SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) organized the “Workshop on the Current Status of NPOA-IUU and Identification Need on Innovation MCS Tools for Combating IUU Fishing Vessels” from 3 to 5 September 2024, at SEAFDEC/TD, Samut Prakan, Thailand. The Workshop aimed to Share the status of NPOA-IUU and implementation among BOBLME-Southeast Asia, identify the need of innovative MCS tools to combat IUU fishing, and discuss initiative cooperation on MCS activities to combat IUU fishing among participating countries. Thirty-four representatives from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia who are responsible at the manager level for combating IUU fishing activities including representatives from the SEAFDEC Secretariat, SEAFDEC/TD, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) attended the Workshop. In the end, the Workshop came up with updated information on NPOA-IUU and implementation among participating countries, a list of innovative tools enhancing MCS activities to combat IUU fishing, and the way forward on cooperation on MCS activities to combat IUU fishing. This Workshop is an activity 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 (BOBLME II) project.
SEAFDEC together with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will be executing BOBLME II project, an initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), being implemented in seven countries, comprising Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The project’s main objective is to contribute to the sustainable management of fisheries, marine living resources, and their habitats in the Bay of Bengal region, to reduce environmental stress; and to improve environmental status for the benefit of coastal states and communities. SEAFDEC as an Executing Agency (EA) will lead Southeast Asia sub-regional coordination (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand), technical advice, and capacity building on related fishery issues implemented from 2024 to 2028.
