A new document, Safety Recommendations for Decked Fishing Vessels of Less than 12 metres in Length and Undecked Fishing Vessels was published as part of the continuing cooperation between FAO, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in relation to the safety of fishing vessels.

These safety recommendations provide information on the design, construction, equipment, training and protection of the crews of small fishing vessels with a view to promoting the safety of the vessel and the safety and health of the crews. They can also serve as a guide for those concerned with the safety of vessels used in support of aquaculture activities.

Although not intended as a substitute for national laws and regulations, these recommendations can also help in framing such national laws and regulations.

After several years of negotiations, countries have taken a major step against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), one of the greatest threats to sustainable fisheries and related livelihoods.

International guidelines developed through an FAO-led consultative process aim to cut down on IUU fishing by improving the accountability of flag states - those countries which register fishing vessels and authorize them to fly their flags.

The guidelines include recommended approaches to encourage and help flag states comply with their international duties and obligations regarding the flagging and control of fishing vessels. They also present possible actions in response to non-compliance.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance were agreed upon after over five years of consensus-building among FAO Member Countries. The guidelines will be presented to the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) for endorsement at its next Session in June, 2014.

Aquaculture - an important food-producing sector that is an essential source of nutritious proteins, as well as a source of jobs and foreign export earnings - has undergone dramatic growth leading towards increased intensification and diversification of global aquaculture.

Commercial aquaculture calls for the routine use of veterinary medicines to prevent and treat disease outbreaks owing to pathogens, assure healthy stocks and maximize production. However, the expanded and occasionally irresponsible global movements of live aquatic animals have been accompanied by the transboundary spread of a wide variety of pathogens that have sometimes caused serious damage to aquatic food productivity and resulted in serious pathogens becoming endemic in culture systems and the natural aquatic environment. As disease emergencies can happen even in well-managed aquaculture operations, careful planning on the use of antimicrobials is essential.

A recent FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper, Improving biosecurity through prudent and responsible use of veterinary medicines in aquatic food production, offers guidance to aquaculture stakeholders on the responsible use of veterinary medicines.

While human consumption of fish products has doubled in the last half century, policies for sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems must address the challenges facing global fish stocks.

AppliFish is a free mobile application developed by the fisheries and biodiversity knowledge platform i-Marine makes aquatic-related information available to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Some 30 percent of the world's marine fish stocks assessed in 2009 were overexploited, according to FAO's State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012.

iMarine is a global consortium of 13 research institutes, universities and international organizations from three continents with €5 million in funding by the European Union (EU).

Its new application AppliFish also has a web version that contains additional scientific information, which can help policy-makers, producers and consumers make informed decisions, and contribute to shape policies necessary for the responsible management of fisheries and conservation of aquatic resources, as underlined in the principles laid out in FAO's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

AppliFish adds on to i-Marine's applications for managing, processing and visualizing scientific content to increase awareness of the challenges which aquatic ecosystems face.

These applications include the biodiversity mapping tool AquaMaps, the Vessel Transmitted Information Tool (VTI), reporting on vessel activity and environmental conditions for scientists working in fisheries, and the Integrated Capture Information System (ICIS), providing regional and global information on capture of aquatic species.

The application is designed as a pocket book of marine knowledge at the touch of a button. It offers basic information of over 550 marine species, such as a common names and sizes, distribution maps, as well as maps featuring expected changes in species distribution caused by climate change.

AppliFish combines data from authoritative, international sources, including FAO-FishFinder, FAO statistics, WoRMS, Fishbase, SeaLifeBase, IUCN, AquaMaps and OBIS, bringing together a wealth of expertise to create a community of practice in support of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and conservation of marine living resources.

AppliFish is available both for Android and for iOS.

Proceedings for a workshop organized last year by FAO and Secretariat of the Pacific Community are now available. Priority adaptations to climate change for Pacific fisheries and aquaculture: reducing risks and capitalizing on opportunities provides a summary of the technical presentations given at the workshop on the implications of climate change for Pacific fisheries and aquaculture as well as the outcomes of discussions on the priority adaptations that Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) can implement to reduce risks and take advantage of opportunities.

Discussions focused on priority adaptations for economic development and government revenue, food security and sustainable livelihoods for Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian nations. The adaptations identified reflect the different fisheries participation rates and importance of fish to economic development and as a source of local food and income in these different region.