We, the 95 States which met in Kyoto from 4 to 9 December 1995 on the occasion of the International Conference on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security,

Note: In this Declaration and Plan of Action the reference to States includes the European Community in matters within its competence.

Appreciating the initiative taken by the Government of Japan to host the Conference and the technical assistance provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);

Recalling that this initiative was welcomed at the 27th Session of the FAO Conference held in November 1993;

Also recalling the Strategy for Fisheries Management and Development established by the FAO World Fisheries Conference in 1984;

Also recalling the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration of Cancun, the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the United Nations Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, including the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas;

Note: Agreement of 4 December 1995 for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (A/CONF.164/37, 8 September 1995).

Also recalling the decision on conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biological diversity adopted in November 1995 by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity;

Also recalling the Rome Consensus on World Fisheries adopted at the FAO Ministerial Conference on Fisheries in March 1995;

Noting a continuously growing world population and the need to secure enough food for the people in present and future generations, and the significant contribution of fisheries to income, wealth and food security for all people, and its critical importance in some low- income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs);

Recognizing the responsibility of the present generation regarding the needs of future generations;

Also recognizing the role of living aquatic resources as an important natural renewable source of food and the traditional and essential role played by fisheries in providing high quality protein required for human use;

Deeply concerned that 800 million people suffer from chronic malnutrition;

Mindful that, unless appropriate action is taken very soon, the combination, at the global level, of population increase and economic growth, in conjunction with continued overfishing, excess fishing capacity and degradation of the aquatic environment, will place enormous strains upon the fishery sector's capability to sustain its necessary contribution to food security;

Affirming that effective and integrated fisheries management and conservation policies will result in long-term and significant gains in food supply, income and wealth, as well as in economic growth;

Also affirming that achieving an optimum long-term contribution of fisheries to economic and social well-being - a concept which includes nutritional and environmental values, as well as poverty alleviation - will contribute to achieving food security;

Mindful that initiatives which respect the concept of sustainable use of resources will promote the objective of optimizing the availability of aquatic products, and thus support efforts to achieve food security;

Recognizing the importance of inland fisheries and freshwater aquaculture, in particular for land-locked countries, in many of which freshwater fish is important for food security;

Mindful that environmentally sound and sustainable stock enhancement, combined with integrated management of freshwater catchment areas, could significantly increase supplies of freshwater fish, particularly in LIFDCs;

Aware that the world's aquaculture, while showing steady and rapid growth in production, needs appropriate institutional and legal frameworks to fulfil its potential in ways which are compatible with sustainable development;

Noting that responsible post-harvest use of fish and fishery products is necessary for the sustainable contribution of fisheries to food security;

Recognizing that trade in fish and fishery products is of great importance, in particular for a number of developing countries, and should be conducted in accordance with the principles, rights and obligations established in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement;

Also recognizing that many developing countries, and in particular LIFDCs and small island developing States, face major challenges in ensuring a sustainable contribution from subsistence, artisanal and commercial fisheries to their food security, and recognizing that international cooperation and support will be important in ensuring capacity building, information exchange and the provision of technical and financial assistance;