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Speaking at the 10th Meeting of FAO South West Pacific Ministers for Agriculture in the Samoan capital, Graziano da Silva said addressing climate change had become “a question of survival – just like hunger.”
The South West Pacific area accounts for roughly 15 percent of the globe, and includes about two thousand islands and atolls, which are particularly vulnerable to storms and flooding, water scarcity, and stresses on fishery and forestry systems. The Director-General said one of FAO’s priorities was to work on the especially urgent climate change issues faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and low-lying coastal areas in Pacific and all regions. FAO supports Pacific island countries in many ways, in part, by working to broaden and deepen implementation of internationally agreed norms, like the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and related instruments. The organization works with governments and partners at the national, regional and international levels on issues like illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; the management of tuna fishing; and the management of marine areas beyond national jurisdictions.

The FAO capture and aquaculture databases have been updated with an additional year and now include data from 1950 to 2011. Users can consult these datasets through FishStatJ and FishStat Plus stand-alone software or the online query panel . A brief overview on capture and aquaculture trends is available.

Technical Consultation to negotiate the final text of the International Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) which shall be be presented for approval to the 31st Session of the Committee on Fisheries. Registration Registration Form for International Organizations / Formulaire d’inscription pour Organisations Internationales / Formulario de inscripción para Organizaciones Internacionales Information for Delegates to Meetings at FAO Headquarters Meeting documents Web site: http://www.fao.org/fishery/ssf/guidelines/en

A training workshop on the use and collection of data on post-harvest losses in fisheries aims to identify sustainable solutions to reduce losses in artisanal fisheries. The workshop, held in Lomé, Togo, was organized by Togo's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, in collaboration with FAO as part of the NEPAD/FAO Fish Programme. Interview with Yvette DieiOuadi, FAO fishery industry officer (in French)

The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department recently released the Report of the Expert Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Strategies and Methods in Seafood. The workshop, held in January 2012 and convened by the Director-General of FAO, provides information on possible fishing industry contributions to climate change and on ways to reduce the sector’s reliance on and consumption of fossil fuels, respecting the principles embodied within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A new document, Safety Recommendations for Decked Fishing Vessels of Less than 12 metres in Length and Undecked Fishing Vessels was published as part of the continuing cooperation between FAO, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in relation to the safety of fishing vessels. These safety recommendations provide information on the design, construction, equipment, training and protection of the crews of small fishing vessels with a view to promoting the safety of the vessel and the safety and health of the crews. They can also serve as a guide for those concerned with the safety of vessels used in support of aquaculture activities. Although not intended as a substitute for national laws and regulations, these recommendations can also help in framing such national laws and regulations.

Information for Participants at Meetings at FAO Headquarters Meeting location: FAO - Nigeria meeting room (C215 - second floor) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome Italy Report | Meeting documents

A recent FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture publication, Fishing vessel execution of acoustic surveys of deep-sea species: main issues and way forward, provides a synthesis of current knowledge and practice for engaging the fishing industry in the management of the resources they target, highlights main challenges, and discusses how analysts and decision-makers can use this experience in undertaking aggregation-based fishing-vessel executed acoustic surveys.

Aquaculture - an important food-producing sector that is an essential source of nutritious proteins, as well as a source of jobs and foreign export earnings - has undergone dramatic growth leading towards increased intensification and diversification of global aquaculture. Commercial aquaculture calls for the routine use of veterinary medicines to prevent and treat disease outbreaks owing to pathogens, assure healthy stocks and maximize production. However, the expanded and occasionally irresponsible global movements of live aquatic animals have been accompanied by the transboundary spread of a wide variety of pathogens that have sometimes caused serious damage to aquatic food productivity and resulted in serious pathogens becoming endemic in culture systems and the natural aquatic environment. As disease emergencies can happen even in well-managed aquaculture operations, careful planning on the use of antimicrobials is essential. A recent FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper, Improving biosecurity through prudent and responsible use of veterinary medicines in aquatic food production, offers guidance to aquaculture stakeholders on the responsible use of veterinary medicines.

Proceedings for a workshop organized last year by FAO and Secretariat of the Pacific Community are now available. Priority adaptations to climate change for Pacific fisheries and aquaculture: reducing risks and capitalizing on opportunities provides a summary of the technical presentations given at the workshop on the implications of climate change for Pacific fisheries and aquaculture as well as the outcomes of discussions on the priority adaptations that Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) can implement to reduce risks and take advantage of opportunities. Discussions focused on priority adaptations for economic development and government revenue, food security and sustainable livelihoods for Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian nations. The adaptations identified reflect the different fisheries participation rates and importance of fish to economic development and as a source of local food and income in these different region.

