What is the code of conduct for responsible fisheries ?

Fisheries (which includes the management, catching, processing, marketing of fish stocks) and aquaculture (the farming of fish) provide an important source of food, employment, income and recreation for people throughout the world. Millions of people depend upon fish for their livelihoods. If there is to be enough fish for future generations, everyone involved in fishing must help conserve and manage the world’s fisheries.

With this situation in mind, more than 17O Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adopted the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in 1995. The Code is voluntary rather than mandatory, and aimed at everyone working in, and involved with, fisheries and aquaculture, irrespective of whether they are located in inland areas or in the oceans. Because the Code is voluntary, it is necessary to ensure that all people working in fisheries and aquaculture commit themselves to its principles and goals and take practical measures to implement them.

The Code of Conduct, which consists of a collection of principles, goals and elements for action, took more than two years to elaborate. Representatives from members of FAO, inter-governmental organizations, the fishing industry and non-governmental organizations worked long and hard to reach agreement on the Code. It is therefore a result of effort by many different groups involved in fisheries and aquaculture. In this respect the Code represents a global consensus or agreement on a wide range of fisheries and aquaculture issues.

Governments, in cooperation with their industries and fishing communities, have the responsibility to implement the Code. FAO's role is to technically support their activities but it does not have a direct responsibility for implementation because FAO does not have a responsibility for the development and implementation of national fishery policies. This is the sole responsibility of governments.

Implementation of the Code will be most effectively achieved when governments are able to incorporate its principles and goals into national fishery policies and legislation. To ensure that there is support for these policies and legislative changes, governments should take steps to consult with industry and other groups to promote their support and voluntary compliance. In addition, governments should encourage fishing communities and industry to develop codes of good practice that are consistent with, and support, the goals and purpose of the Code of Conduct. These codes of good practice are another important way of promoting the implementation of the Code.

The purpose of this booklet is to describe, in a non-technical manner, some important aspects of the Code of Conduct. It is hoped that this information will make people more aware of the goals and purpose of the Code and encourage them to implement it in all fisheries, irrespective of whether they are small-scale or large-scale in nature, and in aquaculture. This booklet does not replace the Code of Conduct but simply tries to make more information about it available.