The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

Party to the agreement to accept it and adopt 
measures consistent with its provisions.
Fish Stocks Agreement
The Agreement for the Implementation of the 
Provisions of the United Nations Convention 
on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 
relating to the Conservation and Management 
FIGURE 39
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR FISHERIES
ALMOST 50 VOLUNTARY AND TECHNICAL GUIDELINES BASED ON THE CODE
CODE OF 
CONDUCT FOR 
RESPONSIBLE 
FISHERIES
FAO 
COMPLIANCE 
AGREEMENT
PORT STATE 
MEASURES 
AGREEMENT
UNITED NATIONS 
FISH STOCKS 
AGREEMENT
UNITED NATIONS 
CONVENTION 
ON THE LAW 
OF THE SEA
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
SOURCE: FAO.
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THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 
2020
of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory 
Fish Stocks (United Nations Fish Stocks 
Agreement) was adopted in 1995 by the United 
Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks 
and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks with a 
view to implementing the relevant provisions 
of UNCLOS. This agreement establishes a 
requirement for management regimes based on 
the precautionary principle and the best available 
scientific information. 
Port State Measures Agreement
The Agreement on Port State Measures to 
Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported 
and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA) was adopted 
by the FAO Conference in 2009 and entered into 
force in 2016. It is the only binding international 
agreement specifically developed to combat 
illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) 
fishing. Its objective is to prevent, deter and 
eliminate IUU fishing by preventing vessels 
engaged in IUU fishing from using ports and 
landing their catches. In this way, the PSMA 
reduces the incentive for such vessels to continue 
operating while, at the same time, blocking 
fishery products derived from IUU fishing from 
reaching national and international markets.
Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
The Code consists of a collection of principles, 
goals and elements pertaining to the 
conservation, management and development of 
living aquatic resources, with due respect for 
the ecosystem and biodiversity. Although the 
Code represents a global consensus or agreement 
on a wide range of fisheries and aquaculture 
issues, the application of the Code is voluntary. 
The Code is to be interpreted and applied 
in conformity with the relevant rules of 
international law, and nothing in the Code 
prejudices the rights, jurisdiction and duties of 
States under international law as reflected in 
UNCLOS. As at the end of 2018, the set of Code 
products or “instruments” consisted of 8 sets 
of guidelines, 8 legal instruments (including 
the Code itself), 4 international plans of 
action, 3 strategies and 32 technical guidelines. 
The monitoring of the Code’s implementation is 
conducted through three biennial questionnaires, 
as discussed in the section Progress on the road 
to sustainability, p. 96.
Implementation of the Code 
Much has changed in the past 25 years, from 
overfishing to rapid development in international 
trade in fish and fish products, to the rapid 
growth of aquaculture, and to the recognition 
of the impacts of climate change on fisheries 
and aquaculture. Fish and fish products are now 
among the most traded food commodities in the 
world, totalling an estimated USD 145 billion 
in 2017. Fish is the main source of animal 
protein for billions of people worldwide, and 
the livelihoods of more than 10 percent of the 
global population depend on capture fishing and 
aquaculture (FAO, 2018a).
In the past 25 years, FAO and many other 
organizations and institutions have worked to 
promote the implementation of the Code and 
its supporting instruments. These supporting 
instruments, consisting of some 50 international 
and technical guidelines, 4 international plans 
of action and 3 strategies, have developed and 
adapted to support the international community 
in meeting emerging challenges. FAO has 
facilitated hundreds of conferences, workshops, 
expert and technical consultations to elaborate 
and disseminate the Code and its supporting 
instruments, and to support implementation 
of the Code at the regional, national and 
local levels.
Currently, the Code is available in more than 
40 languages. It has guided the efforts of FAO 
and other international organizations and 
development agencies to provide legal, policy 
and technical advisory services and assistance 
to governments in the formulation or revision of 
national fisheries and aquaculture legislation, 
policy and institutional arrangements, and on 
related issues. It has informed support services to 
regional and subregional fisheries organizations 
in improving their legal framework to promote 
regional mechanisms and cooperation. It has 
shaped the development of technical capacity 
of governments to strengthen research, 
statistics and information systems to support 
evidence-based policy decisions at the national 
and regional levels. 
Conclusion
As a universally adopted and applicable policy 
instrument, the Code has been a facilitator of 
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PART 2 
SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION
change, catalysing cooperation at the local, 
regional and global levels. Today, the fisheries 
policies and legislation of most countries are 
compatible with the Code. The Code and its 
instruments have shaped fisheries policies, 
legal and management frameworks worldwide, 
instilling key principles of sustainable and 
responsible development of fisheries and 
aquaculture. The Code has also served as an 
important catalyst for incorporating conservation 
and environmental considerations into fisheries 
and aquaculture management, and inspired 
the development of the ecosystem approach to 
fisheries and aquaculture.
