45. Document COPESCAL/81/7 entitled “Status of aquaculture in Latin America” was introduced by the Secretariat and served as a basis for discussion of item 6 of the agenda. In addition to the various areas of work proposed in the document, several other topics related to aquaculture had been referred to this item from earlier portions of the agenda. These included matters relating to the production and export of ornamental fish, the use of waste in aquaculture, the proposed subregional centres for aquacultural production and training, and the recommendation of the Symposium that COPESCAL establish a Working Party on Aquaculture.
46. Several delegations, in commenting upon the areas of work proposed by the Secretariat, emphasized that intensive as well as extensive aquacultures are of very great interest to the Member Governments, and that therefore item 4 (a) of COPESCAL/81/7 needed to be enlarged.
47. The proposal to establish a Working Party on Aquaculture was accepted unanimously by the Commission, and the following terms of reference were adopted.
The Working Party should:
Keep under review the status and problems of aquaculture and its development in the inland waters of Latin America.
Promote exchange of experiences and cooperation between member countries of COPESCAL in the field of aquaculture at both regional and subregional levels.
Collaborate with the other regional organizations which are active in the field of aquaculture, such as SELA and ALA, in promoting regional activities.
Promote and support cooperative programmes of research between national institutions on specific problems of common interest.
Recommend specific actions in support of the development of aquaculture in the region for the implementation by COPESCAL.
48. The Chairman then suggested that discussion of the items on ornamental fishes and the use of fish waste in aquaculture, along with other matters specific to aquaculture, be referred to the Working Party for their discussion and recommendations.
49. The Secretariat explained that there might be difficulties in finding sufficient funds to hold sessions of all three working parties in the next biennium. The Secretariat offered, however, to explore all possibilities for obtaining supplementary funds for the purpose. The Commission agreed that every effort should be made by the Secretariat to obtain such funds, but that if this were possible, first priority should be given to holding a meeting of the new Working Party on Aquaculture, with second priority given to the Working Party on Fishery Resources. The Chairman suggested that the proposals relating to training in aquaculture could be taken up under the item pertaining to other kinds of training.
