The 25th meeting of the FAO Committ

The 25th meeting of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) that will take place in February 2003 comes at a critical time in the quest for sustainable fisheries. Meeting in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, world leaders acknowledged the vital role of marine fisheries to economic and food security and to biodiversity in general. Leaders established a number of fisheries commitments for the world community, including a call "to maintain or restore stocks to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield with the aim of achieving these goals for depleted stocks on an urgent basis and where possible not later than 2015."
The mission of FAO in the field of fisheries is to facilitate and secure the long-term sustainable development and utilization of the world's fisheries and aquaculture. Many of the issues on the agenda for the 2003 COFI meeting will contribute directly to the goal of restoring depleted fish stocks and to advancing other commitments.
If we are to fulfill these commitments, we must take concerted actions and set clear priorities. The most recent FAO statistics indicate that over 70 percent of fisheries are either overfished or are fished at their maximum capacity. In coming years, production from many key fisheries will likely decline. Demand for fisheries products, however, will continue to increase. The prospect of this growing shortfall poses our greatest fisheries challenge today.