Fishers, observers and inspectors have learned how to “ID” sharks and rays thanks to the SmartFish “Sharks and Rays Initiative”. The initiative aims to: raise awareness about preserving the islands’ biodiversity; enable compliance with new international measures (e.g. CITES); and address global pressure on shark and ray conservation. International fora and instruments are increasingly highlighting the need to obtain information on species caught or affected by fisheries, either as target, bycatch or incidental catch.

The initiative has produced the “On Board Guide for the Identification of Pelagic Sharks and Rays (Western Indian Ocean)” – a handy tool for a wide range of users from both the public and private sectors. The guide is intended to help fishery workers to ID at sea the sharks and rays they encounter.
The initiative has also held two training workshops, one in Mauritius (28–30 October 2014) and the other in Seychelles (4–6 November 2014), to train professionals on how to use the guide and what to look for when trying to ID pelagic sharks and rays. At the end of the course, participants were expected to be able to: use the identification keys to ID pelagic sharks and rays; collect samples and biological data on the species; and be aware of CITES and IOTC measures. A similar workshop is planned for Madagascar and the Comoros in 2015.

FAO has long worked to improve shark management and conservation (e.g. the 1999 International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks). Today, 18 of the world’s 26 main shark-fishing nations have a national plan of action (NPOA) on sharks and 5 more are developing theirs. Seychelles is reviewing its NPOA, and Mauritius is developing one.

Some 50 experts and national authorities of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) representing 23 governments and international and national organizations met in Panama City, from 18 to 20 November 2014. The participants developed a new set of regional harmonized measures for the management and conservation of the queen conch, a large mollusc harvested for food and found throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico that is declining in certain areas as a result of overfishing. The meeting was co-organized and sponsored by the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council (CFMC) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the CITES Secretariat, the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) and FAO.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation held a panel discussion session entitled ‘Protected Areas and Sustainable Hunting and Fishing’ on Saturday, 15th November 2014 as part of Stream 4 – Supporting Human Life during the World Parks Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Sydney, Australia.

The joint FAO – CIC session examined the role of hunting and fishing in the planning and management of protected areas, whether these activities could support local community-based development and how management can maintain the wildlife habitat and hence a valuable food source.

17-20 February 2015, FAO, Rome, Italy: A workshop to foster an open and constructive policy dialogue for supporting national, regional, and global processes in place (formal and informal) in enhancing ecosystem approaches to the management of ABNJ.

The Government of Kenya and the Food and Agriculture Organization have launched a three year project that aims to promote greater diversity in agricultural production and activities to improve nutrition and to offer better job prospects to young people in Kenya.

The Kenya component of the regional project will receive support of USD 1,060,000 over a period of three years with the aim to improve nutrition and food security through the creation decent employment opportunities for young men and women in the aquaculture sector.