The Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) received the prestigious Margarita Lizarraga Medal.
In 1997, the FAO Conference instituted the Margarita Lizarraga Medal to be awarded biennially to a person or organization that has served with distinction in the application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
The Selection Committee for the award composed of the Assistant Director-General, Fisheries Department, and the Bureau of the Twenty-sixth Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) met in
* Outstanding, practical and a hands-on contribution to the application of the Code;
* The output should be tangible;
* Be a sustained effort and not a one off initiative; and
* Have the potential for a snow-ball/catalytic effect.
The Selection Committee unanimously decided to award the Medal to the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP).
The Council is invited to endorse the nomination of the International Dolphins conservation Program and recommend that the Medal be presented to the representative of the Agreement by the Director-General as part of the proceedings of the Thirty-third Session of the Conference.
The AIDCP is an international agreement whose objective is to progressively reduce dolphin mortality in the tuna purse-sine fishery in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO), and to ensure the sustainability of tuna stocks and associated species of the EPO pelagic ecosystem. The Parties to the Agreement are Bolivia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the United States, Vanuatu, and Venezuela.
The AIDCP has been an unqualified success and has diligently applied the relevant principals set forth in the Code, in particular those aspects relating to the precautionary approach and to the utilization of fishing gear and techniques which minimize the catch of non-target species. The enormous reduction in dolphin mortality attributable to the Agreement, while maintaining sustainable fisheries, is a practical, hands-on contribution.
The results are tangible and measurable. The process established by the Agreement is continuous and not a one-off phenomenon. And the success of the AIDCP has the potential to be catalytic.