Regionalisation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Phase III: Fisheries management

Abstract

The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCFR), unanimously adopted on 31 October 1995 by the FAO Conference, provides the necessary framework for national and international efforts to ensure the objectives of ensuring the effective conservation, management and development of all living aquatic resources can hopefully be achieved. Four years of exhaustive efforts by interested countries of the world have resulted in a consensus on the current comprehensive text of the CCFR. During the negotiation process, however, specific regional issues were diluted, or perhaps even avoided, with a towards finding acceptable global compromises and consensus on controversial issues. The different fishing scenarios and issues that exist within the Southeast Asian region, especially those relating to the multi-species coastal and small-scale fisheries, which are rather dominant here but unfortunately were only superficially covered by the global Code, need to be firmly addressed before the Code can be implemented for the region. The paper outlines the various steps currently being taken by SEAFDEC MFRDMD to regionalize the Code (Fisheries Management) for Southeast Asia.