The slow growth rates and the fragility of the undersea habitats of non-tuna fish species has prompted the Fishery Committee of the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), a regional fishing body of the FAO, to pass a resolution. According to the resolution, the member countries should report on the capture levels of non-tuna species caught in the high-seas waters off the western coast of Africa. The resolution adopted on 27th May follows a three-day meeting of CECAF in Dakar, Senegal. The CECAF area, which is outside the 200-mile exclusive economic zones of West Africa's coastal countries, includes ten underwater elevations called the seamounts and alfonsino is the high-seas non-tuna species of commercial interest. The high-seas areas of CECAF, where fishing primarily focuses

on tuna and tuna-like species is managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), an inter-governmental fishery organisation. Out of the total tuna catches, skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna alone account for nearly 89 per cent. And according to the FAO, CECAF member countries have been asked to submit an annual report following increased commercial interest in alfonsino and other deep-water fishes. Currently the catch levels of these species in the zone are low. Apart from this, the FAO member countries in Africa whose territory waters comes under the purview of CECAF and other FAO member or associate-member nations fishing in the area are also required to comply with the resolution. "Any exploitation of these species should be carefully designed, taking into account the very low level of sustainable yield of these fish populations and the isolation of sea-mount benthic ecosystems," the report has said. The proposed monitoring would include the extending west from the African coast to the mid Atlantic, starting from the northern tip of Morocco and ending at the Angola/Democratic Republic of the Congo border. The CECAF was established in 1967 as a subsidiary body of the FAO charged with promoting sustainable development of marine resources, responsible fisheries management, and regional cooperation on fishing policy issues.