UN OCEANS CONFERENCE Action Panel 5 – Fostering Sustainable Fisheries Management Including Supporting Small-Scale Fisheries Statement

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to be participating in this important and forward-looking Interactive dialogue.

FAO is the main global forum for discussions and decisions on fisheries and aquaculture.

Since 1950, FAO has been supporting global efforts to collect and analyze fisheries and aquaculture data, and provides direct support to its Members on the conservation and sustainable development of their aquatic food systems.

We play a central role in shaping the global governance framework by negotiating key international instruments and guidelines, such as:

• the FAO Fish Stocks Agreement,
• the Port State Measures Agreement,
• the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries,
• as well as the most recent FAO Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture.

These frameworks are the result of joint efforts and have led to collective progress, yet there is still much to do.

735 million people still faced hunger in 2023, and 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.

We need to take decisive action to turn these challenges into opportunities, otherwise they will continue to increase inequalities, threaten peace and stability, and reverse hard-won development gains.

Aquatic food systems offer hope.

But to ensure the sector’s continued growth, we must secure its sustainability.

If managed well, aquatic food systems can further increase their contribution towards addressing hunger, malnutrition and poverty, thanks to their relatively low environmental impact, large biodiversity and rich nutritional profile.

But aquatic systems are not just about food - more than 600 million people rely on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods.

Dear Colleagues,

FAO will shortly launch a report setting out a comprehensive, inclusive and transparent assessment of the sustainability status of almost 2600 marine fish stocks from all corners of the ocean.

It is the result of a major exercise involving more than 650 experts from 92 countries and 200 organizations.

The report highlights that the health of fish stocks varies widely across the world, and that on average 35.5% of assessed fish stocks were classified as unsustainably exploited.

This underscores the urgent need for effective management plans and international cooperation.

Despite improvements, over 30 percent of global fisheries still lack management plans, challenging effective governance and the sustainability of fish stocks and fisheries.

One of the three core objectives of the FAO Blue Transformation Roadmap is to effectively manage all the world’s fisheries to ensure healthy stocks and equitable livelihoods.

We have concrete examples of how good management leads to good results.

For example, almost 90 percent of all major tuna stocks are exploited within biologically sustainability levels – this is a dramatic improvement in the last decade.

Over 80% of the fish stocks in several FAO ocean regions are classified as sustainably exploited,

And it is estimated that 77 percent of the total volume of fish landed and offered to consumers comes from biologically sustainable stocks. 

Management is the best conservation tool!

To safeguard our oceans, we must strengthen fisheries governance at every level, providing the frameworks, rules, and enforcement needed to ensure responsible practices.

Strengthening management also means addressing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, which undermines efforts to build sustainable, and responsible aquatic food systems.

At the international level, the FAO Port State Measures Agreement is a powerful tool for combatting IUU fishing.

We must also strengthen Regional Fishery Management Organizations, which are critical for the implementation of existing and future global normative frameworks.

Sound scientific data is crucial for informed policies, responsible practices, and long-term sustainability, and we must therefore strengthen our capacity to collect, analyze, and interpret good quality data and information.

Finally, I wish to highlight small-scale fisheries as they supply 40 percent of all fish caught worldwide and support the livelihoods of around 500 million people globally.  

Small-scale fishers and fish workers are not just producers, they are guardians of biodiversity, nutrition providers, and economic engines in coastal communities.

Yet only 36 percent of small-scale fishers operate under systems where management rights are transferred to them.

This is why we must implement the FAO Small-scale Fisheries Guidelines. 

Countries such as Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, the Philippines and others are leading the way in developing National Plans of Actions for Small-Scale Fisheries, driving real change in promoting environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable small-scale fisheries.

This has a direct and immediate impact on local food security and nutrition, incomes and resilience.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

There is no time to lose for the world’s fisheries.

By 2050, aquatic food production must grow by at least 22 percent to maintain current levels of per capita consumption.

In Africa, this growth must reach 78 percent.

This must be achieved sustainably, and in a way that ensures its availability, accessibility and affordability - without compromising biodiversity or ecosystem health.

We have the tools and knowledge on how to manage all the world’s fisheries, but we require global commitment, funding and collective collaboration.

FAO’s Blue Transformation framework provides the required roadmap to ensure:

One: that sustainable aquaculture production continues to grow to meet the rising demand for aquatic foods;

Two: that all fisheries are subject to effective management to deliver healthy stocks and equitable livelihoods; and

Three: that the value chains of aquatic foods are upgraded to reduce loss and waste, add value to products, facilitate access to markets, and supports consumers. 

This transformative approach is central to building more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable aquatic food systems for a better future.

FAO is committed to promoting the health and sustainability of our oceans, for people, planet and prosperity.

But we cannot do it alone.

I look forward to your views on how to achieve these collective goals, together.

Thank you.