On 12 July, during the 33rd Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI33), held in Rome, management solutions for ghost gear, also known as abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), and bycatch were discussed in a side event. FAO Member States Vanuatu, Samoa, Fiji, Palau, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Panama served as hosts for the event organized in collaboration with FAO, the International Whaling Commission (IWC), World Animal Protection, WWF and CMS.

The Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12) will be held in Manila, at the kind invitation of the Gov