FAO.org

Addressing environmental impacts associated with fishing operations in capture fisheries has been a priority topic area on the agenda of FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) for many years. Thus, issues such as bycatch and discards, abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), and seabed impact of bottom-contacting gears remain areas of focus for FAO and its Members with recommendations for further work regularly made.

In recent years, FAO has increased its work in the assessment and monitoring of environmental impacts of fishing operations and the development of technologies, methodologies and guidelines which support FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and its related instruments, the Blue Growth Initiative (BGI) and the ecosystem approach to fisheries. It is now also recognized that this work is crucial in supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, reflecting the targets of SDG14 in particular on conserving and sustainably using the oceans, as well as other SDGs related to fighting hunger and securing food for all.

This document is provided in conjunction with COFI/2018/10, COFI/2018/Inf.25, COFI/2018/SBD.17 and COFI/2018/SBD.18. It is intended to serve as a basis for further discussion, and to seek guidance from COFI on FAO’s ongoing and future work addressing environmental impacts of fisheries operations, in particular preventing and reducing ALDFG.

The Technical Consultation on the Marking of Fishing Gear held on 5 to 9 February 2018, recognizing the gear-marking guidelines as an important tool in preventing and mitigating the impact of ALDFG and in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, recommended that COFI consider the development of a global strategy to address ALDFG. This document elaborates on the recommendations of the Technical Consultation and the proposed Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear, taking into account other international instruments and developments which highlight the urgency of addressing environmental impacts of fishing operations in a global and holistic scope, with particular emphasis on the issue of ALDFG.

This document provides an overview of work that has been undertaken by FAO on reducing environmental impact of fishing operations focusing on the issue of ALDFG. It proposes a framework for the development of a global ‘umbrella’ programme to support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear and other measures, including relevant existing voluntary and binding instruments, to prevent, reduce and eliminate ALDFG and its harmful impacts. The proposed programme supports the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, in particular: • SDG 14.1 - significant reduction of marine pollution of all kinds, including marine debris for which ALDFG constitutes a significant part); • SDG 14.2 - sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems, avoiding significant adverse impacts); and • SDG 14.4 - end IUU fishing and destructive fishing practices.

Access the full document, here.