Potential Interactions of EIA Rules between the BBNJ Agreement and the CAOFA

The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Sea Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAOFA) provides no specific provisions on how to evaluate the potential impacts of exploratory and commercial fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) on the marine environment. In comparison, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) provides comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) rules for activities to be carried out in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Since the BBNJ Agreement overlaps thematically and geographically with the CAOFA, this article aims to identify how these two regimes will interact with each other in terms of the EIA rules. It does so through two distinct simulations—a theoretical modelling of the normative interactions between the two regimes based on their provisions, and a practical simulation substantiating the obligations under the BBNJ Agreement with exploratory fishing in the high seas portion of the CAO under the CAOFA. It argues that, due to the coherence, cooperation, and collaboration mechanism built into the BBNJ Agreement, its EIA rules can potentially play an important role in forming the review rules under the CAOFA. It further provides potential alternative paths for the CAOFA’s review rules to remain unaffected by BBNJ Agreement’s EIA rules. Consequently, this article can serve as a preparatory tool, assisting states that are parties to both regimes in anticipating and managing the implications arising from the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement.