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Acquaculture, Live Stock, World

COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management is also set to discuss improvements in the methodology to assess the state and health of the world’s marine fisheries stocks

A new global fisheries management body began its inaugural meeting with key items on the agenda including best practices and approaches for the effective management of fisheries resources, and improvements in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) methodology to estimate the state and health of the world’s marine fish stocks.

The fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, the promotion of adaptive responses to the climate crisis, and the mainstreaming of biodiversity will also be on the agenda of the COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management’s 15-18 January 2024 meeting, with a specific focus on small-scale fisheries.

Over 500 million people globally depend, at least partially, on fisheries for their livelihoods – nearly half of them women when considering the whole value chain. While 65 per cent of fish stocks were within biologically sustainable levels, 35 per cent were estimated to be at unsustainable levels – a proportion that has been increasing since the 1970s.

The COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management’s main functions are to provide technical and policy guidance on fisheries management, identify global challenges and opportunities, and promote collective solutions to ensure the environmental, economic and social sustainability of a sector crucial for global food security and nutrition.

“Improving global fisheries management remains crucial to restore ecosystems to a healthy and productive state and to protect the long-term supply of aquatic foods,” said QU Dongyu FAO Director-General in his address to the opening of the meeting’s virtual plenary session. “This improvement also includes eliminating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and on addressing the impacts of the climate crisis, and biodiversity degradation that are also heavily impacting aquatic and coastal ecosystems and dependent communities”.

The Director-General noted that the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management will guide FAO’s Blue Transformation roadmap and its core objective of ensuring that global fisheries resources – including lakes, rivers and seas – are efficiently and effectively managed.

COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management is also

Acquaculture, Live Stock, World

Parties to FAO global agreement endorse a strategy for strengthened global commitment and information exchange

Parties to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (PSMA) have agreed to strengthen efforts to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing by extending vessel inspections, exchanging global information and improving the capacity of developing states.

The Fourth Meeting of the Parties, an event hosted by the Indonesian Government in Bali, has endorsed a strategy to increase adherence to the PSMA.

The Parties also agreed to take the Global Information Exchange System (GIES), a digital system developed by FAO at the request of the Parties, from its current pilot phase to a fully operational system by the end of this year.

“FAO is working with countries and regional fisheries management organisations to combat IUU fishing, by reviewing national legislation, identifying ways to strengthen their institutional capacity, and helping them enhance their monitoring and surveillance systems, so they can effectively implement the PSMA and other international instruments to promote sustainable fisheries,” said Manuel Barange, the director of FAO’s fisheries and aquaculture division.

Currently, one in three fish stocks is overfished. With the rising demand for aquatic foods, ensuring that all stocks are managed sustainably is crucial.

The PSMA has the highest rate of adherence of all international fisheries instruments. It is the first binding international agreement designed to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by stopping foreign vessels engaging in it, from using ports, landing their catches, or even denying them entry. It is a key instrument to block fish products derived from IUU fishing from entering international markets.

So far 75 Parties, including the European Union as one Party on behalf of its Member States, have adhered to the PSMA. This represents 59 per cent of port States globally. Timor-Leste became the latest Party to the agreement at the end of last month.  

The Global Information Exchange System (GIES) plays a critical role in supporting the implementation of the PSMA. It is a global system that shares vital information including inspection reports and actions taken on foreign fishing vessels engaged in IUU fishing.

“We need streamlined information exchange and digitalisation for the PSMA to effectively combat IUU fishing,” said Matthew Camilleri, senior fishery officer and head of the Fisheries Global and Regional Processes Team in FAO’s fisheries and aquaculture division.

During this Fourth Meeting of the Parties, Parties to the PSMA pledged further support to the Global Capacity Development Programme, which has to date supported more than 50 developing States in improving their capacity to combat IUU fishing.

Parties to FAO global agreement endorse a