Report of the Expert Consultation on Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fish Trade: Silver Spring, United States of America, 22-26 January 2007

The tenth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries Sub-Committee on Fish Trade (COFI:FT), which met from 30 May to 2 June 2006, recommended that a Technical Consultation be organized to review the draft Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fish Trade taking into account all relevant aspects of international trade in fish products. COFI:FT noted that the guidelines should further reflect the current environment of international trade in fish products and the dynamic nature of trade, requiring an approach which is forward looking and pro-active. Sustainability of fisheries, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU), and post-harvest practices were also important factors to be considered. The purpose of this Expert Consultation was to revise these guidelines taking into account the comments made by COFI:FT.