During the World Ocean Summit, taking place in San Francisco, USA, the Regional Secretary for Natural Resources defended a proximity management for fisheries in order to assure the sustainability of stocks and safeguard to the income of fishing professionals.

"The management of fisheries and marine activities will have to be coordinated at a global scale, but they should be based on the principles of proximity management that takes into account the regional realities," said Luís Neto Viveiros.

The Regional Secretary stressed that the World Ocean Summit confirmed that the strategic principles of the Azores policy for the Sea are in line with the international concerns of sustainable management.

In order to tackle overfishing worldwide, the government official revealed that the first plenary session focused on "small-scale fisheries as a way of ensuring the sustainability of fish stocks and the income of fishing professionals."

European Commissioner Maria Damanaky addressed the size of blue economic growth in the new EU maritime policy which, according to the Regional Secretary, "aims to create a significant number of jobs in Europe by 2020."

More specifically, stressed Neto Viveiros, "in the five areas  that were identified as the most promising for blue growth: energy, aquaculture, tourism, biotechnology and sustainable exploitation of marine mineral resources."

"The management of resources will be become a sustainable reality with the contribution of the societies that are economically dependent on those resources," the government official defended, adding that "the involvement of communities is based on the principles of governance. As such, it is necessary to find common languages so that the information may be efficiently understood by all parties involved. "

The summit also emphasised the importance of scientific knowledge, which plays has a pivotal role between in economics as well as in the conservation of resources and the marine environment. This is a commitment that Government of the Azores faces as a vital challenge "to acknowledge the vital role of oceans in the development of modern societies."

The Government of the Azores is attending the World Ocean Summit 2014, which ends today in San Francisco, USA, with the aim of further developing its sustainable development strategy for maritime economy in line the main guidelines of international policies. This year's edition was held under the theme "Ocean Sustainability and Governance."

The meeting at the highest level is sponsored by The Economist and National Geographic magazines. It brings together world government leaders as well as several personalities from the fields of politics, economy, science and environment.