27 July 1990

37th Plenary Meeting

1990/77. Co-operation in fisheries in Africa

The Economic and Social Council,

Aware of the abundant fishery and aquacultural resources of the African continent, particularly with the extension of national jurisdictions in the exclusive economic zones,

Considering the need for African countries to develop inter-State co-operation in order to promote the development of the fishery sector,

Convinced of the determination of African countries to overcome the difficulties they encounter in the development and acquisition of new technologies for the exploitation of fishery resources,

Recognizing the significant contribution that fishing can make to food self-sufficiency, the improvement of nutrition and the diversification of exports,

Considering the dynamism of the Indian Ocean Commission and the shared concerns of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Economic Commission for Africa and States members of the Indian Ocean Commission regarding multinational co-operation for the development of fishery resources,

Considering that the process set in motion by the ministerial conference on co-operation in fisheries among the African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean, held at Rabat from 30 March to 1 April 1989, encourages the countries of the South to join together in order to promote the fishery sector,

1. Calls upon African States to develop joint research programmes, in particular for the evaluation and monitoring of shared stocks;

2. Further calls upon African States to promote better integration of the fishery and aquaculture sector in their national economies in order to increase its contribution to development;

3. Urges African States to establish an intra-African information network on fishing vessels operating illegally, and, taking due account of existing international law, to propose measures to be instituted within the context of a regional legal framework to exclude such vessels;

4. Requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme, in association with the Economic Commission for Africa, to assist African countries to establish such a network;

5. Requests the specialized agencies and other United Nations organizations, particularly the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization and the Economic Commission for Africa, to take fully into account the recommendations of the ministerial conference on co-operation in fisheries among the African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean, held at Rabat in 1989;

6. Calls upon African States to strengthen their co-operation in the implementation of projects for the management, exploitation and marketing of fishery and aquacultural products at the national, subregional and regional levels;

7. Requests the Economic Commission for Africa, in the interest of greater coherence and efficiency, to do its utmost to ensure the unification of policies in activities concerning inland and ocean fishery resources and the non-living resources of the sea and legal questions relating thereto;

8. Requests Member States:

(a) To make full use of advanced marine training centres in Africa and to strengthen their role;

(b) To promote the exchange of information, to make use of those centres with a view to the development and utilization of a standardized statistical system covering all aspects of fisheries at the subregional level;

(c) To promote the joint negotiation of fishery agreements concerning the high-sea fleets of non-African countries;

(d) To accord greater importance to the development of small-scale fishing whenever possible, because it can be better integrated into the African economy and has a greater capacity for adaptation to the socio-economic requirements of Africa;

(e) To improve the living conditions of African fishermen, particularly in the areas of education and health, which at present hinder development;

(f) To give priority to multinational co-operation in fish marketing and preservation, in order to:

(i) Facilitate the access of African products to markets of the North, inter alia, through product promotion and the provision of market information and export infrastructure;

(ii) Attain self-sufficiency in certain fishery resources through the development of intra-African trade, particularly the harmonization of taxation on fishery products;

9. Further requests Member States to promote the development of aquaculture in Africa and, to the extent feasible, pool their national human and financial resources within subregional bodies for applied research;

10. Exhorts Member States to explore the possibility of bringing national entrepreneurs and foreign enterprises together for the establishment of joint ventures on the basis of mutual advantageous co-operation.