Seventh Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of CACFish

The Central Asian and Caucuses Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish) is a Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) that promotes the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus. FAO is responsible for the operation of the Commission Secretariat. The five Members of the Commission are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Türkiye, and ensures the participation and representation of all countries in the Central Asian and Caucuses region at all Commission and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings. 

The TAC is an advisory body to the Commission and provides technical and scientific support to the Commission’s decision-making processes. From 13 to 15 May 2025, the TAC will be holding its seventh meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. Participants at the meeting will include ministerial technical staff, academics and researchers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan. 

The meeting will discuss key decisions and recommendations from FAO fisheries governing bodies (Committee on Fisheries(COFI) and sub-committees) and CACFish. Key areas under discussion at the meeting will include: 

• the regional adoption of the FAO Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture that were adopted by FAO in 2024, and how by which the guidelines may be modified and adopted across the region, 
• the role of aquaculture governance systems in sustainable aquaculture development across the region, and how countries can improve national aquaculture planning frameworks (e.g. licensing and permitting procedures, zoning and farm siting), 
• the adoption of a Regional Occupational Health and Safety Code of Practice for Inland Aquaculture and Fisheries, and
  
• the development of a CACFish data collection system for fishing gear use and catches that can be used to improve fisheries management decision-making processes at both national levels and for shared stocks in transboundary fisheries. 

The findings and recommendations from the meeting will be presented to the Ninth Session of CACFish scheduled be held in November 2025 in Kazakhstan. The meeting will include a side event panel at the 18th Azerbaijan International Agriculture Exhibition.