Pitcher, T., D. Kalikoski and G. Pramod (eds.), 2006. - updated April 2008 -
Evaluations of compliance with the FAO (UN) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
UBC, Fisheries Centre Research Reports, 14(2):76 p.
The authors examine 53 countries in relation to compliance with the Code of Conduction for Responsible Fisheries. This Code adopted by the 28th FAO Conference in 1995 entails commitments by countries to manage their fisheries sustainably, whether they protect threatened mammals, seabirds, turtles and other marine animals in their exclusive economic zones and comply with other provisions of the code. The analysis of the countries in question, accounting for 96% of world fisheries is based on a large body of independent evidence and sources of assessments. It paints a deplorable picture of failure to respect self-set rules.
At the same time, the rigour and clarity of the findings provides strong arguments for conservationists, consumer protection agencies, other scientists and concerned citizens to demand enforcement of the agreed code and its rules in order to revert the downward trend of 'fishing down marine food webs'. The official tolerance for continued disregard by a minority for the rules of this voluntary code as much as even of legally binding provisions of the Law of the Sea and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation with its timebound objectives of restoring degraded stocks is taking a heavy toll on the health and productivity of today's marine ecosystems and the wellbeing of communities dependent on them. Worse, these double standards have already jeopardised, if not destroyed, the rights of future generations to benefit from the future products and services of these ecosystems.
Would you want this to go on and deprive youir children of seeing and experiencing what you still could?
Read the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries for yourself - available currently in 24 languages from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome or clicking on the direct links below:
English - Catalan - Croatian - German - Estonian - Español - Français - Georgian - Indonesian - Icelandic - Italian - Japanese - Korean - Sinhalese - Latvian - Malay - Maltese - Polish - Rumanian - Russian - Slovenian - Thai - Tamil - Vietnamese.