Another very important function of the Bill is to give effect to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Ireland became a party in 1996. The objective of this convention is to ensure the long-term cultivation of sustainable fishing stocks. It establishes national sovereignty over marine resources lying within coastal waters in the hope that by establishing such property rights countries will be encouraged and even obligated to protect and preserve the surrounding marine environment and regulate national fishing industries. This agreement is noted for its comprehensive coverage of marine resource issues, especially for its binding procedures for settling disputes over national resources lying outside sovereign waters.