Committee on Fisheries 36th Session – COFI36 2024

The Committee on Fisheries, is the only global intergovernmental forum where members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) meet to discuss issues related to fisheries and aquaculture. 

This year represents the 36th Session of COFI – COFI36 – and will focus on the vital role of fisheries and aquaculture in tackling food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty, stressing their ability to alleviate hunger, drive sustainable growth, and reverse environmental degradation.

The FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report for 2024 also provides a comprehensive overview of sector trends and projections. It demonstrates how Blue Transformation is already fostering sustainable growth in aquaculture, improving effectiveness in fisheries management, and raising standards across value chains. 

The Aquatic Blue Food Coalition at COFI36 

The Coalition is hosting a side event titled “The case for aquatic Blue Food in achieving the SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). Reducing hunger and improving nutrition outcomes”. 

The event will leverage the networks and resources of the Coalition and the Global Action Network to identify key pathways for advancing food and nutrition security in relation to two themes of high relevance to this agenda.

1) Small-Scale Fishers. This section will highlight the contribution of small-scale fishers to food security, directly in their communities, and in the global context. It will also provide a platform for member states to hear directly from participants of the second Small-Scale Fisheries Summit (SSF 2024), which will take place at FAO headquarters, prior to COFI. Read more about the SSF 2024 here.

2) Aquaculture and Food Security. This section will focus on how, by focusing on low-trophic and sustainable aquaculture, we can address multiple global challenges simultaneously, including food security, biodiversity, malnutrition, health, environmental sustainability, and the equitable use of global natural resources.

The list of speakers will include: 

Introductory remarks

Marianne Sivertsen Næss – Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Norway

Panel #1 – Enhancing Food Security and Nutrition with Aquatic Food Data

Moderator: Kendra Byrd, Senior Research Fellow, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK

Panelists:

• Rita Hannisdal,Senior Researcher, Institute of Marine Research, Norway
• Fernanda Grande, Nutrition Officer (food composition), Food and Nutrition Division, FAO
• Sitilitha Masangwi, Youth representative – Food Composition Data Compiler, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi

Panel #2 – Small-Scale Fisheries and Aquaculture

Moderator: Sonia Sharan, Senior Manager Impact and Economics, Oceana

Panelists: 

• Oluwafunmilola Shelika, Chairperson, AWFISHET, Nigeria
• Bernice McLean, Senior Program Officer, AUDA – NEPAD, ABFC Member
• Rebecca Wintering, Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Marine Conservation, U.S. Department of State

Q&A and discussion

Moderator: Hettie Schönfeldt, Professor, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Closing remarks

Jon Erlingur Jonasson, Icelandic Special Envoy for the Oceans and incoming Chair of the Aquatic and Blue Food Coalition

A recording of the event can be found here:

Shared screen with speaker view

Passcode: COFI36SE2024+

Speaker view

Passcode: COFI36SE2024+