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The FAO calls for renewed attention on the need to reduce global fishing capacity 

Managing fishing capacity is essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and marine ecosystems. Since 1997, following the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) by the 1995 Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the 22nd Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) recognised fishing capacity as a priority issue. Several consultations and technical meetings led in 1999 to the adoption of the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity (IPOA-Capacity) by the 23rd Session of the COFI.

However, despite this drive to promote international cooperation in managing the challenges related to sustainable fishing, since the start of this century the percentage of overfished stocks increased from 9 percent to 35.5 percent in 2021. Overcapacity contributes to overfishing, resource depletion, economic inefficiency, and increased illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It undermines fisheries management objectives and leads to social and ecological instability.

Facing those challenges, the FAO decided to bring back the issue of fishing capacity high on the agenda at the meeting of the upcoming 2nd Session of the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management (COFI:FM), which will take place on 23-26 February in Reykjavík, Iceland.

To prepare discussions on this important issue, SIF contributed to the publication of a technical paper to review progress in implementing the IPOA-Capacity since its adoption in 1999. This technical paper, produced jointly with the FAO, sought to analyse trends in global fishing fleet capacity, identify best practices and measures that have been effective in reducing fishing capacity, and suggest actions and opportunities for strengthening fishing capacity management, which the Sub-Committee will be invited to consider. Suggestions made include:

  • to review and comment on the implementation of the 1999 International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity (IPOA-Capacity) in view of current trends in fishing capacity management.
  • for FAO to strengthen their fishing fleet assessment and monitoring activities, including for small-scale sectors, and to prepare and implement NPOAs and/or fleet capacity management strategies.
  • to recognise the need for improving global reporting on fishing fleets to FAO, using the International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishery Vessels (ISSCFV), and consider the need to develop harmonized definitions, indicators and methodology for fishing capacity assessment.
  • to encourage FAO Members to establish and maintain national registers or records of fishing vessels (including also small-scale vessels), and to consider uploading fleet information to FAO’s Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record).
  • to recognise the role of FAO in providing technical assistance and capacity development assistance to developing country Members for reducing overcapacity in support of the implementation of the relevant sections of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.

‘Renewed global attention to fishing capacity management is essential to ensure fleets are aligned with the productive potential of fisheries resources and long-term sustainability’, the study emphasises.

In the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Fisheries Committee for the Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) regions, SIF is supporting ongoing commitments to enhance oversight of fishing vessels through the establishment of regional records and registers, which have strong potential to support the fishing capacity management efforts, and remains committed to supporting the countries to harness more opportunities to strengthen implementation of the IPOA-Capacity.

 

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The Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management is a forum for discussing fisheries management issues at national, regional and global levels. The primary functions of the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management are to provide essential technical and policy guidance on fisheries governance and management, with the aim of advancing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Furthermore, it identifies significant global issues and trends in fisheries management and sustainable development that require urgent measures, offering guidance and recommendations for addressing them.