All FAO aquaculture publications produced 1999-2015 are now available on a USB pen drive (credit card style, Version 03). This compilation makes sixteen years of publications readily available to and searchable by all users, especially those with limited access to the internet.  Users can easily search publications (also available as PDF files in other FAO official languages) through the publication list or through a free text-based search engine that performs search on titles, abstracts, authors, keywords and year of publication. Hard copies may be requested by contacting Valerio Crespi at valerio.crespi@fao.org

The research Vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen is about to start a new exciting survey in the waters off Northwest Africa.

The survey will start from Dakar, Senegal on 21 October for an eight-week voyage off the coast of Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania and Morocco before landing in Las Palmas, Spain. The trip will take place in four legs and will study pelagic resources.

To know more about the survey and receive up-to-date information on the cruise, please join the EAF-Nansen project blog.

Visit the blog

Les agriculteurs, transformateurs, négociants et importateurs biologiques doivent respecter des critères de durabilité plus stricts mais réalistes, et être soumis à des contrôles à la fraude alimentaire afin de renforcer la confiance dans le label bio européen, a affirmé la commission de l'agriculture ce mardi. Elle a introduit des mesures pour éviter la contamination des produits biologiques, notamment dans les exploitations mixtes biologiques et conventionnelles.
Commission de l'agriculture et du développement rural

Source : © Union européenne, 2015 - PE

09 October 2015, Brasilia –“It has been an honour for me personally and for Brazil as a country to hold this major global event with the important mission to harmonize actions towards a more sustainable and responsible world aquaculture” summarized Brazilian Chairperson Rodrigo Roubach. The adoption of the report with major recommendations for global aquaculture development marked the closing of the 8th Session of the FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) Sub-Committee on Aquaculture which was held in the capital of Brazil from 05 to 09 October 2015, attended by 100 delegates from around 50 countries of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe which represent the vast majority of aquaculture producers worldwide.

“The Sub-Committee unanimously agreed on priorities for its future agenda, in line with FAO’s Strategic Objectives and the FAO Blue Growth Initiative. Fittingly, this is happening at a time when we celebrate 20 years of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries which provides a common framework” stated Matthias Halwart, Secretary of the Sub-Committee.

The meeting debated a range of important aspects pertinent to the development of the aquaculture sector. The Sub-Committee supported the efforts of FAO in developing the Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification and the Evaluation Framework to assess the conformity of aquaculture certification schemes with the guidelines. On FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative, it highlighted inter alia the positive effects from aquaculture on the environment such as through shellfish and seaweed farming and requested to increase the number of participating countries in the piloting phase. The Sub-Committee emphasized resource use efficiency in aquaculture for food and nutrition security as a key focus area, recognizing that research and education needs may vary from region to region. It suggested that issues on decent employment could be dealt with by the FAO aquaculture certification guidelines. Strong support was expressed to improve aquaculture data, information and statistics compiled by FAO, including the need to integrate the data collected from the first State of the World Report on Aquatic Genetic Resources into FAO’s fisheries and aquaculture information systems. Regarding aquaculture’s contribution to food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and national economies, the Sub-Committee recommended that FAO continue its work in this area and provide information on good farming practices, how to assess aquaculture’s contribution to food and nutritional security, and its impact on policy development.

In closing, the FAO Representative of Brazil, Mr. Alan Bojanic, stressed the relevance of the recommendations at global as well as at local level: “Brazil is rich and diverse when it comes to aquatic resources and the national development of the aquaculture sector will benefit from the important conclusions of this Sub-Committee”.

Mr Hossein Ali Abdolhay, elected Chairperson of the forthcoming 9th Session of the Sub-Committee, welcomed delegates and observers to the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2017.

05 October 2015, Brasilia — “The Sub-Committee on aquaculture is a unique global forum where aquaculture related matters are debated and strategic plans developed at the highest level by Member countries’ aquaculture authorities from all over the world”, recalled Mr. Jiansan Jia, Deputy Director of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources Management and Conservation Division, when delivering, on behalf of the Department and of the FAO Director-General, Dr. Graziano da Silva, his opening remarks at the 8th Session of the FAO COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture, an event that drew together close to 100 delegates from around 50 countries of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe, for five days from 05 to 09 October 2015.

The Government of Brazil is proud of hosting the event. “It is a great honor for Brazil to host and serve as platform for the most relevant discussions and deliberations of the sector”, stated His Excellency Mr. Helder Barbalho, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture who officially opened the Session on behalf of the Government of Brazil.

The role of aquaculture in feeding humanity and ensuring its well-being is unquestionable and still growing. Sharing some of the recent highlights of the sector, Mr. Jia indicated that world aquaculture production has continued to grow, reaching 97 million tonnes with an estimated value of USD157 billion in 2013, producing more than 43 percent of the fish we consume today and generating millions of jobs worldwide, thereby contributing to lifting millions out of poverty while helping them put nutritious food on their tables. At a time where FAO and various partners celebrate the 20th birthday of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries this week in Vigo, Spain, FAO believes that ensuring food security for our growing world population is more important than ever before. The Code provides a solid basis for helping Member countries achieve this goal, pursued Mr. Jia.

The meeting agenda is rich and expectations are high — In addition to two Side Events on “FAO work with partners towards sustainable use, conservation and management of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture” and on “Biosecurity and Public-Private Sector Partnership; a shared responsibility”, respectively, and one Special Event on “Contribution of aquaculture to food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and national economies: evidence-based experiences”, the meeting will discuss a range of important aspects pertinent to the development of the aquaculture sector, including the implementation of technical guidelines on aquaculture certification and the evaluation framework to assess the conformity of aquaculture certification schemes with the guidelines; aquaculture as part of the Blue Growth Initiative; aquaculture research and education; and the improvement of livelihoods through decent employment.

In a press conference following the kick-off of the event, Minister Barbalho revealed his expectations from the meeting as: “the outcome of this Sub-Committee meeting will serve as a guide for decision making and agreement for the development of the aquaculture nationally, regionally and worldwide”.