For a world population expected to exceed 
9 billion by 2050, the Code and its related 
instruments provide the framework to promote 
sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and 
increase the role they play in sustainable 
food systems. Moreover, the Code provides 
the guidance needed to shape how to address 
new and emerging issues in fisheries, such as 
sustainable aquaculture development, ocean 
degradation, social responsibility, biodiversity 
conservation and climate change. Thus, the 
Code will be fundamental to international 
work in fisheries and aquaculture in support of 
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 
(2030 Agenda).
Progress on the road to sustainability – what 
the Code questionnaire reveals
A mandate of COFI, as stipulated by Article 4
of the Code, is that FAO will report to COFI 
every two years concerning implementation 
of the Code (
Figure 40
). This task is largely 
performed using the FAO Questionnaire on 
the Implementation of the Code of Conduct 
for Responsible Fisheries and Related 
Instruments, which covers each article of 
the Code. FAO sends the questionnaire to 
all Members, regional fishery bodies (RFBs), 
and selected non-governmental organizations 
biennially, and the responses form the basis 
of a progress report for discussion at COFI. 
To date, FAO has prepared 11 such reports. 
FAO also sends out two other questionnaires 
to further monitor the implementation of the 
Code’s Articles 9 (Aquaculture development) 
and 11 (Post-harvest practices and trade). 
Their results are discussed biennially at the COFI 
Sub-Committee on Aquaculture and the COFI 
Sub-Committee on Fish Trade, respectively.
In 2014, the Code questionnaire was digitalized, 
permitting participants to answer the questions 
succinctly, and helping with reporting on the 
application of the Code, as well as related 
developments. In 2016, 115 of the 193 Members 
responded to the questionnaire, an increase 
of 20 per cent since 2014; and for the latest 
questionnaire (in 2018), this figure rose again, to 
128 Members responding.
At its Thirty-second Session in 2016, COFI agreed 
to the use of the data from the questionnaires for 
national reporting on SDG indicators and Aichi 
Biodiversity Targets, with due consideration for 
confidentiality. Subsequently, methodologies 
for SDG Indicators 14.6.1 (IUU fishing) and 
14.b.1 (Access rights for small-scale fisheries) 
were finalized in consultation with the COFI 
Secretariat and approved by the Inter-agency 
and Expert Group on SDG Indicators. In parallel, 
the COFI Secretariat expanded sections in 
the questionnaire that are relevant to these 
SDG indicators and Aichi Biodiversity Target 
reporting. The increasing influx of work being 
done in conjunction with these platforms is 
enabling discreet elements of the questionnaire 
to be processed in an unprecedented way.
Fisheries management
At the regional and global level, the 
questionnaire responses indicate a strong trend 
toward improvements in fisheries management 
in both marine fisheries and inland fisheries 
(
Figures 41
and 
42
).
Another positive trend in the past decade 
has been the use of the ecosystem approach 
to fisheries (EAF) as the preferred fisheries 
management system. Three-quarters of Members 
report they have adopted the EAF, and most of 
these countries report having taken appropriate 
management actions and established ecological, 
socio-economic and governance objectives. 
In 2011, RFBs reported that the Code 
was unlikely to be effective until these 
organizations adopted the EAF, including 
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THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 
2020
the use of target reference points in the 
fisheries of their members. Today, almost 
three-quarters of Members have developed 
target reference points with monitoring and 
evaluation methods. 
This move towards adoption of EAF management 
measures could herald an improvement in 
integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). 
Despite FAO’s initiatives to integrate the EAF 
into coastal zone management, there has been 
slow progress in the past 25 years. This has 
possibly been exacerbated since 2010, when 
ICZM as a top priority for countries responding 
to the questionnaire dropped from 43.6 percent 
to 28.9 percent in 2011, and today remains at 
27.4 percent. Fewer than one-third of Members 
report having put in place complete and enabling 
policy, legal and institutional frameworks for 
ICZM, and about half have partially developed 
frameworks awaiting adoption (
Figure 43
). 
The most common conflicts reported within the 
coastal area regard fishing gear conflicts and 
conflicts between coastal and industrial fisheries. 
However, most of the Members concerned 
report having conflict-resolution mechanisms 
in place. The hope that the situation is on the 
cusp of change is not unfounded, with countries 
reporting that they are regulating their fleets 
more effectively through monitoring, control and 
surveillance (MCS), limiting fishing effort and 
increasing research activities. The questionnaire 
responses indicate that these efforts are largely 
undertaken in conjunction with EAF initiatives, 
but nonetheless have the potential to positively 
impact ICZM initiatives.
FIGURE 40
RESPONSE BY MEMBERS TO THE FAO QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES AND RELATED INSTRUMENTS, BY REGION
Total percentage
YEAR
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2012
2014
2016
2018
Africa
Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe
Near East
Northern America
Southwest Pacific