ТЕХТВОК ON MARITIME FISHING LAW Bekiashev K.A., Maritime Fishing Law: Textbook. - Moscow: TK Welby, Publishing House "Prospekt", 2007. - 560 p.

Abstract

Bekiashev K.A., who is an international lawyer and a leading expert in this sphere, prepared a fifth edition of the textbook on Maritime Fishing Law first published in 1979. The new text book is recommended for students of seafaring disciplines of higher and secondary educational establishments as well as for lawyers and law firms dealing with the problems of Maritime and Fishing Law. The work under review is the result of 30 years of research devoted by this prominent scholar to Maritime Fishing Law.The book contains the most up-to-date information regarding the Russian legislation and International Maritime and Fishing Law. The book is comprised of 21 chapters; 152 paragraphs; an appendix with the list of sources on Maritime Fishing Law; a bibliography; a subject index.However, several critical comments can be expressed. First, the book does not cover the international regime of islands incorporated in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea while a big number of them has an exclusive economic zone of their own. Second, it would have been advantageous for the book to include a section on the legal regulation of fishing in the Arctic waters. Third, there are issues in the Russian-Norwegian relations concerning fishing in the Spitsbergen archipelago waters. What are the peculiarities of this regime? Are the Norwegian authorities right accusing Russian ships in allegedly illegal fishing in that region? Fourth, the book pays little attention to the delimitation of maritime spaces, specifically to the delimitation of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, while these issues often lead to the deterioration of relations between countries. Finally, one should bear in mind that when the book was ready to be published, a new Water Code of the Russian Federation was adopted and a number of changes were introduced to the federal laws on the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone.