Advancing an ecosystem approach to fisheries management
The ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAF) played a center role in FAO’s engagement during the 15th Round of Informal Consultations of State Parties to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), taking place in New York last 17-19 May.
Earlier last month, the 15th Round of Informal Consultations of State Parties to the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) took place. From 17 to 19 May, governments, international organizations, and stakeholders from the fisheries sector convened in person at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Two days of meetings focused on the guiding theme, ‘Implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management’.
As a holistic and risk-based management approach to the fisheries sector, the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has been adopted by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), as the principal framework for achieving sustainable fisheries. It takes into consideration the ecological, human, and social dimensions of sustainability, aiming to reconcile a broader set of technical, policy, and governance sustainability objectives in a more participatory and adaptive fashion.
Representing the FAO delegation at the UNFSA were Vera Agostini, Deputy Director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Nicola Ferri, Legal and Institutional Officer for the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) – an FAO regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) – and Matthieu Bernardon, Fisheries Consultant for FAO’s EAF-Nansen Programme.
Vera Agostini opened the panel discussion, explaining FAO’s work to support the advancement of EAF for sustainable fisheries management around the world. She underlined the ecological and socioeconomic dimensions of EAF.
“EAF supports the practical implementation of the principles of sustainable development, first explicitly introduced to fisheries by the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries,” she said.
“It provides a holistic framework for considering ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainability and the governance context in which fisheries operate,” she added, pointing out that EAF promotes the participation of various stakeholders and the use of best available knowledge in fisheries management.
To this end, FAO has been leading efforts to promote and support the implementation of the EAF by assisting partner countries and regional fisheries bodies, including through its field projects.
FAO and the GFCM: key contributions
Together with several governments and other international organizations, FAO and the GFCM contributed to the wider knowledge base and policy discussions around the consultation’s priority theme.
Discussing the EAF implementation at the regional level was Nicola Ferri, who outlined a number of key actions and measures that the GFCM has been supporting in order to implement the EAF to maintain fish stocks above levels that can produce maximum sustainable yields, while remaining consistent with actions already taken at the national levels.
The GFCM’s 45 tools spanning recommendations, resolutions, and decisions – that explicitly refer to the ecosystem approach to fisheries management helped inform these discussions – invite governments at different levels and partners across sectors to work together based on the rich policy and technical knowledge base that is already at the disposal of actors across the wider fisheries sectors.
“When we look at efforts by regional fisheries management organizations, including the GFCM, it’s evident that over the last two decades their performance was significantly modernized in order to ensure the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries,” Ferri said.
Policy and legal frameworks have been amended to account for the EAF, and data collection and fisheries management systems have been underpinned and strengthened by the introduction of ecological, social and economic aspects, now mostly integrated in the work of regional fisheries management organizations.
“The GFCM is not an exception to this trend, as the adoption of roughly 30 decisions focusing on the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries in the last five years clearly demonstrates,” Ferri added.
Also on the agenda for the informal consultations were discussion panels on understanding EAF and its implementation at the national level. This was followed by discussions on opportunities and challenges for strengthening its implementation.
Insights from Africa, the Mediterranean, and areas beyond national jurisdiction
On 17 May, FAO convened the UNFSA side event ‘Implementing the ecosystem approach to fisheries: Recent FAO tools and examples from Africa, Mediterranean and the areas beyond national jurisdiction,’ presenting new tools and concrete country and regional examples of EAF implementation. The side event also shed light on technical, human and financial needs, opportunities, and challenges, including with respect to fisheries management in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). The event was moderated by Jake Rice from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and FAO’s Vera Agostini delivered opening remarks.
In addition, Matthieu Bernardon, Fisheries Consultant for FAO’s EAF Nansen Programme, presented the EAF Legal Diagnostic Tool and the EAF Implementation Monitoring Tool, backed up by examples of their practical application.
“Both the Legal Diagnostic Tool and the EAF Implementation Monitoring Tool are designed to support countries in their efforts to implement the ecosystem approach to fisheries. These tools provide simple and standardized ways to assess key gaps as a basis for prioritizing future actions and for monitoring achievements,” explained Bernardon.
Examples of FAO’s regional and national efforts for EAF implementation presented during the side event included: the Shared Sardinella initiative, supported by the EAF-Nansen Programme in northwest Africa; and the Shared Demersal Fisheries Resources in the Central Mediterranean, supported through the AdriaMed and MedSudMed Projects.
Agostini concluded the side event by speaking of the EAF in ABNJ, sharing lessons learned from the Common Oceans ABNJ Program, an innovative approach to achieving efficient and sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation in marine areas that do not fall under the responsibility of any one country.
Related links:
- Access all background and decision documents from the informal consultations here.
- Find out more about the ecosystem approach to fisheries here and here.
- Read more about the ecosystem approach to fisheries implementation monitoring tool here.
- Review the summary of actions measures by the GFCM for the implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.
- Stay informed on the latest news from the GFCM and from FAO on fisheries and aquaculture.
- Stay informed on FAO's work on IUU ahead of 5 June – International Day against the Fight of IUU Fishing.
- Get engaged and inspire action as part of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022!