The Expert Consultation on Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment was held virtually from 11 to 15 October and reconvened on 3 November 2021 to adopt this report. FAO has undertaken an in-depth global study on transshipment which confirmed that a lack of regulation, monitoring and control increases the risk of fish caught through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing entering the seafood supply chain, undermining sustainable and socially responsible fisheries. The study was published in 2020 and a summary of the findings was presented to the Thirty-fourth Session of COFI in February 2021. COFI welcomed the study and called upon FAO to proceed with developing draft voluntary guidelines for the regulation, monitoring and control of transshipment. It also called upon FAO to convene an Expert Consultation to review the preliminary draft to be prepared by the FAO Secretariat. On the basis of that initial draft, the Expert Consultation elaborated a draft of the voluntary guidelines for transshipment that will be submitted for consideration and review by a Technical Consultation on Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment to be held from 7 to 11 March 2022.

Offering a practical exploration of persistent and new challenges relating to contemporary international fisheries law, this book examines emerging and unresolved issues in international fisheries law. Covering a wide range of international legal aspects related to fisheries governance, it offers practical perspectives that go beyond the existing debates in this field. An expert team of contributors offers a comprehensive study of current challenges in fisheries governance, institutional law frameworks, procedural aspects and trade and enforcement issues. The book enriches fisheries law scholarship, outlining the capacity of international law to address challenges in international fisheries law and policy, highlighting the critical importance of fisheries to many states, coastal communities and economies globally. The book’s chapters have been meticulously selected, focusing on policy and practical considerations. The result is a comprehensive edited collection covering the main persistent challenges in international fisheries law, making it an essential reading for all those interested in the conservation, integrated management and sustainable use of living resources globally.

The Thirty-fourth Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) was held in Rome, Italy, from 1 to 5 February 2021. This is a report of the Session reflecting the discussions which took place and containing all recommendations and decisions taken by the Committee. A synopsis of the outcome of the Session is presented in the abstract and all supplementary information is included in the appendixes.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2021 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition

A Catch Documentation Scheme helps determine whether fish originate from catches that comply with applicable national, regional and international conservation and management measures. These Guidelines were elaborated in response to concerns expressed over the continued threat to marine habitats represented by illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, and the negative impact it has on food security, particularly in developing regions.

This document is the third volume of a series of publications entitled Checklists and Technical Guidelines to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. This checklist provides a list of minimum requirements to ensure that the national MCS systems, operations, procedures and tools aimed at combating IUU fishing are of the desired standard to achieve the objectives of the fisheries management framework in place. This checklist is meant to serve as a reference for entities to review and assess such systems, operations, procedures and tools, in order to identify opportunities to improve these and establish best practices that will allow them to fulfil international duties and obligations to combat IUU fishing.

The marking of fishing vessels is important for their identification, to support the global efforts to promote sustainable fisheries, for safety at sea and to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. For this reason, the FAO Standard Specifications for the Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels were developed and endorsed by COFI in 1989 as a voluntary instrument providing a standardized system for the identification of fishing vessels operating, or likely to operate, in waters of another State. Global developments have had an impact on the usefulness of the FAO Standard Specifications, specifically the increased use of the International Maritime Organization number as a unique vessel identifier and the establishment of the FAO’s Global Record. This document provides background to the development of the FAO Standard Specifications and the results of a study to assess the level of their adoption at the national, regional and international levels. It also describes progress in the areas of vessel identity, vessel tracking, different vessel types and catch traceability and how these impact the usefulness of the FAO Standard Specifications. Finally, the document proposes a review and update of the FAO Standard Specifications.

The IOPA-IUU is a voluntary instrument that applies to all States and entities and to all fishers. Following the IPOA's introduction, the nature and scope of IUU fishing is addressed. This is followed by the IPOA's objective and principles and the implementation of measures to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. These measures focus on all State responsibilities, flag State responsibilities, coastal State measures, port State measures, internationally agreed market-related measures, research and regional fisheries management organizations. Special requirements of developing countries are then considered, followed by reporting requirements and the role of FAO.

The Committee expressed concern about the level of fishing capacity which was higher than prior to the 2004 tsunami in some of the areas affected by the disaster and recognized that it called for the design and implementation of sustainable and effective fisheries management arrangements that included a gradually phasing out fishing overcapacity, monitoring, access and livelihood considerations. The Committee reaffirmed its trust in FAO to play a coordinating role in advancing the global aquaculture agenda and highlighted the importance of addressing socio-economic impacts of aquaculture and other issues, such as improving planning and policy development at national and regional levels. The Committee agreed to give greater attention to small-scale fisheries and welcomed the convening of a broad-based international conference focusing specifically on small-scale fisheries.

The Committee expressed concern about the level of fishing capacity which was higher than prior to the 2004 tsunami in some of the areas affected by the disaster and recognized that it called for the design and implementation of sustainable and effective fisheries management arrangements that included a gradually phasing out fishing overcapacity, monitoring, access and livelihood considerations. The Committee reaffirmed its trust in FAO to play a coordinating role in advancing the global aquaculture agenda and highlighted the importance of addressing socio-economic impacts of aquaculture and other issues, such as improving planning and policy development at national and regional levels. The Committee agreed to give greater attention to small-scale fisheries and welcomed the convening of a broad-based international conference focusing specifically on small-scale fisheries.