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The Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will hold its Twenty-Ninth Session in Rome, Italy over 31 January to 4 February (click here).

COFI constitutes the only global inter-governmental forum where major international fisheries problems and issues are examined and recommendations addressed to governments, regional fishery bodies, NGOs, fishers and the international community on a world-wide basis.  COFI has also been used as a forum in which global agreements and non-binding instruments are negotiated, such as the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries (IPOA-Seabirds).

Click here to access the various working documents and information papers to be considered at the 2011 meeting.  Two of these documents are of interest in relation to fisheries-induced mortality of seabirds, as outlined below.

Firstly, FAO-COFI-29 will consider working document COFI/2011/2 which reports on progress with the Code of Conduct and related instruments, including the IPOA-Seabirds.  "Fifty-nine percent of FAO Members reported that they had assessed longline fisheries and associated incidental seabird bycatch problems, a result similar to past reports, and 44% of Members assessed that an NPOA-Seabirds was required.  Members having implemented a plan have risen from 33% in 2005, 60% in 2007, 78% in 2009 and 80% in 2011."  The document also reports on mitigation measures used.

The document goes on to report that "Fourteen RFBs [regional fishery bodies] reported that they had adopted measures over the last two years to limit or strengthen existing measures on fisheries bycatch and discards.  They included promoting research programmes, introducing action plans, bycatch and/or minimum size limits as well as various mitigation technologies, and adopting agreements and/or resolutions to minimize discards and bycatch, to the extent possible, of non-target species such as sharks, sea turtles, seabirds and dolphins."

Further, "Eight RFBs listed their efforts to assist in the implementation of the IPOA-Seabirds.  Efforts included conservation measures aimed at mitigating seabird bycatch, introducing devices to minimize seabird interaction such as tori poles [=bird-scaring lines], support and encouragement for the establishment and implementation of national plans of action, data collection on seabird interactions and regular reviews to identify best practices for seabird bycatch mitigation techniques."

Secondly, COFI in 2011 will also consider the Report of the Technical Consultation to Develop International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards, held late last year (click here for an earlier news item on this development).

ACAP will be represented at the 29th FAO-COFI by its Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth.

References:

COFI/2011/2:  Progress in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and related instruments, including International Plans of Action and strategies, and other matters. 

COFI/2011/Inf.11:  Report of the Technical Consultation to Develop International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards.  Rome, 6-10 December 2010. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report.  No. 957.  Rome, FAO.  2010. 32 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 January 2011