India elected as first vice chair of COFI

• India has been elected as the First Vice Chair of the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management.
• India will serve as member of a FAO Fisheries Bureau on ‘Capture Fisheries’ for the first time in 57 years.
• Being one of the top fishing nations with over 28 million inland and marine fishers, India’s role in this crucial subcommittee as the representative of the Global South would give much-needed balance and perspective to the global narratives concerning fisheries governance and management (especially for artisanal and small-scale fisheries).

ABOUT THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

• It is a forum for discussing fisheries management issues at national, regional and global levels.
• It deals with technical and policy matters in line with FAO’s mission and actively collaborates with relevant regional and international organisations, countries, stakeholder groups, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), forging new collaborations where needed.
• The primary functions of the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management are to provide essential technical and policy guidance on fisheries governance and management, with the aim of advancing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

ABOUT COFI

• COFI is a subsidiary body of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council, was established in 1965.
• COFI is an intergovernmental forum that addresses issues on
  • International fishing and aquaculture,
  • Providing policy guidance on fisheries management,
  • Promoting collective solutions to ensure environmental,
  • economic and social sustainability of fishing industry
• The Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management was established during the Thirty-Fifth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), held in Rome, Italy, from September 5 to 9, 2022.
• The Sub-Committee collaborates closely with both the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture and the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade, further enriching the scope of its engagement in fisheries-related matters.