Fisheries

Several international treaties, action plans and codes of conduct negotiated under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) set out the parameters of an international consensus on many aspects of fisheries management. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UN Straddling Stocks Agreement and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries set clear principles, goals and measures for sustainable management of the world's fisheries:

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Ecosystem based management of fisheries

International standards and regulations for fisheries management have evolved from emphasising particular fish stocks to a more ecosystem-based approach. The UN Straddling Stocks Agreement not only requires the sustainable management of particular stocks, but also the assessment and conservation of non-target species in the same ecosystem.

Similarly, the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries requires users of living aquatic resources to "conserve aquatic ecosystems" and "not only [to] ensure the conservation of target species but also of species belonging to the same ecosystem or associated with or dependent upon the target species". Additionally, the FAO has endorsed a comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) framework for marine capture fisheries.

Eliminating overfishing and restoring stocks

Under the UN Straddling Stocks Agreement, states are obligated to "prevent or eliminate overfishing". Conservation and management decisions for fisheries should be based on the best scientific evidence available and should be directed at maintaining or restoring stocks. States and fisheries managers should make every effort to restore critical habitats or other habitats adversely affected by human activities.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are now recognised as critical for maintaining and restoring fish and other marine biodiversity. Some MPAs are designed to be "no-take zones" where fish and their habitat can be restored over time, thus serving as reservoirs for the rest of the ocean.

Eliminating and avoiding overcapitalisation

Governments have agreed at the FAO to "review the capacity of fishing fleets in relation to sustainable yields of fisher resources and where necessary reduce these fleets."Governments have also consented in the UN Straddling Stocks Agreement to take measures to prevent or eliminate excess fishing capacity and to ensure that fishing efforts do not exceed those commensurate with the sustainable use of fishery resources."

Eliminating destructive fishing practices

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries accords a general priority to selective and environmentally safe fishing gear and practices, recommends measures to phase out the use of irresponsible gear, methods or practices, and calls for the assessment of impacts on habitats before new fishing gear is introduced on a commercial scale. International standards have also been identified for restricting or banning certain types of fishing practices or gear, including the use of explosives or cyanide fishing, the use of driftnets, high seas bottom-trawling, and shark-finning.

Minimising by-catch

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries provides that users of aquatic ecosystems "should minimise waste, catch of non-target species, both fish and non-fish species, and impacts on associate or dependent species". Action plans have been adopted to reduce the impact on by-catch of certain species or groups of species, including marine mammals, turtles, seabirds and sharks.

Ghost fishing

The MARPOL 73/78 Agreement regulated the problem of ghost fishing for the first time by prohibiting the abandonment or sinking of fishing equipment in the sea. The FAO has published a series of recommendations for the Marking of Fishing Equipment. In March 2005, the European Commission adopted a regulation 365/2005 which required that passive fishing equipment must be marked with the boat's registration number. However, these measures can be easily evaded and control is scarce, so they do not represent the best way to eliminate "ghost fishing".

Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing and flags of convenience

The FAO's Plan of Action on IUU fishing seeks to eliminate the practice of illegal, unregulated or unreported (IUU) fishing in part by encouraging states to prohibit doing business with companies engaged in IUU fishing.

A WWF Report on IUU fishing recommends that the banking sector should ensure it supports only legal operations by requiring the catch to be documented through the full chain of custody. 

Endangered species

The commercial trade in many fish species, including some that are commercially important, is now either banned or restricted under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries also recognises the particular importance of protecting endangered species.

Certification of sustainable fisheries

The best known effort for certifying sustainable marine fisheries is the Marine Stewardship Council, which is the only certification scheme that is based on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and hence is consistent with the FAO Guidelines for the Ecolabeling of Fish.Since its founding in 1999, the MSC has certified 51 fisheries and currently has 111 under review. The MSC also employs a product tracking mechanism that can help trace chain of custody and ensure fish are coming from legal sources. The market for certified seafood has grown to (a retail value) of around US$ 1.4 billion per year.

Aquaculture

In August 2006 the International Principles for Responsible Shrimp Farming were launched after a five-year consultative process involving several partner organizations, including the Network for Aquaculture Centres for the Asia Pacific, WWF, the World Bank and the UN Environmental Programme. The new principles represent the first-ever attempt to provide an overarching international framework for improving the sustainability of the shrimp farming industry.

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries calls on states to ensure that adverse environmental impacts of aquaculture are assessed and minimised. Resources should also be used responsibly - for example, where some types of aquaculture have unsustainable protein conversion rations (salmon require 3 kg of protein for every 1 kg of salmon produced; tuna require 10 kg). Therefore aquaculture development activities should be directed towards herbivorous fish species such as catfish and tilapia.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance, an initiative of American enterprises, has also developed a certification scheme for fish nurseries. So far, the Alliance has developed certification standards for breeders of shrimp, tilapia and channel catfish, and for fish processing enterprises.

Whereas far reaching reform of the fishing industry must be driven by national and international policy, the investment policies of banks can support positive changes. Bank policies should ensure that support only goes to fishing companies that work towards sustainable management of fisheries. Banks investing in the international fishing fleet should develop strict standards for companies to adhere to.

The bank will only invest in companies that:

• Adopt an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, and are certified where possible by a credible, independent third-party sustainability certification system;
• Provide strict catch documentation schemes, to verify the legality of fishing operations and the catch.
• Do not:
• Overfish;
• Use destructive or wasteful fishing practices;
• Operate in an over-capitalised fishery;
• Have unacceptable amounts of by-catch;
• Catch or trade endangered or threatened species, particularly those banned or restricted under the IUCN red list and CITES;
• Fish illegally or under flags of convenience; fish in sensitive areas such as (temporarily) no-fishing-zones or Marine Protected Areas.

The bank will:

• Consider the impacts of its investments in seafood throughout the supply chain (catching, processing, transport, retailing or food service points), by encouraging purchasing of sustainable products and by screening companies to ensure they do not participate in or buy fish from fisheries that overfish, use destructive or wasteful fishing practices, or generate unacceptable amounts of by-catch;
• Actively support the creation of areas as "no-go zones" or Marine Protected Areas and exclude activities in those areas from investment;
• Require an environmental impact assessment on habitats for investments in new fishing gear that will be introduced on a commercial scale;
• Support only aquaculture of herbivorous fish species, such as catfish and tilapia, and take measures to limit the environmental impact of this industry.