International Day on the fight against IUU fishing 2021; June 5th

 FORUM: Sustainable fishing Starts with us. International Day on the fight against IUU fishing 2021.

 IUU fishing includes all fishing that breaks fisheries laws or occurs outside the reach of fisheries laws and regulations. What are the most critical gaps that must be addressed to end illegal fishing? The most critical gaps to be addressed are the lack of required, internationally recognized unique vessel identification numbers on fishing vessels; the lack of a sound, uniform system for tracking fishing vessels; and poor sharing of information on suspected illegal fishing activity among national and international bodies and agencies.

- Four reasons illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing affects us and what we can do about it.
- Our oceans are haunted.
- Fighting three words is changing the fisheries sector.

Join the conversation on twitter:  #FightIUUFishing and #SaveOurOcean.

heries sector

Fighting three words is changing the fisheries sector

FAO’s commitment through the years

1982 - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (available in all languages here).

1993 - FAO Compliance Agreement

1995 - Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

1995 - United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement

2014 - Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels | is a State-certified repository of vessels involved in fishing operations.

2014 - FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Flag State Performance | provides a comprehensive checklist and guidelines for flag States to implement their internationally agreed responsibilities in relation to flagging and controlling their fishing vessels.

2016 - 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (entry into force)| It prevents illicitly caught fish from entering the value chain through foreign ports.

2017 - FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation Schemes | It provides better and more harmonized traceability of fish along the value chain.

2018 - FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear | are international guidelines for the marking of fishing gear, aimed at mitigating the problem of abandoned, lost or discarded gear, as well as combatting IUU fishing.

 

Closing the net on IUU fishing

4 June 2021, 15:00–16:00 CEST
Agenda | Zoom | Webcast

On the occasion of the fourth observance of the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, FAO is organizing a digital talk on the impacts of IUU fishing, on the sustainability of fisheries, on our oceans, as well as on consumers who often don’t know where the fish and seafood they buy comes from and how it is caught. When IUU-caught fish ends up on our plates, we are unwitting accomplices in unsustainable, and often criminal practices, that are damaging for our future well-being and the sustainability of our planet.

As consumers, we can contribute to stop IUU fishing with the greatest tool we have: our personal choice. Join us as we discuss this most interesting theme with an incredible line-up of experts and ocean lovers. 

World Fisheries Day - November 21

Fisheries and Aquaculture

In 1995, FAO member countries adopted the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which sets out principles and methods applicable to all aspects of fisheries and aquaculture. The code outlines ways to achieve the sustainable development and management of fisheries and aquaculture.

FAO has developed four international plans of action dealing with seabirds, sharks, fishing capacity and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to support the code. Two special strategies have been designed to improve data collection and monitoring systems for both capture fisheries and aquaculture. A series of technical guidelines, intended to help translate the code’s principles into action, further promote the code’s implementation.


Fish for food, livelihood and trade 


As vast as the world’s oceans may seem, their resources are limited and their ecosystems fragile. FAO believes that they can be protected and conserved with careful and responsible stewardship. The Organization is committed to helping countries manage fisheries and aquaculture more effectively and to ensuring that fish continue to be a significant source of food, livelihood and trade for future generations.


KEY FACTS

•  Some 80 percent of the world’s fish production is used for human consumption. The rest is mostly processed into fishmeal and fish oil.

•  The number of people who are directly engaged in the primary production of fish either in capture from the wild or in aquaculture reached 44.9 million in 2008. In the last three decades the number of fishers and fish farmers has grown faster than the world’s population and employment in traditional agriculture.

• Fish and fish products reached a record US$102 billion dollars in exports in 2008, with further growth
  expected. In developing countries, fishery net-exports (exports minus imports) are higher than those for
  other agricultural commodities including coffee, tea, rice and bananas.

•  Some 53 percent of the world’s marine fishery resources are fully fished, or fished to the maximum
  sustainable level. Another 32 percent is overfished, depleted, or recovering from depletion.

•  Fish contributes to food security in many regions of the world.Numerous developing countries rely on fish as a major source of protein; in 28 of them, fish accounts for over 40 percent of animal protein intake.
   
•  Since 1970, fish production from aquaculture has increased at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent.
  With production reaching 52.5 million tonnes in 2008, aquaculture will soon overtake capture fisheries as a source of food fish.

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World Fisheries Day - November 21