Report of the twenty-first session of the Committee on Fisheries, Rome, 10–13 March 1995

The Twenty-first Session of the Committee on Fisheries held from 10 to 13 March 1995 urged that the entire draft Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries be completed in time for its adoption by the Twenty-eighth Session of the FAO Conference in October 1995. The Committee took note of the International Conference on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security, being organized by Japan in collaboration with FAO and scheduled to be held in Kyoto from 4 to 9 December 1995. The Committee urged FAO to study further the effects of subsidies to industrial fisheries on competition and trade, in particular with regard to impacts on fish exports from developing countries. The Committee reviewed the role of regional fishery organizations and arrangements in fisheries management. It recognized the achievements of FAO fisheries bodies in their regions and supported their reinforcement. The Committee strongly endorsed the action proposed to establish an FAO programme of fisheries assistance to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and urged FAO to utilize funding the programme as TCP in addition to seeking finance from the international donor community. The Committee reviewed FAO's programmes and reaffirmed the clear mandate of FAO in fisheries and as the leading specialized agency within the UN system, having a broad and extensive range of fisheries expertise. FAO was urged to participate fully in international fora concerned with major international developments in fisheries and other related issues. The need to assign higher priority to aquaculture and the enhancement of inland fisheries and to improve the utilization of fisheries resources and to minimize by catches and discards was recognized. The Committee welcomed, in principle, the proposal to expand the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources to include other Categories of organisms used for food and agriculture.