WAY FORWARD FOR COMBATING IUU FISHING

INTRODUCTION

llegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the top priority issues being addressed by countries all over the world including the Southeast Asian nations in collaboration with relevant organizations to ensure the sustainable utilization of fishery resources. In 2001, the 24^th Session of FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) adopted the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU) to serve as a global framework for combating IUU fishing. For nearly two decades the IPOA-IUU has served as basis for countries in developing initiatives in line with their coastal State, flag State, and port State responsibilities, as well as for international and regional organizations in supporting the initiatives for combating IUU fishing.

As for the Southeast Asian region, the need to combat IUU fishing was given focus in the “Resolution and Plan of Action on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security for the ASEAN Region Toward 2020” adopted by the Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for fisheries in 2011, with the subsequent development of the “ASEAN Guidelines for Preventing the Entry of Fish and Fishery Products from IUU Fishing Activities into the Supply Chain.” Under the ASEAN Guidelines, the major forms of IUU fishing were identified, which include: illegal fishing activities within a country; unauthorized transshipment and landing of fish/catch across borders; poaching in the EEZs of other countries; illegal fishing and trading practices of live reef food fish and reef-based ornamental and endangered aquatic species; and IUU fishing in the high seas and Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) areas. Several tools were also developed and promoted for implementation by the ASEAN Member States (AMSs), particularly the Regional Fishing Vessels Record (RFVR), support toward implementation of Port State Measures (PSM), and the ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme (ACDS), among others. In addition to these regional initiatives, SEAFDEC also collaborated with other regional and international partners, such as FAO, ASEAN, RPOA-IUU, USAID and NOAA, toward combating IUU fishing.

Recognizing the on-going initiatives of the AMSs and regional/international partners in combating IUU fishing, while the on-going initiatives of SEAFDEC are also being promoted in close collaboration with the AMSs, it is timely and deemed necessary for SEAFDEC to review again the relevant initiatives at all levels, including the experiences, lessons learnt; and explore the gaps and new areas that should be improved to ensure that fish and fishery products from the Southeast Asian region are not derived from IUU fishing and meet the relevant international requirements.

The SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) in collaboration with the SEAFDEC Marine Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (MFRDMD) and SEAFDEC Secretariat (SEAFDEC/SEC) is therefore planning to convene the “Teleseminar on Way Forward for Combating IUU Fishing in Southeast Asia” from 24 to 26 August 2020.

OBJECTIVE

The “Teleseminar on Way Forward for Combating IUU Fishing in Southeast Asia” aims to:
1. Share the on-going initiatives undertaken at various levels for combating IUU fishing; and
2. Identify new areas and way forward to combat IUU fishing in the Southeast Asian region.