Conference Date: 25th September 2019

Conference Location: University Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia

We are pleased to announce that for the first time in its almost fifty year history, ASFA is combining its Advisory Board Meeting with a one day Conference on Grey Literature, open to all members of the aquatic sciences, fisheries and aquaculture community to attend. The Conference is jointly hosted by ASFA and the Malaysian National Partner, the University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). The theme of the conference is how information services, such as ASFA, can improve the discovery of grey literature in order to benefit aquatic sciences, fisheries and aquaculture research. Improving discovery is vital to ensure that grey literature is not overlooked or forgotten and that it remains available to researchers beyond specific project cycles or conference dates. Grey Literature is often described as literature not controlled by commercial publishers but of sufficient quality to be collected and preserved by libraries and institutions. This Conference will demonstrate the wide variety of formats and content Grey Literature can encompass, and how innovative information services can facilitate their discovery to the advantage of scientists and researchers. The Conference will bring together information managers and those working as researchers, policy makers or scientists in the fields of aquatic sciences, fisheries or aquaculture. During this Conference, ASFA's strategy on the monitoring and coverage of grey literature will be presented, with options for attendees to provide feedback.

Conference Topics:

1. How new technologies are improving the discovery of Grey Literature

2. The role of A&I services in enabling discovery of global grey literature

3. Changing formats of grey literature in a digital age

4. Researchers' grey literature storage and retrieval priorities

Call for Abstracts

If you are interested in presenting a paper at this conference, please email your abstract to ASFA-Secretariat@fao.org by no later than 16th June. Abstracts should be 300-400 words, and please ensure to include in your email the title of your paper, the full author name and author institution, and also indicate which Conference topics your abstract relates to. Authors will be notified by 19th June 2019 whether their abstract has been selected.

Conference Registration

There is no cost to attend the Conference, however ASFA is unable to provide sponsorship for those wishing to attend. There are only a limited number of places available. Therefore if you wish to attend the Conference, please email the ASFA Secretariat (ASFA-Secretariat@fao.org) citing your full name; Organization/ Institution; and Job Title. You will then receive confirmation of your registration in due course.

These Voluntary Guidelines for the Marking of Fishing Gear are dedicated to the memory of Joanna Toole, who worked tirelessly to reduce and manage ALDFG in the ocean and to stop ghost fishing by such gear worldwide. She played a key role in the preparatory process for the formulation of these Guidelines.

Abstract
The Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear are a tool to contribute to sustainable fisheries, to improve the state of the marine environment, and to enhance safety at sea by combatting, minimizing and eliminating abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and facilitating the identification and recovery of such gear. The Guidelines assist fisheries management and can be used as a tool in the identification of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. The Guidelines address the purpose and principles, the scope of application and the implementation of a gear marking system and its associated components, including reporting, recovery and disposal of ALDFG or unwanted fishing gear and commercial traceability of fishing gear. The Guidelines also contain special considerations for developing States and small-scale fisheries with a view to capacity development, as well as guidance on conducting a risk-based approach to implementing gear marking systems. The Guidelines are expected to assist States in meeting their obligations under international law, including relevant international agreements and related governance frameworks and the specific requirements for gear marking contained in FAO's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

Read More

Blue Growth blog: A True Champion for animals and for the environment

Obituary - Joanna Toole
The whole world knows about the fate that befell Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 the morning of Sunday, March 10th. Despite media efforts, we do not all know the many and varied stories behind the 157 names on the list of those that met their fate in that terrible accident. We do not know their sense of purpose in life, their dreams and aspirations, and we can only imagine the sorrow that their families and friends experience now that they are no longer with us. Those that follow the events and want to know can guess, imagine and get close to knowing, but will never understand completely the feelings of others.

You can access the full article and supplementary materials online through the following links:

- Article

- Blue Growth Blog

Challenges to sustainably managing our oceans are numerous, but for the first time ever there are international instruments and measures in place that can help bring us closer to our objective. International treaties such as the FAO Port State Measures Agreement and agreements such as the Voluntary Guidelines for Small-scale Fisheries play an important role in strengthening governance and safeguarding the communities whose livelihoods depend on fisheries resources.

 

Related links:

Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA)

Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries 

 

 

 

Link to the document

Understanding and measuring the contribution of aquaculture and fisheries to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is a technical paper under WAPI, which can provide technical support to FAO work related to the subject, primarily the SDG 14.7.1 - Sustainable fisheries as a percentage of GDP in small island developing states, least developed countries and all countries, and also the Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH) project.

The contribution of aquaculture and fisheries to gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the most widely used indicators of its economic performance. Despite strong interest in and great efforts made towards assessing the contribution of aquaculture and fisheries to GDP, there is a general lack of understanding or consensus on how to properly measure the sector’s contribution to GDP and effectively use the measures for evidence-based policy and planning for sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development. While a fisheries GDP measure has been included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (i.e. SDG Indicator 14.7.1: Sustainable fisheries as a percentage of GDP in small island developing states, least developed countries and all countries), it is nevertheless a Tier III indicator for which no internationally established methodology or standards are yet available. This paper contributes to improving the understanding and measurement of aquaculture and fisheries’ contribution to GDP by:

(i) using input-output models (including mathematical formulas and numerical examples) to formulate and clarify a set of measures of aquaculture and fisheries’ contribution to GDP;

(ii) discussing alternative methods to estimate the measures under data-poor environments;

(iii) suggesting an empirical methodology and general guidelines on the estimation and reporting of the measures;

and (iv) exploring how to utilize the measures for evidence-based policy and planning. The conceptual framework and empirical methodology suggested in the paper will help move towards internationally established methodology, standards and guidelines on measuring aquaculture and fisheries’ economic contribution.

Further information: Junning.Cai@fao.org