The Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will hold a Regional Meeting to Promote Cooperation in Fisheries Management between Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. The meeting will be held on 13 May 2010 at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, and will be attended by delegations from the three countries as well as by FAO staff.

 

This initiative is a follow-up to the twenty-eighth Near East Regional Conference that in March 2006 had called upon the FAO to encourage Member countries to promote measures for rebuilding and rehabilitating the fisheries infrastructure and institutions in Iraq.

 

The initiative aims at fostering sub-regional cooperation to support sustainable fisheries and aquaculture development, and will focus on: marine fisheries management of the three countries, including the review of effectiveness of current conservation and management measures of fisheries resources and aquaculture; ii) Sub-regional trade (dynamics, constraints, opportunities); iii) Promotion of sustainable inland, brackish and marine waters aquaculture, including stock enhancement; and iv) Establishment of scientific cooperation and implementation of joint activities.

 

Experts from Iran, Iraq and Kuwait participating in this initiative concurred on the need to pursue in the sub-region an integrated and holistic approach in accordance with the FAO mandate concerning marine and freshwater fisheries and aquaculture.

 

The objective of the meetings is to: a) Discuss the results of a recent survey of coastal marine fisheries in the three countries concerned; b) Review the focus topics previously identified as central elements of the initiative; and c) Identify and agree on the financial means and modus operandi to implement marine, brackish and fresh water fisheries management cooperation among the three countries.