44. It was noted that the Committee would meet in the future about every two years far enough in advance of COFI so that the Committee's work could be used by the Secretariat in preparation for COFI meetings.
45. The appointments of the current members of the Committee would expire before the next session of the Committee. The Committee recommended some members be re-appointed to assure continuity, but it also endorsed a significant turnover in membership to provide new scientific perspectives.
46. The Committee recalled the general approach to its work in its first three sessions. Its First Session broadly considered fishery research needs without overly focusing on the current work programme of FAO. It produced a set of nine long-term research themes. The Second Session broadly reviewed research activity of FAO and progress on the specific research themes it recommended the first session. The Third Session reviewed further progress on a research theme from its First Session (on the development of an IPOA for Status and Trends Reporting) and several other topics for which FAO requested advice. The Committee agreed that this general pattern of evolution from broad, unconstrained consideration of research needs, to a focus on specific topics was logical, but that it should not be carried on indefinitely. Rather, the Committee felt that there should be a recurring cycle of meetings from the general to the specific, with turnover in membership triggering the beginning of a new cycle. The Committee concluded that at its next session, when there would be some new members, would be an appropriate time to reexamine the broad research themes it recommended at its First Session.
47. The Committee further recommended that its Working Group on the Impacts of Trade and Benefit Distribution should continue its work.
48. The Committee discussed the utility of considering major FAO activities, such as preparation of an action plan on IUU, which were not perceived to have significant research components. The Committee agreed that it should consider major FAO activities regardless of the perceived need for advice on research because: (a) research might play a more important role than was at first recognized, (b) having general knowledge about FAO priorities was necessary if the Committee were to correctly identify priority research themes, and (c) Committee members appreciated the opportunity to be better informed about fishery issues even if the issues did not have significant research implications.
49. The FAO Secretariat would continue work on the initiative for an IPOA on Status and Trends during the intersessional between the Third and Fourth Sessions of the Committee. The Committee noted its desire for some of its members to remain involved with this initiative during the intersessional period. It also expressed its desire to be kept informed about progress on other research that it helped stimulate, such as the study on trade barriers. If appropriate, Committee members should be called on to participate in some of these research activities.
50. The Committee discussed several topics that might be topics for Working Parties during the intersessional period. It considered further work on (a) rights-based fisheries management, (b) follow-up analyses on barriers to trade when the survey reported in paragraph 43 was completed, (c) sustainable development through small scale coastal and inland fisheries and aquaculture, (d) the transfer of traditional knowledge and experience with integrated aquaculture systems in freshwater to brackish and sea water, and (e) legal, social science, and technology research needed to address IUU. The Committee recognized that it was not realistic to pursue all of these topics simultaneously
51. The Committee recommended that priority be given to intersessional work, such as by an ACFR Working Party including appropriate members of ACFR, on ecosystem approaches for small-scale coastal and inland fisheries. This work should address (a) options for rights-based fisheries management for these fisheries, (b) special needs for data gathering and analysis methods, (c) the interrelationship between fisheries and aquaculture, (d) the role of local and traditional knowledge, (e) the potential for poverty alleviation, and (f) criteria for effective governance.
