Korea International Cooperation Conference on Oceans and Fisheries: The Future Direction of the Development Cooperation on Oceans and Fisheries in the Post-COVID 19 Era

On 23rd February the Korea International Cooperation Conference on Oceans and Fisheries (KICCOF) organized by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and the Korea Institute of Oceans, Science & Technology (KIOST). This year’s conference, titled “The Future Direction of the Development Cooperation on Oceans and Fisheries in the Post-COVID 19 Era” focused on the present and the future development agenda of Latin American fisheries and aquaculture.

The entire event was framed under the current public health and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. One of the main outcomes of the discussion was that efforts in international cooperation, now more than ever, will need to take into consideration the specific needs of both sectors. This outcome aligns itself with one of the agreements from the 34th Session of the Committee of Fisheries (COFI), held on 1-5th February 2021, namely that COVID-19 “has had a particularly negative impact on small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, and [that there is a] need to provide the appropriate support and foster resilience for the sustainable development of this sector”.

FAO’s contribution to the event was provided by Raymon von Anrooy, who discussed innovations in fishing vessels and gear technologies to reduce marine pollution and improve the efficient use of energy in fishing communities based on the outcomes of the FAO Technical Paper ‘Techno-economic performance review of selected fishing fleets in North and South America’; and Rubén Sánchez Daroqui, who centred his discourse on the current state of small-scale fisheries during the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospects of development towards a sector that is more resilient against disasters, in accordance with the provisions of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).