UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Central Government approves India’s accession to Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA)

Q1. With reference to the regional management of high-seas fisheries in the Indian Ocean, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Vessels targeting yellowfin and skipjack tuna on the Indian Ocean high seas come under the conservation measures of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission rather than those of the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement.
  2. Vessels targeting swordfish on the high seas of the southern Indian Ocean come under the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement, since swordfish is not a tuna.
  3. Vessels targeting alfonsino on a high-seas seamount in the southern Indian Ocean come under the conservation measures of the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. India's membership of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission does not by itself bring Indian vessels fishing for toothfish and alfonsino on the Indian Ocean high seas within a regional management framework.
  2. The mandate of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission extends only to tuna and tuna-like species, which are highly migratory.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the regime for living marine resources under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Where a coastal State lacks the capacity to harvest the entire allowable catch of its exclusive economic zone, it is to give other States access to the surplus through agreements or arrangements.
  2. Because freedom of fishing is one of the freedoms of the high seas, the right of a State's nationals to fish there is not subject to that State's treaty obligations.
  3. A coastal State's rights over the sedentary species of its continental shelf depend on its effective occupation of the shelf or on an express proclamation.
  4. States whose nationals exploit identical living resources in the same high-seas area are to negotiate conservation measures and, as appropriate, cooperate to establish regional fisheries organisations.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A coastal State's sovereign rights over the sedentary species of its continental shelf end at the 200 nautical mile limit of its exclusive economic zone.
  2. UNCLOS excludes sedentary species of the continental shelf from its exclusive economic zone provisions on living resources and places them under the continental shelf regime.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to the control of fishing vessels operating on the high seas, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under UNCLOS, a ship on the high seas is, save in exceptional cases expressly provided for by treaty, subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of its flag State.
  2. Under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, in a high-seas area covered by a regional fisheries management organisation, a member State's authorised inspectors may board and inspect fishing vessels flagged to another State Party.
  3. The FAO Port State Measures Agreement seeks to stop vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing from using ports and landing their catches.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q6. With reference to States that are not full parties to a regional fisheries management organisation, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A State that has not acceded to an RFMO's founding treaty has, under UNCLOS, no duty to cooperate in conserving the high-seas stocks found in that RFMO's area.
  2. A Cooperating Non-Contracting Party is expected to comply with the RFMO's conservation and management measures even though it is not a party to the founding treaty.
  3. Under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, access to fishery resources covered by an RFMO's measures is reserved for its members and for States that agree to apply those measures.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q7. Consider the following assertion: Deep-water fish stocks of the kind India will target under SIOFA can sustain only low rates of exploitation. Which of the following statements support the above assertion?

  1. Many deep-water species live in low-productivity environments and grow slowly.
  2. Many deep-water species mature late in life, some only after about two decades.
  3. For some deep-water species there is no evidence that recruitment rises to compensate when the stock is fished down.
  4. Deep-water stocks of this kind are highly migratory, ranging across several ocean basins.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q8. With reference to the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It is a stand-alone treaty concluded outside the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
  2. It provides for area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
  3. It vests the setting of catch limits for high-seas fish stocks in its Conference of the Parties, displacing regional fisheries management organisations.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only