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Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish)

About CACFish
Mission and Objectives
Area of competence
Members
Species and stocks coverage
Legal framework
Languages
Organizational structure
Publications
Meetings
Contact

About CACFish

HIGHLIGHTS

Sixth Session of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish), Izmir, Turkey, 15-18 October 2018

CACFish - Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) - Fourth meeting, Georgia, Tbilisi, 28 November 2017 - 30 November 2017

Working documents of the Fifth Session of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACfish), Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 10-12 October 2016 - Report

Working documents of the Third Session of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of CACfish, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 16-18 February 2015

The Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish) is a Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO), established under the article XIV of the FAO Constitution. The Agreement empowers the Commission to impose binding management and conservation recommendations.

Negotiations for the establishment of a regional inland fisheries and aquaculture management organization began in late 2008, and CACFish came into being in 2010, after Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan ratified the founding agreement.

Mission and Objectives

The objectives of CACFish are to promote the development, conservation, rational management and best utilization of living aquatic resources, as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

To achieve its objectives, CACFish has the following functions and responsibilities:

keep under review the state of living aquatic resources, including their abundance and the level of their exploitation, as well as the state of the fisheries and aquaculture;
formulate and recommend appropriate measures for the conservation and rational management of living aquatic resources, and the implementation of these recommendations;
keep under review the economic and social aspects of the fishing and aquaculture industry and recommend any measures aimed at its development;
encourage, recommend, coordinate and, as appropriate, undertake activities relating to training and extension, research and development, including cooperative projects in the areas of fisheries and aquaculture;
assemble, publish or disseminate information regarding exploitable living aquatic resources and fisheries and aquaculture based on these resources;
promote programmes for aquaculture and fisheries enhancement;
promote women's participation in aquaculture and capture fisheries development;
transfer appropriate technologies and techniques for development of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture;
contribute to knowledge generation and raising the awareness about fisheries and aquaculture in the Central Asian and Caucasus region;
promote liaison and cooperation among and within governmental organizations and with nongovernmental organizations as appropriate;
carry out such other activities as may be necessary for the Commission to achieve its purpose as defined above.

Area of competence

The inland waters and areas within the territorial boundaries of the States of Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and of the Caucasus, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and, with respect to inland fisheries, other waters within the trans-boundary water basins bordering the territories of the States of Central Asia and Caucasus.

CACFish area of competence - Inland waters

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The designations employed and the presentation of material in the map(s) are for illustration only and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.

Members

The Commission currently has five members: Armenia (3 December 2010), Tajikistan (9 March 2010), Kyrgyzstan (3 May 2010), Turkey (19 December 2011), Azerbaijan. (22 March 2014).

Membership to the Commission is open to members of FAO as well as by States that are not members of FAO, but are members of the United Nations, any of its Specialized Agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency, provided that the territory of such State is situated wholly or partly within the area of competence (as defined above in “Area of competence” and in Article IV of the CACFish Agreement).

Under the Agreement, any State that is a member of the FAO or the UN can request to participate as an observer. In December 2009, Armenia, Azerbaijan, People's Republic China, Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Ukraine were officially invited by the Director General to consider becoming a member of the Commission.

Species and stocks coverage All living aquatic resources in the area covered by CACFish members. Legal framework

The Commission established within the framework of Article XIV, paragraph 2 of the FAO Constitution.

The Agreement on the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission was approved at the Hundred and Thirty Seventh Session of the FAO Council in 2009.

The Agreement came into force on 3 December 2010, upon the receipt of the third instrument of acceptance.

Basic texts of the Commission

The Agreement on the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission En / Ru
Rules of Procedures En / Ru
Financial Regulations En / Ru

LanguagesThe official language of CACFish is English. However, in accordance with the Rule XVII of Rules of Procedures of the Commission, the reports of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies are made available in English and Russian. Organizational structure

Primary body

The Commission, seated in Ankara, Turkey, is the primary body.

Each Party designates one representative and one alternate to represent that Party in the sessions of the Commission. They may be accompanied by experts and advisers. Participation in sessions of the Commission by alternates, experts, and advisers shall not entail the right to vote, except in the case of an alternate who is acting in the place of the representative during his/her absence.

Each Party has one vote. Decisions of the Commission are taken by a majority of the votes cast, except as otherwise provided by the Agreement. A majority of the total membership of the Commission constitutes a quorum.

Secretariat

The Secretariat of the Commission is provided by FAO. The FAO Director-General appoints a Secretary, who shall be administratively responsible to him.

Besides the administrative, budgetary and organizational responsibilities and functions, the Secretariat executes a 5-year Work Programme (2011-2015) of the Commission.

The CACFish Secretariat is based at the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia, Ankara, Turkey.

Subsidiary Bodies

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), established in December 2011, is currently the only subsidiary body of CACFish. This Committee functions as a subsidiary body to provide technical and scientific advice to the Commission and its work.

The specific responsibilities and duties of TAC identified by the Rules of Procedures of the Commission are:

work towards the operationalization of the policies and decisions of the Commission,
formulate and provide technical and scientific advice to the Commission,
propose the work programme of the Commission with the assistance of the Secretariat,
provide independent technical and scientific advice and expert inputs to assist the Commission in implementing its work programme and in monitoring and evaluating such implementation,
provide technical oversight, monitoring and evaluation of projects and programme of work activities,
provide advice on the technical and scientific bases for decisions and recommendations on measures concerning general conservation and rational management of living aquatic resources, including the biological, social and economic aspects of fisheries and aquaculture management,
propose the establishment of subsidiary bodies to work on specific technical issues or to provide a specified output,
provide information on fisheries and aquaculture production and other data relevant to the functions of the Commission in such a way as to enable the Commission to achieve its objectives.

The Agreement grants the Commission to establish, in addition to TAC, temporary, special or standing committees and working groups to study, report, advise and recommend on matters pertaining to the purposes of the Commission and on specific technical problems.

Publications