Contributions of responsible fisheries to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015
2007
Matsuda, Y.(Kagoshima Univ. (Japan))
The UN MDG of 2000 include poverty eradication, protection of our common environment, human rights, democracy, and good governance. Fisheries have been expected to contribute to meet these goals, especially after the UNCLOS III. As a result, many developing countries have over-invested in fisheries with environmental degradation by industrial development and population increases and faced reconsideration of fisheries. On the other hand, concepts of responsible fisheries have been popular among governments since the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries was adopted in 1995. The next 10 years are the time for the action at civilian levels to meet these goals with responsible fisheries, including aquaculture, processing, marketing, other related industries and consumers. Fisheries resources are changed from free gift to scarce and vulnerable resources. These contribute to develop a recycled society affording fish for the future if we manage wisely while these create conflicts at sea if any. If we manage fisheries wisely, we can take advantage of much more benefits than the sustainable level. Under good management, illegal actions, over-fishing, ghost fishing, aquaculture-based pollution will be no longer acceptable. The primary importance is the development of community-based fisheries (and/or agriculture/tourism) co-management bodies with sound leaders in which both governments and the local resource users/community work together with respective responsibilities and right persons are worked at right places for the right time. This paper discusses the potential from the Japanese experience in which the fisheries cooperative association (FCA) plays an important role.
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