SUMMARY

This paper discusses the background and steps taken by FAO and other organizations to implement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. In the context of broader fisheries conservation and management, the Compliance Agreement and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement are also briefly reviewed. Monitoring and reporting requirements for the Code are highlighted and activities initiated by FAO to promote the implementation of the Code addressed. Assistance to developing countries is also considered and the importance of the Code and the Compliance Agreement to SWIO members reviewed. Finally, members of the Committee are invited to report and advise on a number of activities concerning the implementation of the Code in their respective countries.

Since 1993 three important instruments have been concluded that when implemented will directly impact the way in which fisheries are managed in the Indian Ocean. These instruments are the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance Agreement), the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UN Fish Stocks Agreement)¹.

The Code of Conduct was adopted by the Twenty-eighth Session of the FAO Conference in October 1995. Voluntary in nature, the Code covers all fisheries (including aquaculture) and related activities². It seeks to ensure that aquatic resources are exploited and utilized responsibly and in accordance with long-term principles of sustainability. In addition to its general principles, the Code addresses fisheries management, fishing operations, aquaculture development, integration of fisheries into coastal area management, post-harvest practices and trade and fisheries research. Guidelines covering critical areas of the Code are being developed by FAO to assist States with its effective and expeditious implementation.³

The Compliance Agreement is an integral component of the Code of Conduct. Although approved in November 1993 by the FAO Conference, the Compliance Agreement is not yet in force. However, many of its elements are already being adopted by States as their fisheries legislation is revised and other policy changes implemented concerning national authorizations for vessels to fish on the high seas. As at April 1997 nine States (Argentina, Canada, Georgia, Madagascar, Myanmar, Norway, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, and the United States of America) and the European Community had accepted the Compliance Agreement. It will enter into force on the date of receipt by the Director-General of FAO of the twenty-fifth instrument of acceptance.

Related to some aspects of the Code and the Compliance Agreement is the UN Fish Stocks Agreement which had its origins at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The Agreement was negotiated within the framework of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 Convention)⁴.

The significance of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement is that it consolidates and develops some of the fisheries provisions of the 1982 Convention. In particular, the Agreement elaborates, within the context of the 1982 Convention, detailed provisions for the more effective conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks. Moreover, the Agreement is significant in that it provides, for the first time, concrete and innovative provisions for the coordinated management of stocks occurring in zones of national jurisdiction and on the high seas, and which are the target resources for many of the world�s most important and valuable commercial fisheries. However, to implement fully the Agreement there must be a high degree of international cooperation between coastal States and distant-water fishing nations on a range of fundamental technical issues.

The Code, the Compliance Agreement and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement are essentially complementary in nature. While the latter two instruments have a more restricted focus than the Code, these three instruments ultimately have similar goals and objectives in that they generally seek to achieve enhanced fisheries conservation and management in the broadest sense.

Article 4 of the Code states that members and non-members of FAO, fishing entities and relevant sub-regional, regional and global organizations, whether governmental or non-governmental, and all persons concerned with the conservation, management and utilization of fisheries resources and trade in fish and fishery products should collaborate in the fulfilment and implementation of the objectives and principles contained in the Code.

To this end FAO, alone and in concert with its members and other organizations, has taken a number of steps to promote the implementation of the Code. The issue of promotion is being addressed comprehensively at government level, through industry channels and with inter- and non-governmental organizations. In addition, some States at their own initiative (e.g. Canada), have initiated national measures, including workshops, to promote the Code widely and to ensure that the fishing industry, for example, is well briefed on technical and related aspects.

The initiatives that FAO have persued in implementing the Code include the following:

The Code has been published in the official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, and Spanish) of the Organization and distributed widely.⁵

A circular letter accompanying the Code was sent by FAO to Governments and organizations in 1996. In this letter relevant provisions of the Code were emphasized including the importance of publicizing the Code.

Discussion and consideration of the Code, and in particular steps being taken by members to implement the Code, is being included on the agendas for sessions of all FAO regional fishery bodies and other FAO and non-FAO meetings. As requested, FAO personnel are also participating in non-FAO meetings to promote the goals and objectives of the Code.

In order to ensure that the Code be well known by fishery users, processors and traders, FAO has also disseminated the Code through the FAO marketing services and its associated organizations. Additionally, the Fisheries Department has prepared a directory of fisheries organizations, including more than 3 800 mailing addresses, to which the Code has been distributed. It was also disseminated through well known fisheries magazines and newspaper.

In collaboration with the Norwegian Government, which is providing trust funds to support the implementation of the Code in specific areas, FAO will assist in facilitating sub-regional and regional meetings and workshops. Some States are also likely to enter into specific arrangements with FAO for the Organization to assist with the national implementation of the Code.

Short educational videos on the scope, extent and need for the Code of Conduct are being developed by FAO and will be made available to members, organizations and other interested parties concerned with facilitating the Code�s implementation.

A dedicated Code of Conduct Page on the FAO Fisheries Department Home Page on the INTERNET has been established. This Page will be used to disseminate information concerning the Code from both FAO and non-FAO sources.

