MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FAO debates sustainable and responsible fishing.

Fisheries management problems, potential contributions for protected marine areas leading to sustainable fishing and responsible resumption of fishing efforts in Southeast Asian tsunami-affected countries are among the main issues to be debated this week by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations (FAO) Committee on Fisheries.

Some 300 participants are currently participating in Rome of the FAO discussions including government delegations, United Nations (UN) agencies representatives plus observers from inter-government and non-government organisations.

The Committee on Fisheries oversees work carried out by the FAO Fisheries Department and counsels governments, regional fisheries bodies, and other entities involved in fisheries management.

One of the main issues of the agenda is the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, drafted by FAO and approved by its member countries in 1995. But even when most of these countries are currently applying policies and rules included in the 1995 code, either in full or in part, FAO insists there are many species currently over-exploited in many regions worldwide.

Another issue to be debated is the question of fishing practices that cause new management problems such as deep-sea trawling for bottom-dwelling species which are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because of their slow maturity and reproduction capacity.

FAO will promote a strong debate on the subject with the introduction of a report detailing the lack of sufficient biological knowledge on "sea-bottom species and the consequences of fishing in benthic habitats, which hinders responsible management". Participants will also discuss advantages and disadvantages of fisheries management in protected marine zones. These areas are reserves where fishing and other human activities are banned or strictly controlled in order to defend the ocean's biodiversity and ensure unhindered fisheries reproduction.

Another chapter is a briefing on the current situation in the fisheries sectors in the Southeast Asian countries ravaged by last December's tsunamis and reconstruction efforts. FAO will also emphasise the need to develop and promote small-scale fishery and aquaculture, as well as the importance of "preventing relief efforts from generating fishing overcapacity, which would be detrimental to the sustainable exploitation of resources". (FIS/MP).-