Albania joins UN Fish Stocks Agreement; missing text passages restored in Austrian publication
The Austrian official publication of the UN Agreement on straddling and highly migratory fish stocks (BGBl. III Nr. 21/2005) has been updated: Albania acceded to the agreement (BGBl. III Nr. 92/2026), and several previously truncated text passages in the EU competence and interpretive declarations have been restored. The update took effect on 9 July 2026.
What changed
Albania has been added to the list of contracting parties to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement. Additionally, previously missing sentence fragments were reinserted into the EU's competence declaration and interpretive statements — for example, passages on dispute settlement over vessel detention and on the use-of-force proportionality principle.
Who is affected
This is a highly specialised international fisheries treaty. The update is primarily relevant to government authorities, fisheries regulators, and legal professionals working in maritime or international law. It has no direct practical effect on Austrian residents.
What to look out for
The 'Sonstige Textteile' (other text sections) headings were removed as a minor editorial cleanup. Austria's publication of the treaty retains its 'repealed' status (repeal date: 25 January 2012), meaning Austria itself is no longer separately bound; the document now serves as a reference text.