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VIII. REPORT OF THE JOINT MEETING OF SUB-COMMISSIONS I AND III TO CONSIDER AND ADOPT THE REPORT OF THE SYMPOSIUM ON HABITAT MODIFICATION AND FRESHWATER FISHERIES

63. The Joint Meeting was held on 29 May 1984 and was opened by Dr P. Tuunainen, Chairman of Sub-Commission I.

64. Dr J. Alabaster, Convenor of the Symposium, outlined the summary, conclusions and recommendations of the Symposium, referring to the report prepared by the Secretariat.

65. The report, conclusions and recommendations were then discussed by the Joint Meeting under the Chairmanship of Mr R. Lloyd, Chairman of Sub-Commission III.

66. It was agreed that the report of the Secretariat should be amended and included in the Report of the Thirteenth Session of EIFAC. (The amended report constitutes paragraphs 5 to 20 of the present report).

67. The Joint Meeting endorsed the recommendation of the Symposium that “in view of increasing pressures on fish communities and the quality of fish resources arising from multiple uses of freshwater ecosystems and associated catchment areas, EIFAC Member States should give high priority in their research and management programmes to:

  1. forcasting and monitoring the impact on fish of man-made habitat modifications and of any necessary remedial measures;

  2. testing and improving existing and new methods of predicting the impact of habitat modifications and the effectiveness of remedial measures”.

68. The Joint Meeting confirmed the various actions and initiatives proposed in the report and proposed that these will now be taken up by the EIFAC Secretariat.

69. In addition, the Joint Meeting proposed the following recommendations:

  1. “It is recommended that the Director-General of FAO should bring to the attention of EIFAC Member States the conclusions and recommendation of the Symposium on Habitat Modification and Freshwater Fisheries with the intention that these should be examined in the context of national legislations and consideration given to the need to enact new legislations for their possible implementation.”

  2. “It is recommended that work should begin on the compilation of a bibliography of information on the causes of the destruction of reeds and other marginal vegetation, and remedial measures for their restoration, and that a document including a summary of the available information should be presented to the fourteenth session of EIFAC.

70. In this respect the delegation of The Netherlands agreed to initiate work on this second recommendation.


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