UN-backed network linking global developing countries' fisheries reaches 25-year mark
10 May 2008 - The FishInfoNetwork (FIN), a United Nations-organized network linking fisheries in developing countries, has reached
its 25-year mark.
Set up by the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), the programme connects independent intergovernmental organizations
to boost post-harvest handling and marketing of fish.
The idea was to establish a network that could provide a multiplier effect and help FAO more comprehensively address
these issues on the ground," said Lahsen Ababouch of FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.
FIN works at the regional level in the developing world to promote fish trade, supply up-to-date information on markets
and prices, bring buyers and sellers together and provide training in key areas such as processing technology and food
safety issues.
Currently, the netk, which covers 87 developing nations, comprises seven independent centres each focusing on a region,
and these facilities are coordinated by Globafish, based at FAO's Rome headquarters. "Each centre functions as a locus
of expertise in the post-harvest sector of fisheries and aquaculture, including trade and marketing, implementing
demand-driving activities targeted to the specific needs of the region where it is located," Mr. Ababouch noted.
Fisheries and aquaculture are crucial to the economies of many developing countries, with net earnings from the fish
trade in these nations totaling more than $20 billion annually, providing employment and income to millions of people.
Globally, net earnings (exports minus imports) by developing countries from the fish trade totals over $20 billion per
year. This provides employment and income to millions of people and is a source of government revenue that can be used
for social services, all of which bolster food security and help improve family nutrition.
ENDS