| COFI/2001/8
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| COFI/2001/8
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COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES |
Twenty-fourth Session |
Rome, Italy, 26 February - 2 March 2001 |
PROPOSAL FOR IMPROVED
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1. The First Session of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (ACFR) identified eight areas of research that needed to be addressed in a systematic manner, three of which were identified for priority attention during its intersessional period through the formation of working parties. One of these priority themes was status and trends reporting on fisheries. The Committee on Fisheries at its Twenty-third Session expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the First Session of ACFR and of FAO's follow up actions and agreed that improvements were needed in FAO's global monitoring of fish stocks (para 74).
2. Accordingly, FAO established and managed the First Session of the ACFR Working Party on Status and Trends in Fisheries (WP/STF) whose report recommended the development of a proposal for an International Plan of Action for Status and Trends Reporting on Fisheries for eventual consideration by COFI . This recommendation was endorsed by the Second Session of the ACFR which recommended the continuation of the WP/STF and the preparation of a draft International Plan of Action for review at the third session of the ACFR in December 2000, prior to possible submission to COFI in February 2001 for consideration and decision.
3. The meeting of FAO and non-FAO Regional Fishery Bodies and Arrangements (RFBs) (Rome, 11-12 February 1999) discussed the role of RFBs in contributing to fishery status reporting, including the development of a multifaceted approach to information and possible partnerships towards a global, co-operative mechanism for information exchange and dissemination. This proposal for improved fishery status and trends reporting also responds to the discussions and recommendations of that meeting.
4. The draft for a voluntary International Plan of Action for Fishery Status and Trends Reporting (attached as Annex 1) has been prepared by the FAO Secretariat in consultation with ACFR and the ACFR Working Party on Status and Trends of Fisheries.
5. The immediate objective of the draft Plan of Action would be to improve reporting on the status and trends of fisheries and fishery resources in support of more effective fisheries policy-making and management and better monitoring of environmental and ecosystem impacts of and on fisheries. The Plan of Action would provide a framework, strategy and plan for the improvement of data and knowledge on fisheries and fishery resources and at national, regional and global scales. It would apply to capture fisheries in both marine and inland waters. It would specify the roles and responsibilities of States in its implementation, whether acting individually or collectively through organizations or arrangements as well as the activities required and the mechanisms to promote such implementation. It would promote capacity-building1 and assistance to developing countries to ensure all countries have the opportunity to act on the Plan of Action. Importantly, it would promote coordination for a more systematic assembly and synthesis of information on fisheries and fishery resources from national to regional and global scales, thus providing more reliable and comprehensive reporting at regional and global levels, including to COFI.
6. The long-term objectives of the draft Plan of Action would be to contribute to the improvement of fisheries governance and management. As such, it is in direct support to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and Article 7 - Fisheries Management - in particular.
7. The draft Plan of Action concerns all fisheries in inland and marine waters. Aquaculture is not included within the scope of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS because it has distinctive requirements which need to be addressed specifically for this increasingly important sector. A further consideration is that standards and procedures for data collection and exchange are further developed for capture fisheries than for aquaculture and so it is pragmatic to start with what is already in place, and build on it.
8. The Committee is invited to consider and discuss the proposed approach to improve the information available globally on status and trends of fisheries. Further, it is invited to decide whether the adoption of an International Plan of Action as proposed would be an effective means to that end, and if so decide on the process to develop the text of the IPOA.
DRAFT
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(IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS)
FAO International Plan of Action for Status and Trends Reporting on
Fisheries ABSTRACT The IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS is a voluntary Plan of Action that could be adopted by states and regional fishery bodies with responsibilities for the collection and distribution of information related to fisheries and their sustainable development. The objective of the Plan of Action is to improve reporting on the status and trends of fisheries and fishery resources in support of more effective fisheries policy-making and management and better monitoring of environmental impacts on fisheries and impacts of fisheries on ecosystems. Part 1 describes the importance of reporting the status and trends of world fisheries and references and linkages to other legal and voluntary instruments and international programmes. Parts 2, 3 and 4 outline the nature and scope, the guiding principles and the objectives of the Plan. Part 5 outlines the required actions at national, regional and international scales in the short, medium and long term. Part 6 describes mechanisms for promotion and implementation of the Plan. |
1. Knowledge of the responses of fisheries and fishery resources to control measures applied to ensure conservation and sustainable yield is the key to successful fisheries management. Fisheries policy-making and management is a dynamic interdisciplinary process that should take account of biological, environmental, economic, social and institutional influences, the output of which is expressed in some change to the status of a fishery and its trend over time. The evidence of fisheries management success or failure is thus reflected in the status and trends of fisheries as interpreted in a multi-dimensional manner, including all relevant variables. Reporting provides this evidence, provided it is based on the best scientific evidence and interpretation at local, regional and global levels.
2. The recognition of uncertainty or confidence in data, statistical analysis, theoretical approaches and fishery prediction models, which are used in determining fisheries management advice and decision-making on fishery control measures, has led to the widespread acceptance of the precautionary approach, and to the evolving development and implementation of precautionary limits, targets and thresholds in fisheries management. Hence, the best scientific evidence thus now incorporates evidence of risk in the application of appropriate precaution.
3. There is now a high demand for information from policy makers, stakeholders, environmentalists and the public. National, regional and international fisheries governance is becoming increasingly influenced by demands for transparency, including information concerning participation, economic performance and distribution, and how these are set against the international and regional agreements and laws that address them. Faced with the challenges of implementing the precautionary approach and concerns about endangered species, fishery authorities are increasingly recognizing that transparency and the provision of reliable information is essential for the sustainable use of fishery resources
4. There is also a need for reporting on fishery status and trends in order to monitor implementation of the various International Plans of Action relating to fisheries, such as the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity.
5. An essential requirement for ascertaining the extent of coverage of monitoring and reporting is an inventory of world fisheries which describes all main fisheries and stocks (or stock-complexes) and classifies them according to the extent to which they are monitored. A key problem is that a global inventory of the main fish stocks and the fisheries on them is not available at present.Apart from expanding the scope of such reporting, achieving this improvement requires attention to many issues, including those related to data availability and confidentiality, information comparability and standardisation, and integration across all the disciplines that influence the proper and responsible conduct of fisheries.
Benefits to national and regional partners in improved status and trends reporting
6. Some of the benefits to national and regional partners in improved and coordinated reporting of the status and trends of fisheries would be that their information would:
References to reporting in international instruments
7. This IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS responds to the need for fishery information as required by a number of international agreements and guidelines, and from which it draws direct reference and authority.
International legal instruments
8. The need to take into account the best scientific evidence available is established in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS; Part V, Article 61.2 for Exclusive Economic Zones and Part VII, Article 119.1(a) for the High Seas). Furthermore, UNCLOS requires that scientific information be contributed and exchanged on a regular basis (Article 61.5).
9. The 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement refers specifically to straddling and highly migratory fish stocks and specifies the roles and responsibilities for regional fisheries bodies and flag States in the collection and exchange of data necessary to meet stock assessment requirements and support conservation and management objectives (Article 8 Cooperation for Conservation and Management and Article 9 Subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements). In particular, Article 14 sets out obligations for the collection and provision of information and cooperation in scientific research and Article 12 provides for transparency (access to records and reports). Annex I of the Agreement, titled Standard Requirements for the Collection and Sharing of Data, established general principles; the principles of data collection, compilation and exchange; the requirements for basic fishery data and vessel data and information; and the basis for reporting; data verification and data exchange, including specifying the roles of FAO.
10. The 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement applies to any fishing on the high seas and provides for international cooperation, in particular, exchange of information (Article V International Cooperation). It requires Parties to exchange information on vessels authorized by them to fish on the high seas, and obliges FAO to facilitate this information exchange (Article VI Exchange of Information).
Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
11. The 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Code) is voluntary but is based on `relevant rules of international law', including UNCLOS and the FAO Compliance Agreement. Throughout all the technical articles (but in particular Article 6, Principles, Article 7, Fisheries Management and Article 12, Fisheries Research) the Code calls for States, regional organizations and all persons concerned to collect and exchange fishery data. In addition, it specifies that to `ensure sustainable management of fisheries and to enable social and economic objectives to be achieved, sufficient knowledge of the social, economic and institutional factors should be developed through data gathering, analysis and research.'
12. The Code therefore formalises the requirement for reporting on fishery status and trends, in particular by:
13. The Code also recognises the special requirements of developing countries (Article 5), in particular the least-developed among them, and small island developing countries. These special requirements include financial and technical assistance, technology transfer, training and scientific cooperation, all of which form part of this IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS.
Commission for Sustainable Development
14. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) also addressed the need for indicators of sustainable development through chapter 40 of Agenda 214, which included a call for the development and use of sustainability indicators in support of decision-making. The Commission for Sustainable Development and the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development now requires States to report on these indicators. The evolving method (adopted by several UN agencies) for a Sustainable Development Reference System (SDRS) is a pressure-state-response framework. FAO participates in this and has prepared guidelines for the development and presentation of indicators5. Fishery status and trends reporting provides for one input to such an SDRS and, importantly, it provides for the archiving and dissemination of trends in indicators of sustainable development.
Linkages with national, regional and international programmes
15. This IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS has natural links to a diverse range of programmes that would be supported by improvements to fishery status and trends reporting.
16. Most national fishery authorities have responsibility for information collection and research programmes on the species and stocks that occur in their national jurisdiction or exploited by their vessels in other waters. States benefit from exchanging information on shared resources. Many small island developing states, in particular, have an interest in such resources. Conducting fisheries on shared stocks in a responsible manner requires knowledge of status and trends across the stock's distribution, both for conservation and management and for the equitable allocation of benefits. Inland fisheries are often situated at aquatic national boundaries (rivers and lakes, hence shared resources) and would similarly benefit from such improved access to knowledge. States can also benefit from sharing information and experiences concerning fishery resources which are not shared.
17. Regional fishery bodies address the transboundary issues of fish stocks and have an interest (sometimes including management control) in the conduct of fisheries within their remit. Improvements to status and trends reporting within their domain of competence would be enhanced by similar knowledge from adjacent zones and regions and shared experiences.
18. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species6 (CITES) provides a broad and dynamic mandate to proscribe trade in any animal or plant based on agreed criteria (including estimates of abundance). Similarly, the Convention on Biological Diversity7 (CBD) provides a broad framework for the preservation of biodiversity. It encourages the development and implementation of management strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources and the restoration of degraded ecosystems. It calls for the exchange of information between parties and established a subsidiary body to provide scientific and technical assessments of the status of biological diversity.
19. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is mandated to report on the state of the world's environment, including providing guidance for decision-making processes such as the formulation of environmental policies, action planning and resource allocation. In doing this, UNEP draws on contributions from other United Nations agencies, in particular from FAO on fisheries, which provides assessments of the status and trends of fisheries including knowledge of the status of fishery habitats, e.g. coral reefs.
20. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its subsidiary body, the Inter-Governmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), are mandated for the development of knowledge on the world's oceans. As part of this task, it established the Global Ocean Observing Systems (GOOS). The goal of the Living Marine Resources (LMR) Plan of GOOS8 is to provide operationally useful information on changes in the state of living marine resources and ecosystems. Status and trends reporting in fisheries, from national, regional and international organisations, has been requested by this panel, in particular the aggregations of analyses that can be made by FAO which can then assist in assessing population changes in the upper trophic levels of marine ecosystems.
21. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) established the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to facilitate the International Water Programme (among others). This programme includes investigation of Large Marine Ecosystems (LME), which cover many of the world's important fisheries. These LME programmes have a central focus of monitoring, but their intended scope also includes mitigation, public awareness, capacity-building and governance issues, all of which would be enhanced by the approaches proposed in this IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS.
22. The Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) is an international and inter-agency committee, which regularly convenes to establish norms and standards and to promote harmonisation in reporting fishery statistics. In particular it focuses on the detection and resolution of data discrepancies and the harmonisation of agency databases of the fishery statistics that contribute to regional and global knowledge of fisheries status and trends.
23. The Commission for Sustainable Development and the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development is working closely with FAO in the establishment of Indicators for Sustainable Development.
24. This IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS also provides some of the basis for development and implementation of other fisheries IPOAs, including the IPOA for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries, the IPOA for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, and the IPOA for the Management of Fishing Capacity. Each of these IPOAs calls for the further development of monitoring systems and the estimation of measures that reflect their focal concerns.
25. The IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS is voluntary. It has been elaborated within the framework of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, as envisaged by Article 2 (d). The provisions of Article 3 of the Code of Conduct apply to the interpretation and application of this document and its relationship with other instruments. All concerned members and non-members of FAO and fishing entities are encouraged to implement it.
26. The IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS is designed to cover all capture fisheries in marine and inland waters and to be implemented within the framework on international law and requirements. It applies to States, sub-regions, regions and oceans; within exclusive economic zones or exclusive fishery jurisdictions and in the high seas.
27. The IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS covers all fisheries wherever they occur and under all forms of exploitation, including:
28. It includes issues concerning species introductions (deliberate or unintentional) for wild stock enhancement, or stock recovery.
29. Aquaculture is not included within the scope of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS because it has distinctive requirements which need to be addressed specifically for this increasingly important sector.
Consistency with national and international requirements
30. The scope of the plan also includes further development and improvement of fishery status and trends reporting:
31. In implementing this IPOA the following guiding principles should be adopted:
32. The cooperative monitoring and reporting system to be developed must be viable in the long term. As a consequence: (1) adequate funding should be provided at the national, regional and global levels; (2) the system should take account of the resources available to countries, regional fishery bodies and FAO; and (3) the programme should consider the particular needs of developing countries.
33. As a contribution to the reporting system, States should seek to collect, compile and disseminate the best scientific evidence available9 on the nature and conduct of fisheries, including environmental and socio-economic information. Such evidence may include knowledge of participants in the fisheries as well as traditional knowledge.
34. States should adopt mechanisms for inclusion of all relevant participants in the preparation, analysis and presentation of fishery information, including fishers, industries, markets, consumers, government and non-governmental organisations. States should cooperate with other States in developing and maintaining such fishery information, as appropriate, either directly, or through appropriate intergovernmental organisations, including regional fisheries bodies10. States should provide feedback on the status and trends of fisheries to all relevant participants.
35. States should prepare and disseminate fishery information in an objective manner, taking into account the best scientific evidence available (see paragraph 33) and its associated uncertainty, as well as their national and international obligations. States should implement the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS in a transparent manner in support of Article 6.13 of the Code.
36. States should ensure that information and data are prepared and disseminated in a timely manner and as early as possible.
37. States should be prepared to periodically modify data and information collection programmes in order to ensure that the programmes effectively support fishery policy-making and management through the provision of appropriate indicators and data variables with the scope to facilitate appropriate analyses such as fishing/operational, biological, economic and socio-cultural assessments.
38. The overall objective of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS is to provide a framework, strategy and plan - at all scales, national, regional and global - for the improvement of knowledge and understanding of fishery status and trends as a basis for fisheries policy-making and management for the conservation and sustainable use of fishery resources within ecosystems. In particular, it provides a means to, inter alia:
Immediate and urgent (-Years 1 and 2)
39. States, individually and collectively through international organizations, including FAO, should promote and assist developing countries in capacity building11 to implement cost-effective and sustainable fishery data collection schemes, data processing and analysis, reporting and exchange to meet national needs and the needs of regional fishery bodies and arrangements, and FAO.
40. States should participate in, and support coordinated efforts for the compilation of a global inventory of main fisheries and fish stocks or stock-complexes.
41. As a first step towards development of the inventory, States should support the organisation by FAO of a technical consultation to be held in 2001 (or, as soon as possible) on the form, content, methods and implementation (including the definition and allocation of responsibilities and the estimation of costs) of a programme for the compilation of a global inventory of fisheries and fish stocks (or stock-complexes), noting the requirements for, and coordinating efforts with, the actions being undertaken through other IPOAs.
42. States should support the establishment by FAO of a Global Panel of Experts to oversee the global inventory of fish stocks and fisheries, the global reviews of fishery status and trends prepared for the biennial State of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) and the ongoing submissions to the global Fisheries Information System (FIGIS).
43. States should participate in and support the development of the global Fisheries Information System (FIGIS) by FAO and other FIGIS partners through:
44. Originators will be responsible for the content and quality of the data they contribute. The quality of data and information contributed to FIGIS must be assured through some review processes, such as working groups in regional fishery organizations.
45. States should support the organisation by FAO and other FIGIS partners of pilot projects and workshops, beginning in 2001 and at a pace acceptable to States, in the further development and implementation of FIGIS, the development of training materials and the conduct of training.
46. There are particular shortcomings with the monitoring of small-scale fisheries due to a complete lack of coverage or only partial coverage in data collection schemes, often resulting in under-representation of such fisheries in the statistics and consequent poor representation in fishery plans and policies. Likewise, some multispecies fisheries, particularly in the tropics, are poorly described in terms of species exploitation and other characteristics, thus requiring particular attention and possible implementation of new approaches.
47. States should, with support from development partner agencies (donors), where necessary, develop their capacities to collect data to ensure that the coverage of fisheries information is as complete as possible and covers all sectors, in particular the data necessary to evaluate small-scale and multispecies fisheries.
48. States should participate in and support the development of cost-effective methods for acquiring and validating data on small-scale and multispecies fisheries, including rapid appraisal methodologies and other approaches for data poor situations.
49. States should cooperate through their regional fishery bodies and regional programmes to develop and adopt compatible standards and systems for data collection.
50. States and development partner agencies should support FAO in reviewing issues relating to data collection on small-scale and multispecies fisheries and the development of guidelines on ways of addressing them, including innovative approaches, such as through meetings of experts.
Medium term (Years 3, 4 and 5)
51. States should apply, or participate in the development of, criteria and methods to ensure information quality and security for the purposes of best scientific evidence, in accordance with internationally agreed standards and practices, through mechanisms for data verification, and in a manner consistent with applicable confidentiality requirements
52. States should participate in and support the organisation by FAO of a technical consultation on the development of practical guidelines for fisheries information quality assurance (pedigree and robustness) and information security (transparency and confidentiality).
53. States should agree on mechanisms for cooperation to compile and exchange data12 through partnership arrangements (agreements, memoranda of understanding, note verbale) between national fishery authorities, and between national fishery authorities, regional fishery bodies, FAO and, as appropriate, other international bodies, including prioritisation of information exchange, the application of information quality and security and the development of expanded scopes for status and trends reporting. These partnership arrangements should include the specification of partner's roles, responsibilities and entitlements in the reporting of fishery status and trends, including the development of increased scope and the application of information quality and security.
54. States should, in consideration of the need to involve representatives from relevant organisations13, governmental and non-governmental, establish or participate in national and regional mechanisms for consulting all parties to ensure collaboration in developing systems and obtaining the data for status and trends reporting on fisheries. This may include the formation of working groups (or other structures) for fishery assessment, the development of standards and methods and the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building for developing country institutions, at all scales.
55. States should give due consideration, in the development of national plans for data collection and status and trends reporting, to the inclusion of information that assesses fishery resources within their ecosystems, including the aspects related to the fishery resources' environment (water quality, habitat) and biology (biodiversity, trophic structures).
56. further address the issue of indicators of sustainable development, as a follow-up to the Australia-FAO Technical Consultation on Sustainability Indicators in Marine Capture Fisheries (Sydney, Australia, January 1999). This consultation could examine a number of case studies of tentative applications of the FAO Guidelines14 in developed and developing countries and would lead to improved formulation of the Guidelines as well as more specific methodologies and standards for the indicators.
57. States should monitor their data collection, status and trend analysis and reporting schemes and take corrective action where necessary to ensure data collection, data processing and analysis, reporting and exchange practices are sustained and meet national needs and the needs of regional fishery organizations and arrangements, and FAO.
58. States should approach the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, in particular as this relates to Article 7 (Fisheries Management) and Article 12 (Fisheries Research), by consideration of ways to expand the scope of status and trends reporting to meet the responsibilities recommended therein for research and the dissemination of information on the effects of climatic, environmental and socio-economic factors on fishery conservation and management15.
59. States should individually, and collectively through regional fishery bodies, support the development of FIGIS by providing expanded status and trends reports as appropriate to their capacities and the availability of the information.
General call for improving reporting at all levels
60. States, regional fishery bodies and international institutions should develop and implement mechanisms for the improvement of fisheries information, the application of research to enhance the availability of best scientific evidence, and the adoption of a continuing process for the enrichment of fishery status and trends reporting according to the needs for such information in monitoring fisheries and pursuing conservation, management and sustainable use of fishery resources at local, regional and global levels.
61. States should develop, adopt and promote National Plans of Action (NPOAs) in support of this IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS, including programmes to increase transparency through participation by fishers and non-governmental organisations and institutions.
62. States should report to FAO on progress in the implementation of the NPOAs as part of their biennial reporting to FAO on the Code of Conduct.
63. States should, as members of regional fishery bodies where these already exist, or by adopting international arrangements, collectively adopt Regional Plans of Action (RPOA) to implement the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS.
64. Member States should, through their regional fishery bodies develop and promote RPOAs, including programmes to increase transparency through participation by fishers and non-governmental organisations and institutions, and mechanisms for the dissemination of fishery information between regions and to the global community, including FAO.
65. Regional fishery bodies, within the limits defined by their conventions and to the extent mandated by their members, should participate in the implementation of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS, including support to their members, participation in global programmes and decisions on the development and adoption of standards and guidelines for fishery information and status and trends reporting.
66. FAO will, as and to the extent directed by its Conference, and as part of its Regular Programme activities, support States and regional fishery bodies in the implementation of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS.
67. FAO will, as and to the extent directed by its Conference, support development and implementation of national and regional plans of action through specific, in-country technical assistance projects with Regular Programme funds and by use of extra-budgetary funds made available to the Organization for this purpose.
68. FAO will, through COFI, report biennially on the state of progress in the implementation of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS.
Development partner agencies
69. International and national development partner agencies (donors), should include priority commitments to the provision of support to developing countries, in particular the least developed among them and small island developing states, in financial and technical assistance for capacity building and information system development, including the development of national and regional plans of action, and training for the implementation of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS.
Non-governmental organizations
70. Non-governmental organisations (national, regional and international) concerned with fisheries, fisherfolk and the aquatic environment should contribute to the development and implementation of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS through appropriate support, information and participation.
71. Support for the implementation of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS from the above institutions could be conducted through, inter alia:
72. As appropriate, institutions should conduct reviews in support of the IPOA-STATUS&TRENDS, and these should be reported to FAO as contributions to the development and implementation of this IPOA. States should consider the need to develop monitoring where reviews indicate an absence of monitoring.
73. Institutions should develop and extend formal and informal partnership arrangements for the exchange of information on fisheries status and trends and these should be reported, as appropriate, to FAO as contributions to the development and implementation of this IPOA.
74. Institutions should develop and implement methods for improving capacities for participation in this IPOA, including the introduction of information and other technologies; working practices and methods; and guidelines, materials and training courses.
Participation by development partners
75. Development partner agencies and donors should assist in capacity building to enable recipient States and regions to contribute to this IPOA, through programmes and projects according to and in support of the special interests and requirements of developing countries.
1 The term "capacity building" here means strengthening human and institutional capabilities.
2 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. 4 December 1995. (not yet in force)
3 FAO Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas. 24 November 1993. (not yet in force)
4 UNCED Agenda 21, Chapter 40: Information for decision-making.
5 Indicators for sustainable development of marine capture fisheries. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. No. 8. Rome, FAO. 1999. 68p.
6 Adoption 1973, entry into force 1987.
7 Adoption 1992, entry into force 1993.
8 This is managed by a Living Marine Resources Panel; there are other panels - the Coastal Panel and the Health of the Oceans Panel.
9 In conformity with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Articles 61 and 119.
10 As provided for in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Articles 61 and 119.
11 Throughout this IPOA, the term "capacity building" means strengthening human and institutional capabilities.
13 Code Articles 7.1.2 and 7.1.6
14 FAO (1999): Indicators for Sustainable Development of Marine Capture Fisheries. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries, 8: 68 p.
