SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) Collaboration with Aquatic Resources Research Institute (ARRI) of Chulalongkorn University conducted “The Collaborative Research Survey on Marine Plastic Debris in the Gulf of Thailand by Formation of a Center of Excellence for Marine Plastic Pollution Studies in the Southeast Asian Seas Project” by utilization of M.V.SEAFDEC 2 from 3 to 10 April 2024 with supported budget by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) Program, Japan. The survey aims to grasp the amount of marine debris in the Gulf of Thailand, and propose an action plan for mitigating marine plastic debris to the government sector. The survey will be conducted in the Gulf of Thailand, with a total of 12 stations, and consists of six research activities as follows: floating marine debris visual observation; micro-plastic sampling by neuston net; benthic marine debris, settling marine debris, and benthic organism sampling; microplastic sampling by plankton net; grab sediment sampler; Conductivity Temperature with Depth (CTD) observation.

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SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) organized the “Workshop on the Project End of Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Enhancing National Capacities to Eliminate IUU Fishing in Southeast Asia” from 20 to 21 March 2024, in Pattaya, Chonburi Province, Thailand. Twenty-nine participants from ASEAN Member States (AMSs), SEAFDEC Secretariat, and SEAFDEC/TD attended the Workshop. The Workshop aims to summarize project implementation and the success of project implementation, share the ongoing activities for combating IUU fishing in the region, and identify new areas and ways forward to combat IUU fishing in the Southeast Asian region. In the end, the Workshop came up with recommendations on the way forward to combat IUU fishing in the Southeast Asian region.

This Workshop is an activity of the project “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Enhancing National Capacities to Eliminate IUU Fishing in Southeast Asia” which is supported by the Japanese Trust Fund for the year 2020–2024. The project's overall objective is “Sustainable utilization and sound management of fisheries resources in Southeast Asia” which expects four outputs: 1) enhancing the utilization and improvement of RFVR, 2) strengthening national capacities in the implementation of PSM and national capacity development of MCS in Southeast Asia, 3) Application of the electronic ASEAN Catch Documentation System (eACDS) for traceability to eliminate IUU fisheries products, and 4) coordinating a national/regional/international network for collaborative activities to combat IUU fishing.

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Three SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) staff namely, Dr. Koki Abe, the senior expert, Ms. Saruttaya Jaroonpongsawat, and Mr. Santiphong Putsa, a fishing gear technologist participated in the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science (JSFS) Spring Meeting 2024 from 27 to 30 March 2024 at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT), Tokyo, Japan. At this conference, Dr. Abe presented “SEAFDEC における音響調査能力向上の取り組み” (Efforts to Improve Acoustic Survey Capabilities at SEAFDEC) in the Japanese session. The context involved with the activities of SEAFDEC on Quantitative Echosounder (EK80) including the technical issues found during the survey on M.V. SEAFDEC 2 mission. For the international session under the subject of “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Fisheries Sciences”, Ms. Saruttaya presented the SEAFDEC activity related to the hydroacoustic survey under the title “SEAFDEC activities on usage and development of hydroacoustic research implementation in Southeast Asian waters”, associated with SDG no. 14 “Life below water”. The ability and experience of SEAFDEC in hydroacoustic surveys using EK80 were exchanged in the forum.

On this occasion, SEAFDEC’s staff gained an opportunity to visit the Fisheries Engineering Division of Fisheries Technology Institute at Kamisu Field Station on 26 March 2024 where installed the large acoustic experiment tank for supporting hydroacoustic research. The visit provided an experience to encounter high technology instruments, laboratories, and facilities for hydroacoustic research that contributed to understanding and further SEAFDEC works related to these fields.

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SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) organized “Inception Workshop on the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAMF) Institutionalization at the National Level of Thailand, including Target Transboundary Fish Stocks” from 20 to 22 March 2024, at Trang Province, Thailand. The Workshop aims to share information about the activities on the ecosystem approach to fisheries management institutionalized at the national level, including targeted transboundary fish stocks which is a component under the sustainable management of fisheries, marine living resources, and their habitats in the Bay of Bengal region for the benefit of coastal states and communities. Moreover, the Workshop discussed and prepared the ground at an initial stage such as the introduction of EAFM, identifying the broad Fishery Management Unit (FMU) area, identifying the EAFM implementation team, facilitators, and stakeholders, etc.  Fifty-five participants (13 males and 12 females) from the Department of Fisheries Thailand, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), SEAFDEC/TD attended the Workshop. This Workshop is an activity under the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project Phase II (BOBLME II). SEAFDEC is an executive agency.

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