 145 signatories and 81 Parties, came into force on 17 January 2026. It is a binding global treaty, aimed at ensuring the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. The Agreement covers four main issues: marine genetic resources; area-based management tools; environmental impact assessments; and capacity building and technology transfer.
The BBNJ Agreement requires a cross-sectoral approach that integrates and builds on existing arrangements to manage human activities in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), such as fishing, shipping, mining and research exploration. The BBNJ Agreement also stipulates that the benefits of marine genetic resources – often used in pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics – are fairly and equitably shared.
“The BBNJ Agreement is an important next step in addressing critical gaps in the governance of areas beyond national jurisdiction. FAO is equipped with the know-how to assist parties and institutions to implement the Agreement, and has expertise, data and systems that will be critical to achieve its goals,” said FAO Assistant Director-General and Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Manuel Barange.
The ABNJ cover roughly two-thirds of the world’s oceans and close to a majority of the total living space of the planet. Fishing in these waters is regulated through an existing network of rules and regional fisheries management organizations, with some geographical gaps. Around 11 million tonnes of aquatic animals are caught by fisheries per year in the ABNJ, mostly tunas, bonitos, billfishes and elasmobranchs taken from the epipelagic zone.
Regional fisheries management organizations put in place binding rules to manage fishing in many ABNJs, including setting observation and monitoring systems, science-based catch limits, allocation and bycatch rules, and when needed, closures to reduce pressures on marine resources, They have decades of experience managing and conserving marine biodiversity and will be critical to the success of the BBNJ Agreement, through capacity development, science-based management systems, data collection, and monitoring, Barange noted.
“Just as healthy and biodiverse ecosystems are the foundations of sustainable fisheries, the institutions designed to govern the latter can contribute greatly to ensuring human use can coexist with and support biodiversity,” he said.
How FAO can help
Data will be critical to the BBNJ, making FAO’s fisheries data, including production, trade, employment, fleet capacity and consumption of aquatic resources, as well as FAO’s regular assessment on the state of marine fishery resources, and the Fisheries and Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS), particularly valuable.
Capacity building is essential for all international treaties. In this area FAO has long supported countries, for example in building the capacity to implement and comply with the Agreement on Port State Measures to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, and in using compliance-related tools like the Guidelines on Transshipment and the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, all of which are applicable and relevant in the ABNJ ocean areas. Through the Common Oceans Program, funded by the Global Environment Facility, FAO and its partners have proven with practical solutions on how global and cross-sectoral collaboration can support the effective and sustainable management of the ABNJ areas, with demonstrable success for tuna stocks and the survival of vulnerable species such as the albatross and sharks.
FAO has worked for decades with the approximately 50 regional fisheries bodies, establishing a networking model that will be critical for the new treaty. FAO is already supporting countries and regional fishery bodies in their preparations to implement the BBNJ Agreement. Although the details of how the BBNJ Agreement will operate are still being developed, FAO’s data and networking systems, technical expertise and capacity-building activities will be essential for its implementation.
“Marine biodiversity underpins sustainable fisheries and global food security. The BBNJ Agreement presents a unique opportunity to enhance global oceans governance and improve outcomes for everyone,” Barange said.
