Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

The Expert Consultation was convened by FAO in order to elaborate guidelines on the policies and actions needed to increase the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. The Twenty-fifth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, held in Rome, Italy, from 24 to 28 February 2003, requested FAO to develop such guidelines as part of its series of technical guidelines on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

The Expert Consultation had before it a comprehensive background document on the subject matter and recommended that two products be published by FAO:

A FAO Fisheries Technical Paper on small-scale fisheries in poverty alleviation and food security that would include a full review of relevant background information.

FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries on enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security that would be a much more concise document highlighting the actions needed to increase the contribution of small-scale fisheries.

The Expert Consultation provided specific guidance for the finalization of the technical paper based on a revision and elaboration of the background document and produced a detailed outline for the preparation of the technical guidelines. It also provided recommendations on the dissemination of both documents and on methods to assess the use and evaluate the impacts of the technical guidelines.

The Expert Consultation noted that there is little reference to poverty alleviation and insufficient coverage of small-scale fisheries in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It therefore recommended the development of a new Article on

A broad review is provided of factors relevant to enhancing populations of invertebrate resources and methods promoting their recovery by natural recruitment, restocking or habitat restoration. The review focuses on the biological, technical, environmental, economic and biological factors affecting the feasibility of restoring or enhancing productivity of commercially valuable local invertebrate populations. Three categories of enhancement activity are recognized: restoring or enhancing stocks by conventional management methods, transplanting or seeding, and the use of juveniles produced from collectors in the wild or from hatcheries. Some guidelines are provided on issues related to enhancing recruitment, site selection, experimental closures, ecosystem considerations including predator control, as part of a stock management and enhancement programme. Ownership and co-management issues, and the necessary decisional rules for successful management are discussed, as well as how to reconcile the enhancement programme with other uses of the coastline. Spatial and geographical considerations are addressed, including allocation of areas for enhancement, rotational harvest schemes, use of refugia for protecting juveniles and the spawning stock, and the impact of the use of coastal zones for other human activities.

FAO. Report of the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing – Southeast Asia Subregion. Penang, Malaysia, 10–14 October 2004. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 757. Rome, FAO. 2005. 88p.

This document contains the report of, and some of the papers presented at, the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing – Southeast Asia Subregion which was held in Penang, Malaysia, from 10 to 14 October 2004. The purpose of the Workshop was to assist countries in Southeast Asia, People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to develop capacity so that they would be better placed to elaborate National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (NPOAs–IUU). The Workshop addressed the 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA–IUU) in detail and the Technical Guidelines that have been developed to support the implementation of the IPOA–IUU; concepts of planning and the elaboration of action plans; a case study for the development of a NPOA–IUU; and decision-making about IUU fishing and skills enhancement through the identification of key issues relating to NPOAs–IUU, the primary vehicle by which the IPOA–IUU will be implemented by countries. Working groups were formed to encourage maximum participation in the Workshop. A review of the major IUU fishing problems in the region and their possible solutions were discussed.

Staples, D. & Funge-Smith, S. (2009) Ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture: Implementing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/11, 48 pp.

This publication provides guidance on how to implement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) using an ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture. The CCRF is a voluntary code covering all aspects of the management and development of fisheries and is designed to ensure that they are developed sustainable without adversely affecting the livelihoods of local communities that share the same resources as the fisheries.

The authors outline the basic principles of the CCRF, describe concrete steps to be taken to use the ecosystem approach effectively, and recommend certain institutional changes and reforms that will be necessary in the Asia-Pacific region if the potential of the ecosystem approach is to be realized. The most significant reform that is needed to achieve the potential of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture is a paradigm shift in policy from one that is production oriented to one that is benefits oriented (social and economic). There is evidence that this is already happening in the region with efforts being made to limit access, reduce the number of fishing vessels and introduce community-based rights systems. Stakeholder participation is essential and existing legal instruments and practices that interact with or impact fisheries may also need to be reconsidered, and adjustments made where necessary. In the future, it may even be necessary to regulate the inter-sectoral interactions and impacts through primary legislation, e.g. laws controlling coastal development.

To promote broader adoption and implementation of the ecosystem approach by member countries, a wide range of regional activities is suggested by the authors and includes a media campaign, the building of fishery alliances among countries and capacity building in fishery agencies.
Ensuring the sustainable development of fisheries is crucial if food security and economic well-being are to be achieved throughout the APFIC region and it is hoped that the ideas included in this publication will help shape the future of fisheries in the region.