Focus on fish

the world's fishing community is often overlooked in discussions about food production and food security, so it was particularly encouraging when 95 states issued a declaration on the sustainable contribution of fisheries to food security in the world at the FAO conference held in Kyoto, Japan in December 1995. Less encouraging was the Conference's conclusion that the world's fish resources are being overexploited and that catches have been declining since 1992.

Fishing is important to the economies of many ACP countries, notably in West Africa In the three articles which follow, we look at some of the key issues facing the sector with a particular emphasis on the EU's activities in the context of its relations with developing countries,