Book Description
This document contains the report of the tenth meeting of the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) Working Group on Fisheries Management (WGFM) which was held in Doha, State of Qatar, from 6 to 8 December 2016. The tenth meeting of the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) Working Group on Fisheries Management (WGFM) was held in Doha, State of Qatar from 6 to 8 December 2016. The meeting was convened by RECOFI and FAO and attended by 11 participants from five RECOFI member countries ( Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) in addition to the FAO Secretariat and one invited expert. Participants provided updates of the current work ongoing at the national level with regards to the RECOFI priority species, and discussed data collection challenges. The WGFM reviewed the progress on the socio-economic work for RECOFI, and agreed that the socio-economic Task Group members must be updated, as well as the information provided in the socio-economic questionnaire. The WGFM took note that the general situation regarding the capacity of RECOFI members to report catch and effort information as defined in the Recommendation had slightly improved and acknowledged the progress that had been made regarding the integration of the current RECOFI regional data set into RAIS. The WGFM took note and considered the content and conclusions of the draft RECOFI review and noted with concern the low level of RECOFI members’attendance at intersessional meetings and workshops. The WGFM ackno wledged the benefits of developing FIRMS Marine Resources for the RECOFI region and recommended the initiation of the process focusing on the Spanish mackerel and shrimps as priority species. The meeting acknowledged with appreciation the efforts of the Secretariat for pursuing cooperation with ROPME, in particular considering the potential for mutual benefits of this cooperation for both organizations and their members. The WGFM agreed on a programme of work and budget for 2017–2018 to be submi tted at the ninth session of RECOFI for consideration.