Celebrating 20 Years of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries – Presentation under FAO Council 153rd Session, Rome, 30 November - 4 December 2015
http://www.fao.org/fishery/en
Presentation delivered under FAO Council 153rd Session, Item 17.3 “Outcomes of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Vigo, Spain, 8-9 October 2015)”
Celebrating 20 Years of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries – Presentation under FAO Council 153rd Session, Rome, 30 November - 4 December 2015
1. Presentation by Mr Árni M. Mathiesen
Assistant Director-General
Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
3. An international celebration for
20 years of the Code of Conduct
for Responsible Fisheries
• Celebrated in Vigo, Spain at the First
International Fisheries Stakeholder
Forum, 8-9 October 2015
• Co-organized with Government of
Spain, Regional Government of Galicia,
and Conxemar (Spanish seafood industry)
• More than 600 participants, including 70 delegations from 5 continents
• Delegations included 10 Ministers, 12 Vice-Ministers, 10 Directors-General of
Fisheries organizations, and the EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime
Affairs & Fisheries
• Also celebrated in Bergen, Norway at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (March
2015), Grimsby, UK World Seafood Congress (September 2015) and at fisheries
events at Expo Milano (May-October 2015), COFI Subcommittee on Aquaculture
(October 2015) and the Foro Económico de la Pesca y Acuacultura, Mexico City
(November 2015). Created videos and communication material.
4. An international celebration for
20 years of the Code of Conduct
for Responsible Fisheries
• Participants praised progress made
under the Code in its first two decades,
and voiced a new commitment to
strengthening work related to the Code
• Main outcomes from Vigo:
Renewed emphasis on combating IUU fishing, with numerous calls to
ratify the Port State Measures Agreement
A stronger role for the Code in managing socioeconomic factors (e.g,
Voluntary Guidelines on Small-scale fisheries, decent work) and its relation
to Blue Growth
A call for FAO to help prepare countries for seafood certification
5. An international celebration for
20 years of the Code of Conduct
for Responsible Fisheries
• Main outcomes following the anniversary
event of Vigo and various fora celebrating the
Code throughout the year:
Increased awareness among policymakers,
industry & society at large about importance of
Code for meeting future challenges and role of Blue Growth Initiative
A call for FAO to explore further a Blue Growth Industry Forum similar to
the Banana Forum that already operates in cooperation with FAO
Need for increased dialogue and collaboration between FAO and the
private sector, through Blue Growth and GLOBEFISH
Increased awareness of role of social issues and FAO’s full integration of
sustainable livelihoods for fish workers in developing countries into its
work programme