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the end is the responsibility of all. 



The interests of small-scale, traditional fisheries must be 

 fully recognized in any multilateral agreement whether at the 

 global, regional or subregional level. Traditional methods of 

 fishing and fisheries management in many instances offer a more 

 ecologically sound alternative to capital intensive, highly 

 mobile, industrial methods of fishing. Coastal communities 

 traditionally dependent upon adjacent resources generally have a 

 much greater interest in maintaining the health of fish stocks 

 and the surrounding environment than do highly mobile, long range 

 fleets. Small-scale and coastal fishing is critical to the food 

 security and livelihoods of many millions of peoples throughout 

 the world. This is especially relevant to the fisheries in the 

 NAFO region. Coastal communities traditionally dependent on 

 fishing throughout Newfoundland and other Canadian Atlantic 

 provinces have been particularly hard hit by the recent closures 

 of the Northern cod and other east coast fisheries. 



Governments at the Earth Summit agreed to a commitment to 

 give special consideration to the interests of small-scale, 

 traditional, community based and indigenous fisheries (UNCED 

 Agenda 21, Chapter 17.74 (b) , 17.79 (b) , 17.81 (a) (b) , 17.82, 

 and 17.94 (b) ) . This commitment must be taken seriously and be 

 fully reflected in the implementation of effective conservation 

 and management of fisheries on straddling fish stocks in the 

 Northwest Atlantic and elsewhere. 



