JAKARTA: The twenty-first session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) was concluded in the Indonesian capital Jakarta with the participation of the Sultanate.
Dr Ahmad bin Mohammed al Mazroui, Director-General of Fisheries Resources Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Chairman of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission chaired the Sultanate’s delegation to the session.
The session discussed several important issues in the management of migratory fish resources.
A number of decisions were taken, including the decision to limit the lengths of trawl nets to no more than 2:5 kilometres in exclusive economic zone, while giving the countries time to adapt the conditions of the fish sectors.
The session discussed the proposal of the basic principles in the sharing of resources and the fishing quotas.
It was agreed to refer it to the meeting of the fishing quotas technical team.
It was recommended that the next meeting of this team to be held in October in South Africa.
The meeting unanimously renewed confidence in Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Mazroui as Chairman of the Commission for the coming period.
To reach an agreement on the system of distribution of fishing quotas according to the criteria of justice in distribution and equity in rights and commitment to the sustainability of these resources is one of the priorities of the Commission, where the chairman works with Member States in order to advance work in this direction and achieve it in the next stage.
Around 40 member countries of the Commission participated in the session, along with organisations from the countries of the world, with the participation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in addition to the participation of international organisations and bodies.
It is worth mentioning that the Commission is the organisation responsible for organising the fisheries of 16 species of migratory fish, including Yellowfin Tuna and Kingfish, as well as the many other species interconnected in international waters in the Indian Ocean region. — ONA
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