108. The Committee welcomed the decision of the Government of Mexico to provide additional financial resources to the Trust Fund that had been set up to help FAO award the Margarita Lizárraga Medal to individuals or organizations that had distinguished themselves in the application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. This initial contribution by the Government of Mexico would be followed up by annual extrabudgetary allocations to ensure the continuity of the Medal. The Delegation of Mexico urged all Member governments of FAO to join this initiative and thus provide additional funds to the Trust Fund.
109. The delegation of Japan reiterated the offer it made at the Twenty-fourth Session of COFI to organize a Conference on the Management and Sustainable Development of Fisheries in the Antarctic with the objective to discuss sustainable use of the Antarctic fishery resources for the benefit of humankind especially of developing countries and informed the Committee that the Conference would be held in the near future.
110. The Committee noted that IUU fishing continues to adversely affect the sustainable management of fisheries and that without the political will it would be difficult for many countries to develop national plans of action called for in paragraph 25 of the IPOA–IUU by 2004 or to adopt measures to deter, reduce and eliminate IUU fishing. The Committee recommended that IUU fishing be included in the agenda of the Thirty-second Session of the FAO Conference with a view to calling attention of Members to this issue.
111. The United States of America informed the Committee of an initiative it had undertaken at WSSD called “White Water to Blue Water”, a watershed and coastal zone management project initially involving a variety of Caribbean countries and other partners.
112. Japan considers that FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 401 entitled “Understanding the Cultures of Fishery Communities”, published in 2001, is a good reference for the discussion of small-scale fisheries. Japan advised its initiatives in hosting the “International Symposium of Multiple Roles and Functions of Fisheries and Fishing Communities” at Aomori, Japan, in February 2003.
