The fifth session of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) opened September 27 at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa in Karon, with 60 delegates from around the world.
The six main points on the agenda: Code of Conduct for Responsibilities Fisheries, Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification, Aquaculture Biosecurity, Climate Change and Aquaculture, Offshore Aquaculture, and Statistics on Aquaculture.
Theera Wongsamut, Thai Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, said that hosting the FAO session reaffirms to the rest of the world Thailand’s ability in sustainable aquaculture.
Thailand, one of the top five producers of farmed seafood overall, has been the world leader in shrimp exports for nearly two decades, he said.
Speaking on the Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification, Thai Department of Fisheries Director-General Dr Somying Piumsombun told the Gazette that aquaculture practices are currently overseen by a confusing patchwork of public- and private-sector organisations around the globe.
This causes confusion between international trading partners and increases costs among producers, processors and traders, she said.
“However, if, within this session, we can finally uniformly endorse the Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification [originally] discussed four years ago in the third session in India, there will be no limitations or obstacles to seafood production and trade,” she said.
Hopes For A “Phuket Agreement ” On Aquaculture
THAILAND - Hot on the heels of the Global Conference On Aquaculture 2010 held in Phuket last week, experts have stayed on for a follow-up conference hoping to hammer out an international agreement on guidelines for the fish farming industry worldwide.
