E-discussion on fisheries research issues

Between April and July 2007, the second phase of the 2007 e-discussion on ACP-EU fisheries relations looked into issues related to fisheries research.

In particular, three main areas were considered:

• Stakeholder participation in ACP fisheries research;
• Issues arising from data collection in ACP-EU fisheries relations;
• The development of a regional approach.

113 participants were registered for the e-consultation, they circulated 124 information items and made 16 contributions. In brief, the following recommendations were made by participants:

• A steering body for scientific programming should be set up, comprising fisheries managers (national and regional) as well as professionals.
• Research infrastructure should be decentralized and located close to fishing communities.
• ACP media should be given a more pro-active role in disseminating information on research topics.
• ACP research should give priority to the evaluation of fisheries resources and focus on two main issues: the bad state of catch declarations and the inadequate statistical systems.
• A regional approach in terms of fisheries research should be developed.

The first phase of the 2007 e-discussion focused on issues on the agenda for the 27th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The discussion continued in October and December, focusing on traceability issues for fish products.

A final report of the 2007 e-consultation is available here (pdf).

See also Euforic newsfeed and dossier on fisheries.