Mr Graziano da Silva stressed the importance of the EU as a global player in fisheries and asked Damanaki for her cooperation to promote global fisheries management and governance.
The FAO chief also highlighted the importance of aquaculture as a source of income and food security for small-scale farmers in many areas of the world. He confirmed FAO will participate in the EU high-level conference on aquaculture in Galicia, Spain (European aquaculture: the path for growth), to take place on 23 November 2012.
Ms Damanaki stressed the importance of FAOs Committee on Fisheries as the global body of fisheries and aquaculture. She said the EU was fully behind the development of a global record of fishing vessels, an FAO initiative.
The commissioner also met senior fisheries officials from the FAO Fisheries Department to discuss such topics as aquaculture, IUU fishing, port state measure and flag state performance. Also on the agenda was the reform of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, one of FAOs regional fisheries bodies, and joint actions in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, including through FAO projects supported by the EU.
FAO Director-General Discusses Key Fisheries Issues with EU Fisheries Commissioner
GLOBAL - Key fisheries issues including joint collaboration on aquaculture policy, management of global fisheries and EU support to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing were discussed in a meeting between FAO Director-General Jos Graziano da Silva and Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
by Lucy Towers
