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|  The Swedish government and FAO collaborated to define the precautionary approach in a scientific rigorous manner for major capture fisheries and species introductions. The FAO technical guidelines set out an operational definition of the precautionary approach to fisheries as well as an elaboration on the burden of proof. It also contains detailed guidelines on how to conduct fishery management and research and how to develop and transfer fishery technology in a context of uncertainty and responsible fisheries. Section 6 of the Guidelines address the question of species introductions. It states from the onset that "because of the high probability that impacts of species introductions (in an aquatic system) be of irreversible and unpredictable nature, many species introductions are not precautionary" (para. 102). It examines the questions of deliberate, as well as unintended, introductions, research and management implications and makes reference to the 1995 ICES Code of Practice on the Introduction and Transfer of Marine Organisms.The oceans are an integral component of the climate system and responds to changes in the system. Natural fluctuations occur in oceanographic conditions. Some are annual while others are less frequent, with cycles that may extend over decades rather than years. Still others are longer-term changes, which might occur over thousands of years. Of current concern are the specific impacts of human activity on climate change, which is expected to result in increases in sea surface temperature, global sea level rise, decreases in sea-ice cover, and changes in salinity, wave conditions, and ocean circulation. These changes in turn will have an impact on the biological productivity of the marine ecosystems. | | |  The impact on fisheries of changes in the biological productivity of marine ecosystems will vary between fisheries and will depend of the specific environmental changes that occur and the particular biological characteristics of each species. Changes in a particular marine environment may become conducive to a rapid growth of a high prices species found in that environment, while the reverse may be true in other instances. Climate change will also result in modifications of the area of distribution of marine resources. Most likely they will move towards the North or South pole, whichever is closest. Consequences for the fishing industry could be significant. | | | | An expected characteristic of global climate change is a likely increasein the variability of environmental conditions. Experience already gained in dealing with longer term fluctuations in marine environments, such as those induced by El Niño events, emphasise the need for adaptability and for the need to ensure that the optimum economic levels of fishing capacity be obtained and that these be determined keeping the variability in mind. The effects of climate change on fisheries will affect a sector of most economies that is already characterised by full utilisation of resources, large over-capacity and conflicts amongst fishers, and between them and others arguing for alternative uses of marine ecosystems. Thus, climate change adds a further argument for developing effective and flexible fisheries management system in an ecosystem context. | | | | |
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