41 ICAR Winter School - Responsible Fishing: Recent Advances in Resource and Energy Conservation, 21 November-11 December 2019, ICAR-CIFT, Kochi. Responsible Fishing: Recent Advances in Resource and Energy Conservation, 21 November – 11 December 2019, ICAR-CIFT, Kochi ICAR Winter School Manual: Recent Advances in Resources and Energy Conservation (Leela Edwin, L., Saly N.Thomas, M.P. Remesan, P. Muhamed Ashraf, M.V. Baiju, Manju Lekshmi, N. and Madhu, V.R., Eds.), Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi: 41- 53. FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries - Fishing Operations M.R. Boopendranath Principal Scientist - Retd., Fishing Technology Division, ICAR-CIFT, Kochi. E-mail: boopendranath@hotmail.com Introduction Introduction of powerful and highly efficient fish harvesting systems and fish detection methods and an uncontrolled expansion in fleet size fuelled by ever increasing market demand for fish brought about increasing pressure on the world fishery resources. Unmistakable signs of overfishing and negative impacts on the ecosystems have increasingly manifested in the recent years, highlighting the need for scientific management of the world fishery resources in order to ensure their long- term sustainability and availability to the future generations. It is estimated that, in 2015, about 59.9% of the fish stocks monitored by FAO were fully exploited, 33.1% over-exploited, and only 7% were under-fished (FAO, 2018). (Fig.1). The percentage of stocks that are fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10% in 1974 to 33.1% in 2015. Overfishing and irresponsible fishing practices have long been recognized as leading causes that have reduced biodiversity, modified ecosystem functioning and stock collapses (FAO, 1995; Jackson et al., 2001; Lotze et al., 2006; Worm et al., 2006). Fishing down effect is pervasive in world fisheries, including Indian fisheries (Pauly et al., 2003; Pauly and Maclean, 2003; Vivekanandan et al., 2005; Bhathal, 2005; Bhathal and Pauly, 2008; Worm et al., 2006) (Fig. 2 and 3). Analysis of data from five ocean basins revealed 90% decline in numbers of large predatory fishes (tuna, blue marlins, swordfish and others) since the advent of industrialized fishing (Myers and Worm, 2003). Removal of excess fishing capacity and adoption of responsible fishing gear and practices and a conducive fisheries management regime would contribute to the long-term sustainability of the resources, minimise negative environmental impacts, protect biodiversity and facilitate rebuilding of the depleted marine fish stocks (Worm et al., 2009). Estimated excess capacity in Indian fisheries is shown in Fig. 4. A recent UNEP green economy report on fisheries suggests that investing to achieve sustainable levels of fishing by strengthening fisheries management and financing a reduction of excess capacity through de-commissioning vessels and equitably relocating employment in order to rebuild overfished and depleted fish stocks could result in an increase in the marine fish landings in the long run, despite a drop in the next decade as stocks recover (UNEP, 2011). The present value of benefits from greening the fishing sector is about 3 to 5 times of the necessary additional costs.