Presentation by Mr Árni M. Mathiesen Assistant Director-General

Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

1995 - 2015

An international celebration for 20 years of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries• Celebrated in Vigo, Spain at the First

International Fisheries Stakeholder

Forum, 8-9 October 2015• Co-organized with Government of

Spain, Regional Government of Galicia,

and Conxemar (Spanish seafood industry)• More than 600 participants, including 70 delegations from 5 continents• Delegations included 10 Ministers, 12 Vice-Ministers, 10 Directors-General of

Fisheries organizations, and the EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs & Fisheries

• Also celebrated in Bergen, Norway at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (March 2015), Grimsby, UK World Seafood Congress (September 2015) and at fisheries events at Expo Milano (May-October 2015), COFI Subcommittee on Aquaculture (October 2015) and the Foro Económico de la Pesca y Acuacultura, Mexico City (November 2015). Created videos and communication material.

An international celebration for 20 years of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries• Participants praised progress made

under the Code in its first two decades,

and voiced a new commitment to

strengthening work related to the Code

• Main outcomes from Vigo: Renewed emphasis on combating IUU fishing, with numerous calls to

ratify the Port State Measures Agreement A stronger role for the Code in managing socioeconomic factors (e.g,

Voluntary Guidelines on Small-scale fisheries, decent work) and its relation to Blue Growth

A call for FAO to help prepare countries for seafood certification

An international celebration for 20 years of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries• Main outcomes following the anniversary

event of Vigo and various fora celebrating the

Code throughout the year: Increased awareness among policymakers,

industry & society at large about importance of

Code for meeting future challenges and role of Blue Growth Initiative A call for FAO to explore further a Blue Growth Industry Forum similar to

the Banana Forum that already operates in cooperation with FAO Need for increased dialogue and collaboration between FAO and the

private sector, through Blue Growth and GLOBEFISH Increased awareness of role of social issues and FAO’s full integration of

sustainable livelihoods for fish workers in developing countries into its work programme