The highly valuable role being played by non-governmental organizations in promoting and assisting with the implementation of the Code is recognized fully by FAO. The Organization has established sound working relations with many of these organizations and will continue to cooperate with them on fisheries matters in the context of the Code. At both the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Sessions of the Committee on Fisheries, structured consultations were held with non-governmental organizations in respect of fisheries matters of common concern, including the implementation of the Code. To this end some of the non-governmental organizations have taken specific action to promote and implement the Code by organising workshops on the subject and by translating the Code into languages that are not official languages of the Organization. Notable among this group are both national and international organizations, including the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers and the National Fisheries Solidarity Committee of Sri Lanka.

In adopting the Code of Conduct at its Twenty-eighth Session, the FAO Conference called upon FAO to monitor and report on the implementation of the Code and its effects on fisheries, including action taken under other instruments and resolutions by UN organizations, and in particular, the resolution adopted by the General Assembly to give effect to the Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks leading to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement. The Conference further called on States, international organizations, whether governmental or non-governmental, and all those involved in fisheries to collaborate in the fulfilment and implementation of the objectives and principles contained in the Code.⁶

At its Twenty-second Session the Committee on Fisheries agreed that a progress report on implementation of the Code should be presented every two years which would include information on FAO activities, proposed guidelines to implement the Code and on inter-regional programmes, as well as application at national level⁷. To this end, FAO will compile reports on implementation on the basis of information provided by its members and other organizations and interested parties. In this respect, FAO regional fishery bodies will also be used as a vehicle for reporting and disseminating information on progress achieved with the implementation of the Code.

Resolution 4/95 of the FAO Conference, recalling Article 5 of the Code, urges that the special requirements of developing countries be taken into account in implementing its provisions. It also requests that FAO elaborate an inter-regional assistance programme for external assistance. The purpose of this programme is to upgrade the fisheries capabilities of developing countries so that they will be better placed to meet their obligations under the Code.

In 1995-96 FAO elaborated the inter-regional programme in ten areas covered by the Code and submitted the programme to the international donor community for consideration and possible funding. In response the Government of Norway has agreed to support two of the areas of the programme. These areas are assistance for the upgrading of capabilities in monitoring, control and surveillance and assistance for improving the provision of scientific advice for fisheries management. Other donors have also expressed interest in supporting some of the remaining areas of the programme but have yet to make firm commitments.

All FAO regional fisheries bodies and other relevant bodies have been requested to schedule an item on the Code on their respective meeting agendas. Where this has been done it has resulted in various initiatives, including the organization of technical consultations, workshops and seminars at various levels with a view to strengthening regional cooperation and facilitating exchange of experiences, materials and expertise which could facilitate implementation of the Code at national, regional and sub-regional levels.

Under Article 5 of the Code, special mention is made of small island developing States (SIDS), three of which are members of this Committee (Comoros, Mauritius and the Seychelles). While assistance will be available to all developing States under the inter-regional programme for the Code of Conduct, an important aspect of the FAO Programme of Fisheries Assistance for Small Island Developing States, when implemented, would be the support for the Code and other initiatives such as the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action⁸.

The Code of Conduct and the Compliance Agreement have particular relevance for SWIO members. The States of the region are highly dependent on their fisheries resources for national food security and for the promotion of social and economic development. The Code seeks to ensure that both high seas and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) fisheries are developed and utilised in a rational and responsible manner since they "provide a vital source of food, employment, recreation, trade and economic well-being for people throughout the world, both for present and future generations."⁹ The inter-temporal consideration concerning resource sustainability and inter-generational equity concerning access to resource use is a central aspect of the Code and the need for effective fisheries conservation and management arrangements to be put in place.

The Indian Ocean has large tracts of high seas areas and the Compliance Agreement, and in particular its articles dealing with records of vessels authorized to fish on the high seas, international cooperation and exchange of information will serve to provide more detailed information concerning activities in high seas fisheries. This information will strengthen the foundation for fisheries conservation and management decision making, since this information has hitherto not been available in a comprehensive, systematic and consistent manner.

In taking these considerations fully into account members of the Committee are urged to initiate national measures to implement fully the spirit and intent of the Code and to accept the Compliance Agreement. Moreover, as appropriate, where common fisheries issues need to be addressed, members are further urged to initiate and participate in sub-regional and regional activities that will serve to strengthen the implementation of the Code in the SWIO region.

Members of the Committee are invited to (i) report on national experiences in the promotion of the Code of Conduct, (ii) discuss mechanisms and strategies for ensuring the Code�s more effective implementation, (iii) discuss especially those provisions of the Code which are of particular relevance to the SWIO region with a view to recommending practical ways and means for their implementation, and (iv) decide on the frequency of their reporting on the Code to the Commission. In addition, Committee members are urged to take appropriate steps to accept the Compliance Agreement and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement.

Members of the Committee are informed that FAO will, as directed by the Twenty-second Session of COFI, provide questionnaires for reporting on implementation of the Code. These questionnaires will serve to facilitate and standardise reporting among States and across regions

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