FAO and CIRDAP jointly organized the workshop on Revisions to the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) Aquaculture Questionnaire. The workshop held from 8th to 10th May, 2024 at the Novotel Bangkok, Siam Square, Bangkok, Thailand.

The experts were invited from regional offices, government and related organizations, who is familiar with the CCRF aquaculture questionnaire process, responsible to the evaluation of country authority or related agencies. About 30 participants, representing a diverse, regionally and gender balanced group of stakeholders, attended the workshop.

Since the endorsement of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) in 1995, fisheries and aquaculture have undergone significant transformations, primarily driven by a continual increase in demand and consumption of aquatic food. In 2008, FAO began a participatory process to design a questionnaire for assessing the implementation of the CCRF. This main questionnaire has been used by FAO Members since 2013 to report on the
performance of CCRF implementation, in terms of fisheries management, aquaculture and fish trade separately. In 2015, FAO launched the web-based platform for the CCRF-Aquaculture Questionnaire which contains 53 questions embedded in five parts.

During the 11th and 12th COFI:AQ session, members recommended that the CCRF aquaculture questionnaire should be updated and revised. In order to corporate the recommendation, the Sub-Committee on aquaculture organized this expert workshop to analyze the current questionnaire and provide practical suggestions in the revision and structure a new version, which will go to the consideration of the Bureau of the COFI:AQ and improve the response rate of the evaluation process accordingly.