Fishing potential of developing countries : the hidden resource
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 26 and 27 January 1988 (20th, 21st and 22nd Sittings) (see Doc. 5821, report of the Committee on Agriculture). Text adopted by the Assembly on 27 January 1988 (22nd Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Convinced that the fish resources of developing countries represent a crucial asset for vanquishing world hunger, and that Council of Europe member states, at the time of the European Public Campaign on North-South Interdependence and Solidarity, have a special duty to ensure that these resources are properly utilised ;
2. Desirous that fisheries and aquaculture should be given sufficient attention alongside agriculture whenever aid policies are shaped, given that in many developing countries they represent a largely untapped potential ;
3. Recognising that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, by awarding coastal states the right over resources within their exclusive economic zones, offers developing countries an opportunity to build up a domestic fishing industry of major nutritional and economic importance ;
4. Concerned, however, that efforts by many developing countries to this end are hampered by a shortage of appropriate fishing vessels and catching gear, insufficient training and consulting services, lacking infrastructure for storing and selling fish products over larger distances, and insufficient statistics on catches and resources ;
5. Aware also that, because of the inability of many developing countries to utilise their fish resources, the latter are often tapped by foreign fleets in ways which do not benefit the populations of the countries concerned either nutritionally or economically,
6. Calls on the governments of Council of Europe member states :
6.1 to help developing countries increase their fishing capacity and shape responsible catch policies -be it in deep-sea fishing, lake fishing or aquaculture -in order to secure their food supply and develop a fish-processing industry both for domestic needs and for exports ;
6.2 to lay particular emphasis on the development of small-scale artisanal fishing, building on technology adapted to local conditions, and on the creation of an infrastructure permitting regional trade -concentrating on cold storage on board vessels and on land, to reduce waste, roads, and a functioning marketing organisation ;
6.3 to give special consideration to the need for professional training of fishermen and for establishing accurate statistics on catches and species resources ;
6.4 to do their utmost to prevent overfishing by the fleets of industrialised countries -both as regards the quantity and the size of fish caught -to allow fish resources to be judiciously used by the coastal states concerned ;
6.5 to increase their support in favour of fisheries projects -both in direct co-operation with individual developing countries and within international forums such as the UNDP and the FAO -and to base their aid in particular on the programme of action established by the 1984 World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development.
