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SUMMARY
An Expert Consultation on Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, 16-19 September 2002, in response to a call from the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries, to develop technical guidelines for best practice with regard to introducing ecosystems considerations into fisheries management. The meeting was attended by 17 experts from 15 countries who drafted guidelines for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) that will be published in the series of the FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. The guidelines attempt to operationalize EAF by recognizing that it is an extension of current management practices, but broadens these to take into account the biotic, abiotic and human components of ecosystems in which fisheries operate. The guidelines provide an approach to translate the high level policy goals of the economic, social and ecological dimensions of sustainable development, already agreed in a range of instruments and agreements into operational objectives, indicators and performance measures, that can be implemented at a practical level to achieve EAF.
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