INTRODUCTION

1. The programme of work proposed in this paper emanates from the recommendations and proposals made by the Third Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Second Session of the Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ) which were held respectively in Madrid, Spain, 2-5 May 2000 and in Rome, Italy, 13-16 June 2000. The programme of work proposed covered not only the activities of the Committees themselves, but also those of the subsidiary bodies and cooperating networks.

2. The activities proposed in this paper reflect the needs and priority identified by the Working Groups, Sub-Committees, Networks and cooperating regional organizations. However, the proposed does not take into consideration the availability of funds. That issue is to be discussed under the agenda item which deals with the budget of the Commission.

3. Before discussing this programme of work by field of activity, it is worth mentioning the entry into operation of a new regional project covering the Adriatic Sea. The project is aimed at supporting GFCM activities in the field of scientific cooperation and to support the development of responsible fisheries in this sub-region. The manager of this new project, like the manager of the other regional project (COPEMED) covering the Western Mediterranean area, was closely involved in the discussions of the proposed programme of work. The contribution of the two projects to the implementation of this work programme was very much welcomed by GFCM members.

PROGRAMME OF WORK PROPOSED BY THE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SAC)

4. During the discussions of the programme of work of SAC and its subsidiary bodies, it was noted that holding the meeting of SAC immediately after the meetings of the Sub-Committee was not convenient as it did not allow for a satisfactory review of all the documents provided by the Sub-Committees.

5. Nevertheless during its last meeting, SAC reviewed the proposals made by the Working Groups and the Sub-Committees and agreed on the necessity to carry out the following activities. They are classified in four broad categories with many over lapping responsibilities: (i) action by members; (ii) action by SAC and its subsidiary bodies; (iii) action by the Secretariat; and (iv) action by the Secretariat and members.

1. Actions by GFCM Members
• Members should report to SAC on the progress of national research activities undertaken in the field of fishery resources;
• Members should participate actively in the creation of a common regional database with the minimum statistical data necessary to enable SAC and its Sub-Committees to carry out their work;
• Members should nominate national delegates and focal points for each of the Sub-Committees in order to improve the participation of national experts in the work of SAC and its Committees.
• Members should prepare a periodical national report on fishing research programmes and achievements to be presented before SAC. A standard format of these reports will be elaborated by the Secretariat in consultation with the Chairman of SAC. National reports should follow the agreed standard format and not exceed two pages in order to be aggregated and incorporated as annexes to the SAC reports.
1. Actions by SAC and its Sub-Committees

6. The activities listed below would require a major contribution by members and support from the FAO/GFCM Secretariat.

• To prepare and put at the disposal of all the researchers in the GFCM area common stock assessment methodologies;
• To collect, examine and keep an updated record of all those research surveys that use direct methods of resources evaluation;
• To include effectively artisanal fisheries as a component in the studies of the Sub-Committees;
• To establish a GFCM glossary to facilitate a common understanding of terminology by the four SAC Sub-Committees and other stakeholders;
• To include information on the source of funding and on the authors of stock assessment studies in the list of assessments which had been formulated during previous sessions of SAC.
1. Action by FAO/GFCM Secretariat
• To prepare a standard format for the presentation of national reports;
• To keep a record of research surveys using direct and indirect methods of resource evaluation;
• To identify financing sources and/or voluntary institutions for the publication of all scientific papers presented at the SAC Sub-Committees meetings.
• To assist in the creation of a common regional database with the minimum statistical data necessary to enable SAC and its Sub-Committees to carry out their tasks.
1. Meetings

7. The following meetings were proposed:

PROGRAMME OF WORK PROPOSED BY THE COMMITTEE ON AQUACULTURE (CAQ)

8. The Second Session of CAQ agreed to the following biennial programme of activities that is submitted to the Commission for approval. This programme of work covers the following categories of activities: (i) the regular session of the Committee; (ii) the associated Networks activities; and (iii) the implementation of the Plan of Action proposed by the Consultation on Adoption of Article 9 of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in the Mediterranean Region.

1. Regular Session of the Committee on Aquaculture

9. The principle of holding the Third Session of CAQ in the year 2002 was agreed on by the Second Session but no hosting country nor a financing source could be identified. It was however recommended to hold it in four languages as mentioned in document GFCM/XXV/2000/4.

1. Activities of the Associated Networks

10. Information System for Promotion of Aquaculture (SIPAM): For SIPAM the work proposal presented by the SIPAM Regional Coordinator includes:

• regular meetings of the National Coordinator and of the Steering Committee,
• Internet version of SIPAM,
• preparation of specific reports based on the analysis of data contained in the SIPAM databases,
• expansion of the network to include additional GFCM member countries,
• evolution of SIPAM platform and software,
• promotion and assistance to the establishment of the national networks,
• training of national counterparts in the organization of databases and in new software releases,
• completion of the work on specialized data bases, such as marketing and health management,
• finalization of the legal agreement for accession to the network and on copyright issues.

