The Bering Sea "Donut Hole" convention to resolve overfishing disputes was based on and supported by UNCLOS

UNCLOS III provisions played a key role in the resolution of a major conflict in the Central Bering Sea in 1994. n285 The problem arose in the mid1980s, when the vessels of several nations began to fish a stock of pollack in an area of the Central Bering Sea just outside the U.S. and Russian 200mile EEZs. n286 The fish stock was largely associated with the U.S. zone and its fisheries.ⁿ²⁸⁷ The international fishery grew quickly, with the annual harvest soon reaching 1.5 million metric tons or more.ⁿ²⁸⁸ American fishermen increasingly called on the U.S. government to control international fishing in the Central Bering Sea, also known as the "Bering Sea Donut Hole."ⁿ²⁸⁹ By 1991, negotiations began among the nations that used the fishery: Russia, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Poland, and the United States.ⁿ²⁹⁰ These nations debated over whether the United States and Russia had a special right to the stocks.ⁿ²⁹¹ The result was the "Donut Hole Convention,"ⁿ²⁹² which has been described as a "precautionary approach to stock management."ⁿ²⁹³ Ambassador Colson has argued that UNCLOS III did not hinder the Donut Hole agreement; in fact, "the Donut Hole Convention could not have been negotiated without the framework and foundation provided by the Law of the Sea Convention."ⁿ²⁹⁴ Among the requirements of the Donut Hole agreement is that fishing vessels must use realtime satellite positionfixing transmitters while in the Bering Sea so nations can ensure that vessels are there only to navigate to and from the fishing ground.ⁿ²⁹⁵ The agreement also provides for boarding and inspection of fishing vessels by any party, and it establishes procedures to "ensure that no fishing occurs in the Donut Hole except in accordance with sound conservation and management rules."ⁿ²⁹⁶ While the Donut Hole Convention was negotiated with UNCLOS III in mind,ⁿ²⁹⁷ according to Ambassador Colson, "the Law of the Sea Convention can help the Donut Hole Convention by providing an alternative enforcement mechanism to ensure than no vessel undertakes conduct in the Central Bering Sea contrary to the provisions of the Donut Hole Convention."ⁿ²⁹⁸ The dispute settlement provisions of UNCLOS III would enable the parties to "ensure enforcement of multilateral fishery conservation arrangements on the high seas ... The Law of the Sea dispute settlement option can act both as a deterrent and as a means to bring about final resolution should problems arise in the Donut Hole in the future."