Topic: Protecting International Fisheries
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Jameson VanDokkumburg
School: East Grand Rapids High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Italy position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Italian policy on fisheries is based on four major tenants: management of fishery resources, structural policy, the common organization of markets and international agreements. Italy acknowledges the issues with current fishery/aquaculture standards and opposes the lack of sufficient regulatory action taken to combat both the unsustainable harvesting of fisheries and degradation of natural marine ecosystems nationwide. Italy also recognizes the fact that illegal fishing operations are prevalent–despite attempted regulation–and that the malpractice of underreporting fish catch numbers leads to an unwarrantedly optimistic perspective of global fishery/aquaculture health.
While Italy is certainly interested in collaboration with foreign nations in order to increase the health of aquatic ecosystems and the sustainability of marine animals as a world food source, it should be noted that economically speaking–Italy is not too far invested in the issue. Though Italy is the 3rd highest aquaculture producer in the EU, the fisheries and aquaculture sectors only account for a mere 0.1 percent of Italian GDP and only 5.7 percent of Agriculture Value Added in 2010. Also notable, in recent years, the Italian deficit balance of fish trade has increased as internal production and exports have decreased, while imports of fish and other seafood substances have steadily increased. What this means for Italy is that though the country is certainly interested in environmental sustainability, it relies on the global fishery economy for its own domestic success and as such, is uninterested in the complete overregulation of marine life harvesting fishery usage.
Italy is open to some of the suggested proposals as a solution to the crisis affecting fisheries and the international aquaculture such as the establishment of marine sanctuary areas where fishing is prohibited, the banning of especially destructive fishing techniques or those which unequally affect other species over those targeted, or the creation of quotas for tonnage of fish caught per year in an effort to not over farm the ocean. In all of these cases however, the details and logistics of enforcement are difficult: the ocean is vast, and fishing vessels are widely scattered, making direct supervision of specific techniques near impossible. Due to these obstacles, Italy suggests and supports the implementation of small scale solutions such as: improving health, security and hygiene of on board of vessels, as well as the quality of the fish landed; increasing the efficiency of engines on board and reducing fuel consumption; and improving the enforcement of Reg. (CE) 1224/09 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. While certainly not as large-scale and groundbreaking as some of the other proposed suggestions, Italy believes that the aforementioned proposals could create substantial change without being overly restrictive and without putting nations who rely on aquaculture imports at risk.
Above all else, Italy has a vested interest in the continued sustainment of aquatic ecosystems and wants to do everything in its power to repopulate currently depleted areas of the marine fisheries. Italy will continue to be agreeable to policy of increased aquaculture quality, species diversification marketing, and environmental protection and will cooperate with the United Nations and its members in the pursuit of such objectives.
