A/RES/64/72 safety, endangers fish stocks, marine biodiversity and marine and coastal habitats and has significant costs to local and national economies, Recognizing that marine debris is a global transboundary pollution problem and that, due to the many different types and sources of marine debris, different approaches to their prevention and removal are necessary, Noting that the contribution of sustainable aquaculture to global fish supplies continues to respond to opportunities in developing countries to enhance local food security and poverty alleviation and, together with the efforts of other aquaculture producing countries, will make a significant contribution to meeting future demands in fish consumption, bearing in mind article 9 of the Code, Calling attention to the circumstances affecting fisheries in many developing States, in particular African States and small island developing States, and recognizing the urgent need for capacity-building, including the transfer of marine technology and in particular fisheries-related technology, to enhance the ability of such States to meet their obligations and exercise their rights under international instruments, in order to realize the benefits from fisheries resources, Recognizing the need for appropriate measures to minimize by-catch, waste, discards, including high-grading, loss of fishing gear and other factors which adversely affect fish stocks and may also have undesirable effects on the economies and food security of small island developing States, other developing coastal States, and subsistence fishing communities, Recognizing also the need to further integrate ecosystem approaches into fisheries conservation and management and, more generally, the importance of applying ecosystem approaches to the management of human activities in the ocean, and noting in this regard the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, 10 the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations related to guidelines for the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the importance of this approach to relevant provisions of the Agreement and the Code, as well as decision VII/11 11 and other relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 9F 10F Recognizing further the economic and cultural importance of sharks in many countries, the biological importance of sharks in the marine ecosystem as key predatory species, the vulnerability of certain shark species to overexploitation, the fact that some are threatened with extinction, the need for measures to promote the long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of shark populations and fisheries, and the relevance of the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1999,7 in providing guidance on the development of such measures, Reaffirming its support for the initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and relevant subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements on the conservation and management of sharks, and noting with concern that basic data on shark stocks and harvests continue to be lacking, that only a small number of countries have implemented the _______________ 10 11 4 E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/3, annex. See UNEP/CBD/COP/7/21, annex.