At its Twenty-second Session, the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) agreed that all FAO regional fishery bodies be reviewed and evaluated by their members to determine measures to be taken to strengthen each body, as appropriate1. The directive was reinforced by Resolution 13/97 adopted by the FAO Conference at its Twenty-ninth Session in November 1997. The Resolution recommenced the abolition of all working parties of all regional fishery bodies and most of the Sub-Committees of all bodies created under Article VI of the FAO Constitution.
It is recalled that, at its One Hundred and Twelfth Session, in June 1997, the FAO Council recommended that the Committees of the Indian Ocean Fishery Commission (IOFC) be abolished and that the Committee for the Development and Management of Fisheries in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO), the Committee for the Development and Management of Fisheries in the Bay of Bengal (BOBC) and the Committee for the Development and Management of Fishery Resources of the Gulfs (Gulfs Committee) be established as separate bodies under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution, prior to the abolition of (IOFC).
At its Tenth Session (New Delhi, India, 24 and 25 September 1997) BOBC agreed by consensus that the Committee be merged with the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC). At the Twenty-sixth Session of APFIC, the Commission agreed that BOBC be merged with the Commission and requested that the Director-General formally request the Council to approve the merger.
At its Ninth Session (Sharjah, UAE, 6-9 April 1997) the Gulfs Committee suggested that the future of the Committee be reviewed at a high level consultation. The High Level Consultation was held in Cairo, Egypt in December 1997, followed by a technical meeting in Teheran, Iran, in May 1998. The meeting adopted a draft agreement endorsed by the members to create a new body under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution. The process for the establishment of this new body is on-going.
At its Seventh Session (Mahé, Seychelles, 29 September-2 October 1997), SWIO agreed that, in principle, it did not oppose the establishment of an Article XIV body under the FAO Constitution to deal with non-tuna fisheries of common interest to island and mainland States of the region. Members, however, requested sufficient time for their respective governments to consult internally and, in turn, undertook to advise FAO on future arrangements for the Committee. Members of SWIO were contacted on this issue by Circular Letter dated 28 October 1997.
The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) became operational in 1996. The Commission has held two main sessions (Rome, Italy, 1966 and Mahé, Seychelles 1997) and a special session (Rome, 1997). With the establishment of IOTC, the IOFC Committee for the Management of Indian Ocean Tuna (Tuna Committee) had become obsolete.
It may be concluded from the above that in view of the changes that are taking place within the other Committees of IOFC, the Commission itself has become obsolete.
SUGGESTED ACTION BY THE COMMISSION
The Commission is invited to take note of recent developments concerning its subsidiary bodies and recommends to the FAO Council that the Indian Ocean Fishery Commission be abolished.