Next Brussels Development Briefing on IUU fishing and ACP countries

The next Brussels Development Briefing will be held on 29th April 2009 (8h30 - 12h30) and will deal with 'Fighting against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU): Impacts and challenges for ACP countries'.

The session will review the main economic, social and environmental challenges that IUU poses at global and regional levels, especially in the ACP context, and the existing global and regional initiatives against IUU. Moreover the 2008 EC regulation which aims to prevent and deter IUU fishing will be discussed, along with the challenges for its implementation in ACP countries and the need for technical assistance to comply with the new requirements.

For the programme and registration form, please check http://brusselsbriefings.net/.

Earlier Brussels Briefings looked at 'Land access and rural development: New challenges, new opportunities', 'How does international migration affect ACP rural development?', 'Rising food prices: an opportunity for change?', 'New drivers, new players in ACP rural development', 'Does Fair Trade contribute to sustainable development?', 'The climate challenge for ACP agriculture', 'Aid for Trade', 'Advancing African Agriculture' and 'Challenges to rural development in ACP countries.'

Sign up for the Brussels Briefing newsfeed; see also the Euforic newsfeed on ACP fisheries

CFFA Meeting at Aprodev in Brussels

CFFA, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, is a platform of NGOs that supports a multi-functional fisheries model that works for everyone involved, both inside and outside Europe. CFFA supplies detailed information to coastal fishing communities with a view to promoting their active and informed participation in decision making processes affecting their livelihoods, with a special focus on fisheries relations between the European Union and ACP countries.

CFFA holds its next meeting on the 27th of November at Aprodev in Brussels (Boulevard Charlemagne 28). On the agenda are:

• The FAO meeting on artisanal fisheries in Bangkok in October 2008 and the next meeting of the FAO committee on fisheries in 2009
• The 2012 review of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and CFFA priorities
• The presentation of a CFFA paper on corruption and fisheries in West Africa
• The future of the CFFA discussion and information
  email group, which is supported by Euforic and the CTA

For more information, write an email to: Béatrice Gorez (cffa.cape@scarlet.be)

See also the Euforic newsfeed on Fisheries

E-discussion on traceability issues for fish products

Between October and December 2007, the third phase of the 2007 e-discussion on ACP-EU fisheries relations looked into traceability issues for fish products.

Three areas of discussion were chosen as most relevant by ACP stakeholders:

• Sharing the responsibilities of traceability;
• Costs and benefits of traceability;
• Quality and traceability of fish products

137 participants took part in the discussion, resulting in the circulation of 84 information items and 26 contributions. In particular, participants concluded that:

• Technical means to ensure traceability should not be imposed by the EU, they need to be discussed with the ACP professionals;
• More information is needed on the various aspects of traceability, including traceability as a tool against IUU fishing, good handling practices, etc;
• For traceability to play a positive role in fisheries management, traceability requirements should also take into account information that can protect our oceans (fishing zone where the fish is caught, etc);
• The European Commission's October 2007 policy initiative aimed at eliminating illegal fishing activities will require concrete support to ACP countries to ensure that the measures proposed do not constitute new trade barriers for legally-caught fish from developing countries;
• Improving traceability in the artisanal fishing sector requires greater use of GPS (global positioning systems) so fishermen can precisely determine their fishing zone, registration of pirogues, use of improved containers that comply with sanitary norms, and better-equipped and regulated landing sites.

The first two phases of the 2007 e-discussion focused on issues on the agenda of the 27th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) and on fisheries research issues.

The final report of the 2007 e-consultation is available here (pdf).

See also Euforic newsfeed and dossier on fisheries.

E-discussion on fisheries research issues

Between April and July 2007, the second phase of the 2007 e-discussion on ACP-EU fisheries relations looked into issues related to fisheries research.

In particular, three main areas were considered:

• Stakeholder participation in ACP fisheries research;
• Issues arising from data collection in ACP-EU fisheries relations;
• The development of a regional approach.

113 participants were registered for the e-consultation, they circulated 124 information items and made 16 contributions. In brief, the following recommendations were made by participants:

• A steering body for scientific programming should be set up, comprising fisheries managers (national and regional) as well as professionals.
• Research infrastructure should be decentralized and located close to fishing communities.
• ACP media should be given a more pro-active role in disseminating information on research topics.
• ACP research should give priority to the evaluation of fisheries resources and focus on two main issues: the bad state of catch declarations and the inadequate statistical systems.
• A regional approach in terms of fisheries research should be developed.

The first phase of the 2007 e-discussion focused on issues on the agenda for the 27th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The discussion continued in October and December, focusing on traceability issues for fish products.

A final report of the 2007 e-consultation is available here (pdf).

See also Euforic newsfeed and dossier on fisheries.

ACP stakeholders discuss in preparation of COFI meeting

Since late 2004, CFFA, CTA and Euforic facilitate e-discussions on ACP - EU fisheries relations. The first part of the 2007 discussion focused on issues in agenda for the 27th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI). In particular, four subjects were perceived by participants as most relevant:

• the battle against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;
• the management of fishing capacity;
• social issues in the fisheries sector;
• issues related to trade in fish products.

The next phases of discussions look into fisheries research and traceability issues.

The final report of the 2007 e-consultation is available here (pdf).

See also Euforic newsfeed and dossier on fisheries.

ACP fisheries e-consultation restarts in 2007

Building on earlier discussions in 2004 and 2005-2006, CTA, CFFA-CAPE and Euforic partner again in a new series of e-consultations on ACP-EU fisheries relations.

Beginning late January, the consultations runs through December 2007. Organized in three phases, the discussions focus on three topics:

• Mobilizing ACP inputs to the Global Fisheries Agenda - linked to the FAO Committee on Fisheries meeting in March;
• The research and knowledge base for ACP fisheries;
• Traceability issues for ACP fishery products.

The members of the discussion group (more than a hundred ACP stakeholders) debate key issues in each area and generate inputs to related events.

The final report of the 2007 e-consultation is available here (pdf).

For more information, please send an email to the discussion list administrator.
See also Euforic newsfeed and dossier on fisheries.