FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture - Regional fishery bodies (RFB)

Regional Fishery Bodies Summary Descriptions

Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish)

Mission
Area of competence
Species and stocks coverage
Legal framework
Languages
Organizations involved
Structure
Activities and meetings
- Meetings
Publications
Contact

MissionObjectives The objectives of the Commission shall be to promote the development, conservation, rational management and best utilization of living aquatic resources, as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in the region (this is the Area defined in Article IV of the Agreement on the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission). Functions The Commission has the following functions and responsibilities:

keep under review the state of these resources, including their abundance and the level of their exploitation, as well as the state of the fisheries and aquaculture;
formulate and recommend, in accordance with the provisions of Article V, appropriatemeasures:(i) for the conservation and rational management of living aquatic resources in the Area defined in Article IV; and,(ii) for the implementation of these recommendations;
keep under review the economic and social aspects of the fishing and aquaculture industry and recommend any measures aimed at its development;
encourage, recommend, coordinate and, as appropriate, undertake activities relating to training and extension, research and development, including cooperative projects in the areas of fisheries and aquaculture;
assemble, publish or disseminate information regarding exploitable living aquatic resources and fisheries and aquaculture based on these resources;
promote programmes for aquaculture and fisheries enhancement;
promote women's participation in aquaculture and capture fisheries development;
transfer appropriate technologies and techniques for development of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture;
contribute to knowledge generation and raising the awareness about fisheries and aquaculture in the Central Asian and Caucasus region;
promote liaison and cooperation among and within governmental organizations and with nongovernmental organizations as appropriate;
carry out such other activities as may be necessary for the Commission to achieve its purpose as defined above.

Area of competence The inland waters and areas within the territorial boundaries of the States of Central Asia namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and of the Caucasus namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and, with respect to inland fisheries, other waters within the trans-boundary water basins bordering the territories of the States of Central Asia and of the Caucasus.

CACFish area of competence - Inland waters

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The designations employed and the presentation of material in the map(s) are for illustration only and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.

Species and stocks coverage All living aquatic resources in the area covered by CACFish members. Legal framework The Commission was established within the framework of article XIV of the FAO Constitution. The Agreement on the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission was approved by the FAO Council at its Hundred and Thirty Seventh Session (137th) on 1 October 2009 through Resolution No 1/137 under Article XIV, paragraph 2 of the FAO Constitution. The Agreement entered into force on 3 December 2010, upon the receipt of the third instrument of acceptance.

Agreement on the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission

Languages The official languages of the Commission are English and Russian. Organizations involvedMembership to the Commission is open to Members of the Organization as well as by such non-member State of the Organization that is a Member of the United Nations, any of its Specialized Agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency provided that the territory of such State is situated wholly or partly within the Area defined in Article IV.

Under the Agreement, any country that is a Member of the FAO or the UN can request to participate as an observer. In December 2009 the following countries were officially invited by the Director General to become member of the Commission: Armenia, Azerbaijan, People's Republic China, Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Ukraine.

Current membership: Tajikistan(since February 2010), Kyrgyzstan(since February 2010), Armenia.(since December 2010)

StructurePrincipal body The governing body of the CACFish is the Commission. It carries out its activities on an annual base. It is composed of all members. Each member has one vote. Decisions of the Commission shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast, except as otherwise provided by this Agreement. A majority of the total membership of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Technical Advisory Committee The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) provides technical and scientific advice to the Commission and its work. The TAC is composed of scientists or technical experts in inland fisheries and aquaculture research and development. The member of the Technical Advisory Committee may be from an appropriate government agency or from a University or a scientific institute. Special and standing committees and working groups The Commission may establish, in addition to the Technical Advisory Committee, temporary,special or standing committees and working groups to study, report, advise and recommend on matters pertaining to the purposes of the Commission and on specific technical problems. There are none at present. Secretariat The Secretariat of the Commission is provided by FAO. The FAO Director-General appoints a Secretary, who shall be administratively responsible to him. The Secretariat is based in the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia, Ankara, Turkey. The Secretariat is responsible for the preparation of the Commission sessions. The duties of the Secretariat further include the receipt, collation and circulation of documents, reports and resolutions of the sessions of the Commission and its committees. . Activities and meetings The establishment process of the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission.

The Government of Tajikistan, recognizing the need for regional collaboration in fisheries and aquaculture, requested FAO to support a meeting on the possibilities for regional collaboration. In response FAO technically assisted a first intergovernmental meeting (Dushanbe meeting) on this subject, hosted by the Government of Tajikistan in November 2008 . At the Dushanbe meeting the delegations requested FAO support under the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) and in response FAO approved TCP facility project “Establishment of a Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries Organization (TCP/RER/3203)”.

This regional project made it possible to provide further legal assistance to the process and to organize a meeting of the Steering Committee that was called for by the Dushanbe Meeting. The Steering Committee met for the first time in Ankara at the FAO Sub-regional Office for Central Asia in March 2009 . The Steering Committee analyzed the various options for regional collaboration and soon after that the countries involved informed FAO that their preference was to establish a regional fishery body under article XIV of the FAO Constitution.

The Government of Turkey kindly offered to host a second intergovernmental meeting (Trabzon meeting) to draft the Agreement on the Central Asia and Caucasus Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission, which was held in Trabzon in June 2009 . Following the Trabzon meeting the Government of Turkey, on behalf of the delegations of the other countries that attended the Trabzon meeting, requested the Director General of FAO to support the process.

The eighty-eighth session of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM) reviewed in September 2009 the draft Agreement as endorsed by the Trabzon meeting and forwarded it for approval by the FAO Council at its Hundred and Thirty Seventh Session. The Agreement got approved by the Council at that session on 1 October 2009 through Resolution No 1/137 under Article XIV, paragraph 2 of the FAO Constitution.

In December 2009 the Director General of FAO sent the Agreement and related information on the instrument of acceptance to the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, People's Republic China, Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Ukraine. In February 2010 the first instrument of acceptance was deposited by the Government of Tajikistan, being the first country to accept the Agreement. The second instrument of acceptance was deposited also in February 2010 by the Government of Kyrgyzstan.

In February 2010, the SEC Office (which provided the Secretariat to the Steering Committee) with the support of the FAO Legal and Ethics Office (LEG), the Policy, Economics and Institutions Service of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (FIPI) and the Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe (SEU) facilitated the “Second Steering Committee meeting in preparation for the 3rd Intergovernmental meeting on Fisheries and Aquaculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus”. This Second Steering Committee meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey and discussed the Rules of Procedure of the Commission and the first 5 year work plan.

The 3rd Intergovernmental meeting on the establishment of the Central Asian and Caucasus Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission, was kindly hosted by the Government of Turkey and took place in Trabzon, Turkey, in the period 30 November – 1 December 2010. This meeting adopted the Rules of Procedure, the 5 year workplan, administrative budget and the methodology to calculate the member contributions to the budget, for endorsement by the Inaugural meeting of the Commission.

The 3rd Intergovernmental meeting was informed that the Government of Armenia had deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement. As a response to this important news the meeting adopted a resolution to convene a “Preparatory Meeting” to prepare for the Inaugural meeting of the Commission. Mr Atilla Ozdemir (Turkey) was elected as chairperson of the Preparatory meeting. He is assisted by two vice chairs (from Kyrgyzstan and Armenia).

The Agreement on the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission came into force on 3 December 2010.

The Second Steering Committee meeting and Third Intergovernmental Meeting were made possible with generous financial support from the Central Asia Programme for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (GCP/RER/031/TUR), under the FAO Turkey Partnership Programme (FTPP).

Meetings