Mr Kourkouliotis, Kyriakos ([email protected])
FIRF, FAO HQ, Rome, Italy

The project “Improvement of the management of beach seine fishery in Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire” is funded by the EAF-Nansen project “Strengthening of the Knowledge Base for Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Marine Fisheries in Developing Countries” which is a partnership between the Government of Norway and FAO. During the sub-regional meeting, the four countries will be invited to present their own national management plan. Based on these documents, a sub-regional framework for monitoring and managing the beach seines will be proposed for discussion. The third day will be dedicated to identify and prioritize the future actions necessary to support the implementation of national plans and sub-regional framework.

Since December 2006, FAO has been implementing the EAF-Nansen project through a tripartite agreement involving the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) of Bergen, Norway. One of the major outputs of the project involves assessment and monitoring of key marine ecosystem properties using the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen which has carried out fisheries and environment surveys in the waters of developing countries for nearly 40 years.

For the future phase of the project, greater emphasis is being given to assessment and monitoring of ecosystem properties and biodiversity in relation to climate change. The partners have agreed that for the work to serve a wider community there is a need to involve other related agencies through a collaborative arrangement, including the use of the R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen as a possible UN-wide platform to monitor climate-related changes in the marine environment. Following initial discussions between FAO and IOC, a consultation is being organised in Paris on the nature of an assessment and monitoring programme for tropical and sub-tropical regions in the light of climate change.

The meeting will be held at the UNESCO/IOC Headquarters, Room XV
1, rue Miollis, 75015 Paris, France

Additional information on the meeting can be found on the Aide Memoire, the Annotated Agenda and the List of Participants.

Thirtieth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries(COFI): EAF-Nansen Project Side Event Wednesday 11 July 2012. From 13.oo to 14.20, Malaysia Room(B227). FAO HQ, Rome.

At the 25th Session of COFI in 2003, the member States endorsed the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) as an appropriate framework for the management of fisheries. Since 2006, FAO, with the support of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the Institute of Marine Research of Bergen (IMR), has been assisting its member States to adopt and apply EAF through the implementation of the EAF-Nansen project. Substantial assistance is being given to developing countries, especially those in Africa, to obtain additional knowledge on their marine ecosystems for their use in planning, monitoring and understanding the key principles of EAF. Objectives of the Side Event i. To listen to the beneficiary countries narrate their experiences in the implementation of EAF including use of information from the ecosystem surveys with the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen ii. To inform delegates and partners about the future perspectives of the project in the light of climate-related changes in the marine ecosystem This will involve looking into what has been done by the EAF-Nansen project after the COFI decision to adopt and implement the ecosystem approach to fisheries. Participation All national delegations, development partners, funding agencies, non-governmental organizations and representatives of partner projects attending the COFI Session are cordially invited.

Within the framework of the EAF-Nansen/PAF NEPAD joint project for the development of management plans for industrial shrimp fisheries, the meeting will be devoted to the training on the use of analysis and modeling for the selection of suitable options to be selected in the development of management plans with emphasis on cost-benefit approach concerning discussed choices. The workshop will be attended by regional organizations such as COREP, CEEAC, NEPAD, ACP, FCWC and three countries, Cameroon, Gabon and Nigeria, including the fisheries managers and industry partners in addition to the member States of COREP and the decision-makers of the countries represented. The expected outputs of this second meeting are (i) National documents indicating the management options discussed; (ii) National assessment of options based on the criteria of costs and benefits, constraints and facilities stemming from discussions with the decision-makers and; (iii) National orientation paper for the finalization of draft management plans.

Meeting documents