The 2023 annual meeting of the ICES-FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB) and the International Symposium on “Innovations in Fishing Technologies for Sustainable and Resilient Fisheries” was held from 13 to 17 February 2023 in Kochi, India. [Author] The symposium was hosted by FAO in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, Government of India, organized by the Bay of Bengal Programme Intergovernmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) and National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Fisheries Institutes and State Fisheries Universities. [Author] The symposium brought together 325 participants comprising of scientists, researchers, officials, policymakers, diplomats, industry, entrepreneurs, and students from 32 countries both online and offline delivering a total of 137 presentations providing a platform for discussions on the challenges facing world fisheries including depleted fish stocks, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, fish loss and wastage bycatch, and ghost fishing. [Author] This report summarizes the symposium on “Innovations in Fishing Technologies for Sustainable and Resilient Fisheries” which comprised of eight thematic sessions: (i) active gears (ii) passive gears (iii)indicators (iv) abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) (v) survival/behaviour/physiology (vi) energy efficiency (vii) general topics and (viii) gear design. [Author]

The 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture features the Blue Transformation in action, illustrated by activities and initiatives, led by FAO in collaboration with Members, partners and key stakeholders, to integrate aquatic foods into global food security and sustainability, enhance policy advocacy, scientific research and capacity building, disseminate sustainable practices and technological innovations, and support community involvement. Part 1 of this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture benefits from significant improvements in data collection, analytical and assessment tools and methodologies to present the most up-to-date review of world fisheries and aquaculture production and utilization. Part 2 highlights the role of FAO and its partners to catalyse the transformational changes required to support aquaculture expansion and intensification, effective management of global fisheries and upgrading of aquatic value chains. Part 3 covers the high-impact challenges and opportunities of the untapped potential of utilizing whole fish and by-products to improve food security and nutrition, expounds on the role of aquatic food systems in providing critical climate, biodiversity and environmentally sound solutions, and highlights the importance of their integration into national and multilateral processes. It also presents an outlook on future trends up to 2032 based on projections. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 provides the most up-to-date and evidence-based information, supporting policy, scientific and technical insights on challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector, for the benefit of a wide and expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society activists and consumers.

"The 2019 annual meeting of the ICES-FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB) was held from 8 to 12 April 2019 in Shanghai, China. The meeting was hosted by FAO in close collaboration with the Shanghai Ocean University. More than 120 fishing technologists, scientists and other stakeholders, representing 23 countries from Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia, attended this meeting. This report summarizes the four-day symposium, on “Responsible Fishing Technology for Healthy Ecosystems and a Clean Environment”, which was organized as part of the 2019 annual meeting of the ICES-FAO WGFTFB. The symposium comprised eight thematic sessions: (i) abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG): assessment of quantity and measures to prevent ALDFG and its impact; (ii) interactions of protected species in capture fisheries; (iii) light, fish behaviour and fishing; (iv) technology and management to reduce bycatch and discards; (v) selectivity of fishing gear: means and methods; (vi) new technologies for fisheries research and education; (vii) energy, technology, analysis and simulation; and (viii) Chinese fisheries - status, challenges and future. The symposium provided an opportunity for fishing technologists and other experts from ICES and FAO member countries to exchange knowledge and ideas from around the world, especially from non-ICES member countries in Asia and Latin America."--Publisher's description.

The 2019 annual meeting of the ICES-FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB) was held from 8 to 12 April 2019 in Shanghai, China. The meeting was hosted by FAO in close collaboration with the Shanghai Ocean University. More than 120 fishing technologists, scientists and other stakeholders, representing 23 countries from Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia, attended this meeting. This report summarizes the four-day symposium, on “Responsible Fishing Technology for Healthy Ecosystems and a Clean Environment”, which was organized as part of the 2019 annual meeting of the ICES-FAO WGFTFB. The symposium comprised eight thematic sessions: (i) abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG): assessment of quantity and measures to prevent ALDFG and its impact; (ii) interactions of protected species in capture fisheries; (iii) light, fish behaviour and fishing; (iv) technology and management to reduce bycatch and discards; (v) selectivity of fishing gear: means and methods; (vi) new technologies for fisheries research and education; (vii) energy, technology, analysis and simulation; and (viii) Chinese fisheries - status, challenges and future. The symposium provided an opportunity for fishing technologists and other experts from ICES and FAO member countries to exchange knowledge and ideas from around the world, especially from non-ICES member countries in Asia and Latin America.

This circular stems from a study carried out for FAO projects “Sustainable Fisheries Management and Biodiversity Conservation of Deep-Sea Living Marine Resources and Ecosystems in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction” (GCP/GLO/366/GFF) and “Deep-Sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic: An Integrated Approach Towards their Preservation and Sustainable Exploitation” (GCP/GLO/679/EC). These projects included outputs related to the economic valuation of goods and services provided by the deep seas in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This study compiled an estimate of the total economic value (TEV) of the deep seas, which considered the provision of deep-water fish, the harvest of precious corals, the use of substances of marine origin as pharmaceuticals, the extraction of deep and ultra-deep oil and the potential mining of mineral resources from the seafloor, carbon sequestration carried out by the deep seas, the importance of scientific research in the deep seas, and touristic activities with submersibles to visit sites such as the Titanic shipwreck. Comprehensively, the TEV assessed for the deep-sea ecosystem as a whole is estimated at USD 267 billion per year. Ninety two percent of the economic value originates from abiotic resources (oil and minerals), 5 percent from biotic resources (fish, corals and pharmaceuticals of marine origin), 2 percent from cultural services (scientific research and tourism/recreation), and 1 percent from carbon sequestration.