UN announces fresh guidelines for fragile sea fish species

NEW YORK, Sept 6 (PTI) The UN has announced new international guidelines to limit the impact of fishing on fragile sea species after two years of consultations with concerned countries. brManaging deep sea fisheries in high seas areas outside of countries' exclusive economic zones has always been difficult since it requires multilateral solutions involving not only nations whose vessels are engaged in deep sea fisheries but other interested countries as well, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said. brUntil now, there really hasn't been an international framework for tackling this issue, said Ichiro Nomura, Assistant Director General of FAO's Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. brThese guidelines represent one of the few practical instruments of this nature, and are a breakthrough in that they address both environmental and fisheries management concerns in an integrated manner, he added. brStressing that all fishing activity in deep sea areas should be rigorously managed, the guidelines recommend the measures that can be taken to identify and protect vulnerable ecosystems and provide guidance on the sustainable use of marine living resources in deep-sea areas. brThey also recommend that fishing nations assess the deep sea fishing being undertaken by their fleets to determine if any significant adverse impacts are involved, and if there are adverse impacts, the fishing activity should stop. brThe guidelines set out steps for improving information on the location and status of vulnerable marine ecosystems and deep sea fisheries. brFew countries have so far developed policies and plans specifically related to managing deep sea fishing, even in their own waters, according to FAO.