In 2022, SIOFA signed an agreement with FAO to join the efforts of the Area Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) Deep-Sea Fisheries (DSF) Project, phase II.
This is a global project, aiming to ensure (among other things) that DSF in the ABNJ are managed under an ecosystem approach that maintains demersal fish stocks at levels capable of maximizing their sustainable yields and minimizing impacts on biodiversity, with a focus on data-limited stocks, deepwater sharks and vulnerable marine ecosystems.
SIOFA committed to a total co-financing amount of USD 1,000,000 over five years, starting in the last quarter of 2022, and is a member of the project Steering Committee.
SIOFA cooperates and is actively engaged in this project, particularly in the child project on DSF, to achieve the outputs set out by the Steering Committee.