Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 141

THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 2018
TABLE 20
PERCENTAGE OF COUNTRIES ADOPTING EAF OR SIMILAR ECOSYSTEM APPROACHES, BY REGION
Region %
Africa 77
Asia 86
Europe 75
Latin America and the Caribbean 84
Near East 50
North America
100
Southwest Pacific
75
SOURCE: FAO questionnaire on implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, 2015 data
Main successes and achievements
The approach is also being taken up in the work
of RFBs. Currently, over 40 percent of RFBs
include in their convention text a specific
reference to the ecosystem approach as a
management principle. In addition, many of the
older RFBs have also adopted policy texts, or
implemented projects, aimed at the use of EA F
in their science and management procedures.
Although not all RFBs have the same level of
formal or de facto adoption of EA F/EA A,
practically all of them are increasingly using
multiple elements of the approach in their
reg ular work. Some of the key successes of EA A
projects so far include the development of
capacit y and the direct involvement of national
and local authorities and stakeholders, enabling
wider ownership of the aquaculture planning
and management processes.
Substantial progress has been made in
implementing elements of EA F/EA A, from
raising awareness among policy-makers and
fisheries and aquaculture stakeholders to
creating profitable and job-producing fisheries
and aquaculture operations that are only
possible with a sustainable, integrated approach
to the use of aquatic living resources and their
environment. The proliferation of EA F/EA A
projects and their promotion by many
governmental and non-governmental
organizations dealing with natural resource
management, sustainable development,
environmental protection and other
sustainabilit y-related themes are a good measure
of this progress.
National fisheries administrations and regional
fisheries bodies are increasingly adopting EA F
and EA A as overall fisheries management
frameworks, to realign policy in preparation for
practical implementation. According to data from
the questionnaire on implementation of the Code
of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries sent ever y
two years to all FAO Member Countries, the
percentage of countries adopting EA F or a
similar approach increased from 69 percent in
2011 to 79 percent in 2015. However, the level of
adoption varies among regions (Table 20). The
Near East has the lowest adoption of EA F
(perhaps not surprisingly, considering the
overall level of social unrest in the region during
the past decade), while North America has the
highest adoption rate.
A recent development, consistent with the
ecosystem approach, is the explicit
consideration of the interactions between
fisheries and aquaculture and management of
these within a single framework (Soto et al.,
2012). This joint EA F/EA A approach is
particularly relevant in those situations where
it is difficult to separate fisheries and
aquaculture, as in capture-based aquaculture
and aquaculture-based fisheries (e.g.
restocking programmes and sea-ranching), and
where the spatial, operational and resource
interactions between the two are increasing.
The fact that about 36 percent of the world’s
RFBs now include aquaculture as part of their
mandate gives an indication of the need to
address interactions between fisheries and
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