At the Second Session of EIFAC, fourteen countries were represented: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. Norway and Sweden were new members; and Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Spain sent observers, as did the GFCM, IAL, ICES and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The interest shown by countries from Eastern Europe was encouraging.
The meeting accepted the previously agreed Rules of Procedure, 1 and concentrated on the technical matters arising from the five topics selected at the previous Session (see above). A recommendation was made to improve communication between the Secretariat and member countries by the appointment in each country of a correspondent and an alternate, to keep the Secretariat informed of major changes in the administration and programmes within each country. This has been of limited success, and frequently the Secretariat has found it necessary to contact the national delegate, particularly if that individual has been attending the Sessions on a regular basis. It would seem from experience that the designated correspondent should be selected as one familiar with inland fisheries problems, and not merely an individual in contact with the more general fields of FAO operations.
The Second Session agreed to a proposal to establish a working party to consider water quality criteria for European freshwater fish. The working party was subsequently placed under the convenership of Mr J.S. Alabaster (United Kingdom), who retains the post at the present time. The group, as mentioned earlier, has achieved considerable success in its task.
The Second Session finally called to the attention of the Director-General of FAO the fact that inland fisheries production in Europe has increased to a conservatively estimated 150 000 t of fish in 1960, and considered that production could be very greatly increased to provide extra protein for expanding populations “if effective steps were taken by Governments to utilize the resource to its full potential.”
The steps mentioned included the application of present knowledge as well as the search for new knowledge to solve existing problems. More work was required on inventories of fish populations, genetics and breeding, fish nutrition and behaviour, disease control, the prevention of pollution and other matters. There was a need for the work of the Commission to be followed up between Sessions, a task for which the Secretariat could not be responsible. As an example, the Conference on Water Pollution Problems in Europe held in 1961 in Geneva, recognized that EIFAC was the appropriate body to set the standards of water quality suitable for fish, a view shared by ECE, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). This required a working party which could meet between Sessions.
FAO was asked to make financial assistance available for such inter-sessional meetings, and also to provide for interim meetings of the Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen of the Commission to receive reports, select and direct working parties, and consider the agenda for subsequent meetings. These matters were further discussed at the Third Session and, in consequence, the structure of the Commission underwent an important and far-reaching development.
