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Members attending the twenty-ninth session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), held in Rome (31 January – 4 February 2011), reiterated their support for the Global Record project as one of the useful tools to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Committee noted the recommendations of the November 2010 Technical Consultation on the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record), and recognized the need for further work to refine terms used in the recommendations for establishing the project.

The Committee recognized that the Global Record should be developed as a voluntary initiative under FAO's supervision with a need for flexibility and a phased approach to implementation. It reiterated the need that the development of the project should be done in a cost-effective manner, taking advantage of existing systems and information technology (IT) platforms, where possible.

The Committee proposed that FAO further consults with other organizations, particularly IMO, IHS-Fairplay and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), as appropriate. The Committee also indicated its preference for the use of FAO Regular Programme funds, supplemented as required by extra-budgetary funding.

Read more:

• FIPI/R973 (En) Report of the twenty-ninth session of the COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES