COFI/2003/6

SUMMARY

This document contains an overview of the topics discussed at the First Session of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture and makes reference to its main recommendations. The full report is available as document COFI/2003/Inf.11. The Committee is invited to consider the recommendations of the Sub-Committee, particularly those contained in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 and the annex to this paper.

INTRODUCTION

1. The First Session of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from 18-22 April 2002 at the invitation of the Government of the People's Republic of China¹. The report of the Session is available as document COFI/2003/Inf.11.

2. The Sub-Committee emphasized that, globally, aquaculture is a fast growing activity, and is practised with complex interactions between natural, social, economic and policy environments. Development of this sector requires integrated efforts to harmonize public and private sector needs and to preserve inter-generational rights. It also stressed that future development plans must recognize the considerable differences that exist in geographical, cultural, social, economic and technical dimensions and pay particular emphasis to the potential contribution that aquaculture can make to food security and poverty alleviation while considering the role of women in this sector (para 49).*

MATTERS FOR INFORMATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES

Aquaculture Development and Management: Status, Issues and Prospects

3. During the Sub-Committee's debates, the delegations:

• Stressed that environmental impact assessment should be an important aspect of aquaculture development. Thus it was suggested that FAO might consider undertaking comparative analyses of the environmental impacts of agriculture and fishery production, including an analysis of the terrestrial livestock and crop sectors. The impacts of alien species (exotic species, introductions and/or translocations), antibiotics and other inputs, and genetically altered species on biodiversity, should be an important part of environmental impact assessment (para. 10).
• Stressed that the issue of food quality, product safety and certification has important considerations for international trade and access to foreign markets, especially for developing countries (para. 12).
• Acknowledged the importance of international trade in aquaculture products. Several delegates stated that access to markets should be fair and that import/export standards on, inter alia, food quality, should be harmonized in order to avoid non-tariff trade barriers (para. 13).
• Highlighted the need for creating conducive policy, financial and legal environments for aquaculture development, that included, inter alia, individual and community-based legal frameworks addressing the rights and obligations of aquaculturists, and which will improve access to credit (para. 15).
• Acknowledged that sub-regional, regional, and bilateral collaboration were of extreme importance, taking the form of information exchange, technology transfer, south-south cooperation, and education and training. Existing mechanisms, such as Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC), could be reviewed to improve their effectiveness (para. 16).
• Identified biotechnology, specifically disease resistance and genetic technologies, as well as fish health and quarantine, food quality, feed technologies, stock enhancement, culture-based fisheries and stock restoration, development of new species for aquaculture and improved domesticated strains, risk assessment, and food safety technologies as areas requiring technical assistance (para. 17).
• Recognized the limited resources of FAO and suggested that countries submit to FAO reports on their various activities related to aquaculture development and management in order to start a process of information sharing to assist FAO in future work (para. 20).

The Role of Aquaculture in Rural Development

4. The delegations:

• Expressed considerable need for greater exchange of information and experience on development of rural aquaculture, through regional and inter-regional networks and collaboration between neighbouring countries. Specific mention was made of the catalytic role that FAO could play in promoting cooperation between multiple-organizations and governments (para. 26).
• Acknowledged that an enabling environment for rural aquaculture development requires both technical and non-technical factors. These include, inter alia, need for governments to support planning and education and for political support to facilitate and promote aquaculture growth, access to quality inputs such as fingerlings, alternatives to fishmeal, low cost feeds, and access to markets and financing (para. 29).

Towards Sustainable Aquaculture Development: Progress in the Implementation of Aquaculture-Related Provisions of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

5. While addressing this issue, delegations:

• Noted that additional assistance was necessary in elaborating technical aspects in the implementation of the Code, dissemination and exchange of information, capacity-building, extension, education and training and networking along with intra- and inter-regional collaboration/cooperation including traditional knowledge (para. 34).
• Reiterated the importance of regular reporting on the implementation of the Code and requested that the Sub-Committee receive specific aquaculture reports by Members with a comprehensive status report prepared by FAO (para. 35).
• Recognized the important role of socio-economic and regulatory aspects in responsible aquaculture development and suggested that FAO should continue to address by a variety of activities those issues which constrain government decision-making processes (para. 39).

Needs for Better Reporting on the Status and Trends of Aquaculture Development

6. The Sub-Committee:

• Recognized the continuing efforts of FAO in formulating and reaching consensus on an internationally acceptable working definition of aquaculture. It pointed out that this was essential in order to differentiate clearly between production from aquaculture and that from capture fisheries. In this regard, the Sub-Committee highlighted the need for clear definitions on aquaculture-based fisheries and emerging technologies (e.g. there was a need for greater harmonization on production systems such as tuna fattening) (para. 44).
• Stressed that training and education in data collection, analysis, storage, management and dissemination were fundamental in securing the availability of good quality data (para. 46).

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

7. As a result of its deliberations and desiring to increase the benefits of aquaculture to human development, while protecting the environment, the Sub-Committee identified the following as key priority areas for future work (para. 51) :

a) Creating an enabling environment for the promotion of sustainable aquaculture development and management

• Development of guidelines for the elaboration of transparent and non-discriminatory certification procedures
• Risk assessment studies, establishment of harmonized aquaculture quality standards, consumer health, economic viability
• Undertaking comparative analyses on the environmental cost of aquatic food production in relation to other terrestrial food production sectors
• Increasing the involvement of the private sector and producers in the decision-making process
• Creation of a data bank of national Codes and other useful material produced by other organizations.

b) Establishing a framework for sustainable rural aquaculture development

• Developing guidelines and strategies for sustainable rural aquaculture development

c) Education, information sharing and capacity-building

• South-south co-operation and networking at sub-regional, regional and bilateral levels for information exchange and technology transfer.

d) Data collection and reporting to improve knowledge and management of the sector

• Education and training (data collection, analysis, storage, management and dissemination), as well as the establishment of unified standards and guidelines for data collection, and clearer definitions of the terminologies used in the sector.

8. The Sub-Committee recognized the current inadequacy of Regular Programme funds to carry out successfully the activities recommended during the First Session and recommended that the FAO Fisheries Department review its Medium-Term Plan (MTP) for its compatibility with the recommendations made during the session, as appropriate develop new programme entities with budget requests to accommodate these un-funded needs, and submit to the next COFI Session (see Annex). These funds should be sought either from the Regular Programme budget or from extra-budgetary sources. The Sub-Committee requested the FAO Fisheries Department to make a report on its efforts in this regard, and present this to the next Session of the Sub-Committee (para 50).

9. The Sub-Committee urged that, in the light of the levelling off of production from capture fisheries and increasing demand for fish and fishery products, there was a need to develop aquaculture world wide and requested that COFI should make efforts to convince FAO to allocate additional funds to the Fisheries Department for aquaculture activities (para. 52).

DATE AND PLACE OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE

10. The Sub-Committee accepted the offer of Norway to host the Second Session of the Sub-Committee in Trondheim, Norway, in August 2003 in conjunction with the European Aquaculture Society Symposium and the AquaNor Exhibition. The dates and details will be finalized in due course (para. 56).

SUGGESTED ACTION BY THE COMMITTEE

11. The Committee is invited to endorse the report of its Sub-Committee and provide guidance with regard to the above mentioned issues, particularly in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9.

Annex

PROPOSED AQUACULTURE PROGRAMME (UN-FUNDED)

Responding to the request made by the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture (COFI:AQ), the Fisheries Department reviewed its Medium-Term Plans (MTP) - 2002-2007 and 2004-2009, for their compatibility with the recommendations made during the First Session. Major Programme 2.3: Fisheries, includes several Programmes which are relevant to the recommendations of the Sub-Committee and where activities in support of these recommendations could be incorporated. Some of these activities are already included and budgeted but not to the extent needed in terms of an adequate and coherent focus on aquaculture, and/or scope and depth. Efforts will be made to incorporate activities to address such needs within the existing programme. Others represent new activities, which are not part of the current MTP. This is of concern as resources are already committed to the approved activities and specific outputs at all levels - Departmental, Divisional, Service and Regional. Additional funds are therefore required to carry out those activities and, optimally, to strengthen those already incorporated in the MTP. Accordingly, to meet these needs, the following suggestions are made by the Fisheries Department for consideration and approval by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI):

1. Creation of a new Continuing Programme (CP) under the Programme 2.3.2: Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture, which will be implemented during the next MTP (2006-2011).

Aquaculture education, information sharing and capacity-building through South-South Co-operation and networking at sub-regional, regional and bilateral levels, is a key recommendation of several recent global fora, including the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture. Although capacity building and information exchange are integral parts of the overall work programme of the Fisheries Department, there is no specific, objective programme within the MTP addressing the issue of regional and inter-regional co-operation in aquaculture development and management. As the subject and the recommendation is very timely and fits well within the FAO vision and mandate, it is proposed to create a new Continuing Project (CP) entitled "Regional and Inter-regional Co-operation in Aquaculture Development" under the Programme 2.3.2: Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture, and allocate resources, for the activities to be implemented during the next MTP (2006-2011).

2. Establishment of a new activity entitled "Regional and Inter-regional Co-operation in Aquaculture Development" under the Technical Project (TP) 232A2 - Increased Contribution of Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries to Food Security.

In the short- to medium-term, to address the immediate needs of the above recommendation, it is proposed that an activity entitled "Regional and Inter-regional Co-operation in Aquaculture Development " under the Technical Project (TP) 232A2 - Increased Contribution of Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries to Food Security be created, with extra-budgetary funds or re-allocated funds, to promote sharing of information, transfer of appropriate technologies, adopting proven practices and strategies, capacity building through South-South cooperation, and education and training.

Proposed time frame: 2004-2007. Estimated Budget: US $ 200, 000

3. Creation of a new activity under the Programme 2.3.2: Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture, Technical Project (TP): Promotion of Responsible Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture (232A1).

i. "Development of technical guidelines for the elaboration of transparent and non-discriminatory certification procedures" to promote the elaboration of internationally accepted technical guidelines and reference framework for the development and application of aquaculture certification processes and procedures.

Proposed time frame: 2004-2007. Estimated budget: US$ 150,000

4. Creation of a new activity under the Programme 2.3.4: Fisheries Policy, Technical Project (TP): Promotion of Appropriate National/Regional Policies for Sustainable Aquaculture Development (234A5).

i. "Environmental and socio-economic risks and benefits of aquaculture: a comparative analysis with selected agriculture sectors" to develop a framework and carry out a review and analysis of environmental and socio-economic costs and benefits of aquaculture production systems compared to other selected food production sectors.

Proposed Time frame: 2004-2007. Estimated budget: US$ 400,000

5. Strengthening relevant existing Programmes, with extra-budgetary funds, for more comprehensive activities on aquaculture, responsive to SCA recommendations.

i. Continuing Programme (CP) 231P1 - Provision of Fisheries Information and Statistics, Programme 2.3.1: Fisheries Information, in response to SCA recommendations on "Data collection and reporting to improve knowledge of the sector" should be strengthened to better address the issues of capacity building in data collection, analysis, storage, management, dissemination and sharing, and to establish unified standards, guidelines and definitions for aquaculture statistics.

Proposed Time frame: 2003-2007 Estimated budget: US$ 200,000

ii. Technical Project (TP) 232A2 - Increased Contribution of Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries to Food Security, under the Programme 2.3.2: Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture, in response to recommendations for "Establishing a framework for sustainable rural aquaculture development" to be expanded to develop guidelines and strategies for sustainable aquaculture in rural development.

Proposed Time frame: 2004-2005 Estimated budget: US$ 150,000

iii. Technical Project (TP) 233A4 - Consumption, Safety and Quality of Fish Products, which is established under the Programme 2.3.3: Fisheries Exploitation and Utilization, in response to recommendations on "Establishment of harmonized aquaculture product quality standards", to include activities for promoting quality and safety of aquaculture products to assure consumer health and facilitate trade.

Proposed Time frame: 2004-2007 Estimated budget: US$ 100,000

6. Recommendations to be implemented within the existing budget and work programme.

Activities towards responding to SCA recommendations for "Increasing the involvement of the private sector and producers in the aquaculture sector decision-making process" and "Creation of a data bank of national Codes and other useful material produced by other organizations" are recognized under TP 234A5 - Promotion of Appropriate National and Regional Policies for Sustainable Aquaculture Development and TP 234A1 - Co-ordination and Monitoring of the Implementation of Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, respectively. Efforts would be made to conduct extra activities relevant to implementing those recommendations within the existing programme, during the 2004-2005 biennium.

Obviously, many of the above proposed activities will require inter-Departmental (particularly between FAO Fisheries Department and the FAO Legal Office), inter-Divisional and inter-Service collaboration.

The budgetary estimates provided here do not include FAO staff time, and efforts will be made to incorporate them if the additional financial resources are forthcoming.

¹ Financial support for the organization of the session was provided both by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Italy.

* The para numbers refer to the appropriate paragraphs of the report of the Session.