Countries of the Caribbean region have agreed to a ten-year strategic action programme for the sustainable management of shared living marine resources. Many of the economically important marine species in the area - as well the environmental problems that affect these species - are transboundary in nature and require coordinated action to ensure the sustainable use and protection of these natural resources. The action programme , approved at the 4th Meeting of the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) Project held last week in Colombia, focuses on fisheries enhancement, fisheries sustainability, biodiversity and ecosystem protection, and alternative livelihoods. The programme will now go to the responsible ministries in all 21 participating countries for political endorsement, after which new investments can be attracted to the region to help implement it. For more information: Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) Project

The FAO FishFinder programme has published a new guide,Field identification guide to the living marine resources of the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean, covering major animal groups of the southern and eastern Mediterranean Sea, including crustaceans, molluscs, sea urchins, fishes, sea turtles and marine mammals. It contains information on 372 species, selected according to their economic interest, commonness, and endangered or invasive status. Each entry includes scientific nomenclature, FAO common names, size, habitat and biology, importance to fisheries, and distribution, as well as annotated illustrations highlighting relevant diagnostic features. Tables with vernacular names from the countries covered by the guide are also included. To better disseminate this information, particularly for fishers, the field guide includes an Arabic translation.

Information for Participants at Meetings at FAO Headquarters Meeting location: FAO - Nigeria meeting room (C215 - second floor) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome Italy Report | Meeting documents

ONLINE Registration and Meeting documents: GFCM 37 | CoC 7 | CAF 4

While human consumption of fish products has doubled in the last half century, policies for sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems must address the challenges facing global fish stocks.

AppliFish is a free mobile application developed by the fisheries and biodiversity knowledge platform i-Marine makes aquatic-related information available to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Some 30 percent of the world's marine fish stocks assessed in 2009 were overexploited, according to FAO's State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012.

iMarine is a global consortium of 13 research institutes, universities and international organizations from three continents with €5 million in funding by the European Union (EU).

Its new application AppliFish also has a web version that contains additional scientific information, which can help policy-makers, producers and consumers make informed decisions, and contribute to shape policies necessary for the responsible management of fisheries and conservation of aquatic resources, as underlined in the principles laid out in FAO's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

AppliFish adds on to i-Marine's applications for managing, processing and visualizing scientific content to increase awareness of the challenges which aquatic ecosystems face.

These applications include the biodiversity mapping tool AquaMaps, the Vessel Transmitted Information Tool (VTI), reporting on vessel activity and environmental conditions for scientists working in fisheries, and the Integrated Capture Information System (ICIS), providing regional and global information on capture of aquatic species.

The application is designed as a pocket book of marine knowledge at the touch of a button. It offers basic information of over 550 marine species, such as a common names and sizes, distribution maps, as well as maps featuring expected changes in species distribution caused by climate change.

AppliFish combines data from authoritative, international sources, including FAO-FishFinder, FAO statistics, WoRMS, Fishbase, SeaLifeBase, IUCN, AquaMaps and OBIS, bringing together a wealth of expertise to create a community of practice in support of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and conservation of marine living resources.

AppliFish is available both for Android and for iOS.

Meeting location: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome Italy Adopted administrative report Second resumed session (4-8 February 2013) Arabic | Chinese | English | Español | Français | Russian Adopted Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance Second resumed session (4-8 February 2013) Arabic | Chinese | English | Español | Français | Russian Prospectus Arabic | Chinese | English | Español | Français | Russian Chairperson’s report Resumed sesion (5-9 March 2012) Chairperson’s draft text Text as at 9 March 2012 Chairperson’s report First session (2-6 May 2011) Chairperson’s draft text Text as at 9 May 2011 Meeting documents Documents contributed by Members Documents can be provided electronically to the Secretary ( matthew.camilleri@fao.org ) at any time. In keeping with FAO practice they will be posted in the original language. Under exceptional circumstances, and depending on the availability of extrabudgetary funds, efforts will be made to translate documents. Registration/ Inscription / Inscripción Registration Form for International Organizations / Formulaire d’inscription pour Organisations Internationales / Formulario de inscripción para Organizaciones Internacionales Visas Information for Delegates to Meetings at FAO Headquarters

Agenda: English | Russian Meeting documents

After several years of negotiations, countries have taken a major step against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), one of the greatest threats to sustainable fisheries and related livelihoods.
International guidelines developed through an FAO-led consultative process aim to cut down on IUU fishing by improving the accountability of flag states - those countries which register fishing vessels and authorize them to fly their flags.
The guidelines include recommended approaches to encourage and help flag states comply with their international duties and obligations regarding the flagging and control of fishing vessels. They also present possible actions in response to non-compliance.
The Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance were agreed upon after over five years of consensus-building among FAO Member Countries. The guidelines will be presented to the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) for endorsement at its next Session in June, 2014.

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