The Advisory Committee held its sixth session in Rome, Italy in October 2006 and topics discussed included: a review of the work of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department with a focus on fish trade, small-scale fisheries and aquaculture; and support for the work of FAO in aquaculture, particularly the timely inclusion of fish species in the Programme of Work of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The Committee's report welcomes the attention given by the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 to fisheries issues and provides guidance on the responsible fisheries management goals. It recommends the establishment of a working party on small-scale marine fisheries to develop a draft research agenda and evaluate its role and significance, and identifies human capacity building as a key cross-cutting issue.

Conclusions of the 25th session of the Committee included: the need for a strategy to improve information on capture fisheries; reaffirmation of the need for global implementation of measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; the importance of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and its related International Plans of Action (IPOAs) in promoting long-term sustainable development of fisheries; and identification of key priority work areas for 2004-05.

The twenty-sixth session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) was held in Rome, Italy, from 7 to 11 March 2005. The Committee reviewed the issues of an international character and the programme of work of the FAO Fisheries Department in fisheries and aquaculture. The Committee commended FAO on its report on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and its associated instruments and called for a "decade of implementation" of the various instruments developed to ensure responsible fisheries. The Committee called upon Members to accept, ratify or accede to, as appropriate, these instruments. The Committee encouraged FAO to elaborate additional guidelines in support of the Code, including one for the implementation of the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity. The need to initiate international negotiations on the monitoring of fishing vessels within the framework of the Code of Conduct concerning its implementation was underlined. The Committee welcomed the revised Code and Voluntary Guidelines for the Design, Construction and Equipment of Small Fishing Vessels that had been prepared by FAO, the International Labour Organization and the International Maritime Organization. The Committee expressed concern at the proliferation of international fora addressing fisheries matters, some of which lacked sound technical and scientific bases for discussion. The FAO's medium- to long-term rehabilitation strategy for the fisheries and aquaculture sector in countries affected by the Tsunami was endorsed. Guidelines on ecolabelling of fish and fishery products were adopted. The Committee agreed to give greater attention to small-scale fisheries and to allocate more resources in their support. The Committee expressed its appreciation to FAO and donor countries for giving greater attention to small-scale fisheries and for allocating more resources in their support. It welcomed the advance version of the Code of Conduct Guidelines on Enhancing the Contribution of Small-Scale Fisheries to Poverty Alleviation and Food Security. The Committee stressed that COFI and FAO should continue to provide leadership and maintain an assertive role in fisheries. The Committee commended FAO for the improvements made in the presentation of the Medium Term Plan and Preliminary Programme of Work Proposals for 2006-2007. The Committee underlined that additional allotments should be made to the Major Programme 2.3 "Fisheries". Book jacket.

The Committee's report welcomes the attention given by the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 to fisheries issues and provides guidance on the responsible fisheries management goals. It recommends the establishment of a working party on small-scale marine fisheries to develop a draft research agenda and evaluate its role and significance, and identifies human capacity building as a key cross-cutting issue.

This publication contains the report of the Working Group's second session, held in Thailand in November 2003, which included 19 experts from 15 countries covering a range of disciplines related to small-scale fisheries. Issues discussed included a research agenda based on five main themes including policy and institutional arrangements; and the importance of small-scale fisheries to national economies, food security and poverty reduction.

This report presents the outcomes of the twenty-fourth session of the GFCM Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries. The Committee reviewed the work carried out during the 2022–2023 intersession, including in the context of the MedSea4Fish programme, and provided advice on the status of priority stocks and ecosystems and on potential management measures addressing key fisheries and vulnerable species in the Mediterranean. At the regional level, the Committee provided advice on: i) European eel, red coral and common dolphinfish fisheries in the Mediterranean; ii) minimum conservation reference size for GFCM priority species, including deep-water red shrimp and European hake at the regional level as well as small pelagics in the Adriatic sea and round sardinella in the eastern Mediterranean; and iii) the socioeconomic impacts of a potential extension of bottom trawling limits. With regard to small-scale fisheries, the Committee supported the need to revise the monitoring framework of the Regional Plan of Action for small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It discussed additional work in support of the GFCM, endorsing dedicated research programmes, including on recreational fisheries and on jellyfish in the Alboran Sea, as well as a draft regional plan of action to monitor and mitigate interactions between fisheries and vulnerable species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and identified further actions towards the implementation of standardized monitoring plans for fisheries restricted areas (FRAs) and the development of pilot studies to identify boundaries of known vulnerable marine ecosystems. It also discussed issues related to decarbonization and climate change, estimation of discards and fishing capacity. In line with the subregional approach, the Committee formulated advice on i) blackspot seabream in the western Mediterranean; ii) small pelagics in the Alboran Sea; iii) a FRA in the Cabliers Coral Mound Province; iv) Norway lobster, red mullet and striped red mullet in the central Mediterranean; v) round sardinella, small-scale fisheries and non-indigenous species in the eastern Mediterranean; and vi) small pelagics and key demersal stocks in the Adriatic Sea. Finally, the Committee agreed upon its workplan for 2023–2025.