11. The Committee noted the scarcity of funding available for the implementation of the activities proposed and agreed that it was important to establish priorities for spending the funds available from all sources. The liaison with the National Coordinators and with other information systems as well as the preparation of a clear strategy for the development of the system including the analysis of the existing platform and its updating received the highest priority. The solution of the legal matters concerning accession to the network and copyrights were also considered important. It has to be noted that some of the items included in the programme of work proposed could be implemented from the Regional Centre in Tunis with the collaboration of the national coordinators at little or no cost.

12. Technology of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (TECAM): This network and the one dealing with Socio-Economic and Legal Aspects (SELAM) (see paragraph 13 below) are coordinated by the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) in collaboration with the Secretariat of GFCM. CAQ agreed on the following programme of work for the intersessional period 2000/2002. This programme of work is to be of joint nature, coordinated by CIHEAM with financial and technical contributions from GFCM, and assistance from institutes in member countries includes the following activities:

• a TECAM survey for a directory of experts and laboratories concerned with aquatic animal health management. This survey would be carried out in 2000;
• a TECAM Training Workshop for the establishment of selective breeding programmes in Mediterranean hatcheries, planned for April 2001;
• a TECAM Workshop on nutrient requirements and diet composition of marine finfish candidates for Mediterranean aquaculture (seriola, sole, sparids, tuna, etc.) planned for September 2001;
• Updating of the directory of experts and projects of the TECAM Survey on finfish species diversification, to be implemented in 2001;
• a TECAM Seminar on Mediterranean mollusc production and new shellfish species, programmed for December 2001, and
• a TECAM Course on Mediterranean offshore mariculture, planned for April 2002.

13. Considering the budgetary problems, the Committee recommended to establish priorities. It decided to have broad interdisciplinary activities of regional relevance following the orientation provided by the Consultation on Article 9 of the CCRF, as main priority. In this context the planning of a seminar on Mediterranean mollusc production could be an opportunity to introduce the concepts arising from the Consultation on Article 9. This group of species would be the case study through which an analysis of the system, including environmental, social, planning and technical considerations is made to derive policy orientation for the countries. It accepted that more specific activities should also be part of the programme of work and the Committee further indicated that these should be programmed so that the principles which had emerged from the discussions at the Consultation would be included in the detailed agendas. The Committee further highlighted the need to consider activities that would examine the interaction between capture and culture fisheries. In this respect the sub-regional project ADRIAMED proposed to organize a joint Expert Consultation on capture and culture fisheries interactions together with the networks.

14. The organization of the proposed programme was discussed during the GFCM Aquaculture Sub-Committee meeting. Cyprus offered to assist in the proposed course on offshore mariculture by hosting the event, and Morocco volunteered to host the Seminar on Mollusc Production.

15. Socio-Economic and Legal Aspects in the Mediterranean (SELAM) network: The following activities are proposed by the Committee. It is suggested that they be undertaken under the same conditions as those proposed for TECAM activities:

• a SELAM Workshop on databases on marketing of aquaculture products and Mediterranean aquaculture product flow. This workshop is planned for the last quarter of 2000 or first quarter of 2001;
• a SELAM Workshop on the use of vaccines and chemotherapy in Mediterranean aquaculture. Legislative and applied aspects. This workshop is planned for June 2001;
• a SELAM Seminar on methodologies for seafood market studies with the aim of introducing new aquaculture products (EU Concerted Action), planned for June 2001

16. The first activity is considered to be of high priority by the Committee. It should be followed by activities related to marketing of aquaculture products, support to the analysis of product flow in the countries, price monitoring and trend analysis, and development of methodologies for introduction of new aquaculture products, in seafood markets.

1. Implementation of the Plan of Action Emerging from the Consultation on the Adoption of Article 9 of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

17. Other activities discussed for the programme of work were the follow-up of the Action Plan proposed by the Consultation on Article 9 of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. The Committee requested that efforts be continued to identify one or several donors to implement the regional project along the lines of the proposal presented by the Secretariat. Given the complexity of the task, it was suggested to combine different sources of funding including bilateral donors, TCP funds and Regular Programme funding in support of the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. In this line of work, Italy offered to explore the possibility of funding a meeting on sustainability indicators.

SUGGESTED ACTION BY THE COMMISSION

18. The Commission is invited to review the programme of work proposed by its two Committees for the intersessional period, to advise on the suggested priorities and to identify financing and human resources for the implementation of the programme.

19. The attention of the Commission is drawn to the increasing importance of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and to the necessity of providing sufficient support to the networks under the umbrella of its Committee on Aquaculture.

20. The Commission will also notice the increasing amount of work carried out by SAC and the need to support its work, which requires increasing financial and technical support from the Commission members.

PROPOSAL FOR A PROGRAMME OF WORK FOR THE INTERSESSIONAL PERIOD - YEAR 2000-20001

(FIRST PRIORITIES)

Budget Requirements

1 TBD: To be determined.