Joint Statements Issued at Close of High-Level Meeting at FAO
WASHINGTON and ROME, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of 121 fishing
ministers and high-level fisheries officials who gathered at FAO over the
weekend for a special ministerial meeting have issued a joint declaration
stressing the need to rebuild fisheries and aquaculture in tsunami-affected
countries in a responsible and people-centered manner.
Among those participating in the March 12 event were representatives from
countries affected by the tsunami.
Focus on people, sustainability
According to the declaration adopted by the Ministerial Meeting,
rehabilitation should focus on restoring the livelihoods of fishers and fish
farmers and on providing them with protection from future natural disasters
and other environmental threats.
The statement also emphasized the need to protect the rights of fishers
and fish workers and ensure their access to fishing grounds and resources,
particularly for those involved in subsistence, small-scale and artisanal
fishing.
At the same time, the ministers said that improving the efficiency,
sustainability and governance of fisheries is also a priority, and agreed to
cooperate to ensure that reconstruction does not produce a level of fishing
capacity that exceeds what fishery resources can sustainably support.
All rehabilitation should be in line with the principles of the FAO Code
of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, a set of international guidelines for
sustainable fishing adopted by the Organization's member states in 1995, they
said.
And the institutional and technical capacities of countries to responsibly
manage fishery resources must be restored and strengthened, beyond simply
rebuilding physical infrastructure, the declaration noted.
Second declaration takes fight against illegal fishing to new level
The Ministerial Meeting also adopted a second declaration calling for
intensified action to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
As a new step in anti-IUU efforts, the group called for the creation
within FAO of a comprehensive global record of fishing vessels, including
supply and refrigerated transport ships, to facilitate prevention of illegal
fishing.
Additionally, the countries said they would renew their efforts to ensure
that all large-scale industrial fishing vessels operating on the high seas be
fitted with vessel monitoring systems (VMS) by December 2008.
VMS involves putting monitoring units on vessels that transmit data on
their location and activities. This allows authorities to remotely monitor
ship activities in great detail, helping to both strengthen general fisheries
management as well as to more effectively combat IUU fishing.
The ministers also acknowledged the need to strengthen Regional Fisheries
Management Organizations -- intergovernmental organizations that facilitate
cooperation on management of high seas fishing -- to make them more effective
in preventing IUU fishing.
FAO has identified IUU fishing as major impediment to the achievement of
sustainable world fisheries. Combating it outside countries' exclusive
economic zones on the high seas, where governance is particular complex, is
not easy.
The talks capped off a week of discussions on responsible fisheries and
aquaculture by 600 representatives of 137 governments during a meeting of
FAO's Committee on Fisheries (COFI), held 7-11 March at the Organization's
Rome headquarters. Some 43 intergovernmental organizations and 28
nongovernmental organizations also participated.
For more information about FAO visit http://www.fao.org .
SOURCE Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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Related links:
http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom
CONTACT:
Michael Hage, Regional Information Officer of
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
+1-202-653-0011, or michael.hage@fao.org
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