Council

1. At its Twenty-ninth Session in November 1997, the FAO Conference, by Resolution 18/97, instituted the Margarita Lizárraga Medal to be awarded biennially by the Conference upon the proposal of the Council to a person or organization that has served with distinction in the application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

2. The Medal pays tribute to Dr. Margarita Saucedo Lizárraga, Senior Fishery Liaison Officer for her decisive role in promoting the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, for her productive work in the field of fisheries for almost forty years, for her great dedication to FAO and for her strong commitment towards fostering the promotion of the fisheries sector, especially in developing countries.

3. The Selection Committee for the award, composed of the Assistant Director-General, Fisheries Department, and the Bureau of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), met in Rome on 28 February 2001. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Director-General, representing the Director-General.

4. The Selection Committee reviewed the three nominations for the 2000-2001 biennium on the basis of the following criteria:

• Outstanding, practical and a hands-on contribution to the application of the Code
• The output should be tangible
• Be a sustained effort and not a one off initiative, and
• Have the potential for a snow-ball/catalytic effect.

5. The Selection Committee unanimously agreed to award the Margarita Lizárraga Medal to the Canadian Responsible Fisheries Board and its Secretariat.

6. The Canadian Responsible Fisheries Board and its Secretariat was selected for its unprecedented grassroot approach to the development of a national Code of Conduct based on the FAO Code of Conduct, which is resulting in responsible fisheries management and new partnerships between industry and the Government in the fisheries sector.

SUGGESTED ACTION BY THE COUNCIL

7. The Council is invited to endorse the nomination of the representative of the Canadian Responsible Fisheries Board and its Secretariat and recommend that the Medal be presented to the representative of the Board by the Director-General as part of the proceedings of the Thirty-first Session of the Conference.