Romania is hosting a high-level conference to examine the future of fisheries and aquaculture in the Black Sea region, which starts today.
Held in Bucharest, the conference aims to discuss the many challenges still to be faced in the area to ensure responsible fisheries and sustainable aquaculture practices, and to encourage increased efforts and reinforced dialogue among the different players in order to promote the sustainable management of Black Sea living marine resources and guarantee healthy marine ecosystems.
Acknowledging that a concerted action is needed to address the situation, representatives from the Black Sea region are meeting for two days to discuss how to enhance their co-operation and are seeking agreement on possible actions and solutions.
According to the organisers, the Black Sea is indeed exposed to many threats that need to be addressed urgently. Overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, pernicious discarding practices, ghost fishing, marine pollution, uneven development of aquaculture and invasive species are the most important threats, although not the only ones.
The event is preceded by an expert meeting which will focus on technical and scientific issues related to living marine resources and their ecosystems, the assessment and eradication of IUU fishing and the responsible development of aquaculture in the Black Sea.
Approximately a hundred participants are taking part, including top officials and representatives from relevant administrations in the Black Sea region, international organisations, experts from universities and academia, funding agencies and civil society organisations.
It is hoped that the participants will come up with a common vision and commitment to enhance their efforts to secure a brighter future for fisheries and aquaculture in the area.
This event is organised by the government of Romania, upon invitation of H.E. Achim Irimescu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania, and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in co-operation with the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (BSC), the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) and the International Organisation for the Development of Fisheries in Central and Eastern Europe (EUROFISH).
Further information and the draft programme are available on the meeting’s webpage.
