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The Committee on Fisheries (COFI), a subsidiary body of the Council of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, was established by the FAO Conference at its Thirteenth Session in 1965.

The Committee presently constitutes the only global inter-governmental forum where major international fisheries and aquaculture problems and issues are examined and recommendations addressed to governments, regional fishery bodies, NGOs, fishers, FAO 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 have been negotiated.

The Thirtieth Session of COFI was held recently in Rome, Italy over 9-13 July 2012.  The Albatross and Petrel Agreement was represented at the meeting by its Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth.  As is usual the meeting considered a report on progress in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and related instruments, including the International Plan of Action for Seabirds (IPOA-S).

"...it is evident that Members are also giving importance to the assessment of the impact of fisheries on seabirds.  Eighty three percent of reporting Members declared that longline, trawl and/or gillnet fishing was conducted in waters under their jurisdiction and 80 percent have already conducted an impact assessment, all of which concluded that an NPOA-seabirds was needed and 66 percent of them already had an NPOA-seabirds in place, with the rest of the countries intending to develop one in the future.  Seventy percent of those countries which have not yet carried out an assessment indicated that they were planning to do so.  The mitigation measures being used in longline fisheries (67 percent of Members involved) and trawl and/or gillnet fisheries (55 percent of Members involved) are reported...".

Fishing trawler surrounded by albatrosses and other seabirds
Photograph by Juan Pablo Seco Pon

Discussion was also held on the problem of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, with the Committee agreeing that despite progress it continues to be a persistent and pressing problem which has an adverse impact on achieving sustainable fisheries.  A call was made for support to allow developing states to strengthen their capacity to combat IUU fishing.

Reference:

FAO 2012.  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. Committee on Fisheries.  Thirtieth Session Rome, Italy, 9-13 July 2012.   COFI/2012/3.  10 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 1 August 2012