The LOS Convention assigns primary interest in and responsibility for anadromous fish stocks to the States in whose rivers the stocks originate. Fishing for anadromous stocks is prohibited on the high seas, except in cases where economic dislocation might result. Coastal States through whose waters anadromous fish migrate are required to cooperate with the States wherein the anadromous stocks originated. Enforcement of regulations concerning anadromous fish stocks beyond the EEZ will be done through negotiated agreement. The United States actively participates in a cooperative bilateral salmon agreement with Canada as well as broader regional agreements for both Atlantic and Pacific stocks.
American eels are the primary catadromous species of interest to the United States.
The Convention gives the coastal States where these species spend most of their lives the responsibility for managing them, and prohibits harvesting them on the high seas. International cooperation is required where these species migrate through several EEZs. Although the meaning of sedentary is defined, no listing of exactly which species are to be considered sedentary is provided in the LOS Convention. The LOS Convention's obligation to cooperate in the conservation and management of high seas living resources represents a new commitment for the United States, and is subject to compulsory dispute settlement should conflict arise. The current United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks seeks to address more specifically some concerns for the conservation and management of high seas stocks in a manner consistent with the LOS Convention.