ACTIVITIES OF APFIC SINCE THE TWENTY-NINTH SESSION

11. The APFIC secretary introduced document APFIC/08/2 and document APFIC/08/2 addendum 1, summarizing the main events and activities undertaken by APFIC and the secretariat since the twenty-ninth session of APFIC, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 21 to 23 August 2006.

Report of the executive committee

12. The secretary reported on the activities of the APFIC Executive Committee and the report of the seventy-first session of the Executive Committee (APFIC/08/Inf.4), which was convened in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 20 to 22 August 2007. He drew APFIC's attention to the recommendations of the session, as they related to its work and governance.

APFIC regional consultative workshops

13. On the basis of the recommendations from the twenty-ninth APFIC session, the APFIC secretariat together with its member countries organized and hosted two regional consultative workshops. These were:

• the APFIC regional workshop on "Fishing capacity management and IUU fishing", hosted by the Government of Thailand and held in Phuket from 13 to 15 June 2007. This was attended by 43 participants from APFIC member countries and regional organizations;
• the APFIC regional consultative workshop on "Certification schemes for capture fisheries and aquaculture", hosted by the Government of Viet Nam and held in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam from 18 to 20 September 2007. This was attended by 49 participants from 13 APFIC member countries and a number of representatives from regional intergovernmental organizations.

14. It was reported that APFIC had just completed the second APFIC RCFM in Manado, Indonesia, from 6 to 9 August 2008. The APFIC secretariat organized the programme and participation with assistance from the Government of Indonesia, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

Collaboration with other international/regional bodies and projects

15. The APFIC secretariat is actively working together with regional and international organizations and projects including:

• ASEAN Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi)
• Bay of Bengal Program Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO)
• Mekong River Commission (MRC)
• Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA)
• Project for the Environmental Management of the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA)
• Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
• Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)
• The WorldFish Center
• International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)
• Coordinating Body for the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA)

A full list of activities is given in APFIC/08/2 Addendum 1.

Direct assistance and advice to member countries

16. APFIC has also provided direct advice to members. This has included:

• participation at two senior officers meetings and the ministerial meeting for the development of the regional plan of action (RPOA) to promote responsible fishing practices (including combating IUU fishing) in the region;
• provision of technical inputs and advice at a workshop to consider the risks and benefits of introducing Penaeus vannamei into India.

17. The APFIC secretary has also been backstopping projects addressing national and regional level fisheries and aquaculture development issues in the region. A full listing can be found in document APFIC/08/2 Addendum 1.

APFIC publications and internet-based information dissemination

18. The secretariat continues to maintain the APFIC Web site (http://www.apfic.org), which has proved to be an excellent medium for providing information to APFIC Members and linking them to APFIC publications and fisheries news. The Web site is also a portal for all forms of relevant fishery information, targeting the needs of fisheries professionals in the APFIC region.

19. The APFIC secretariat produced 14 publications in 2006-2008 (APFIC/08/2 Addendum 1). These included:

• reports of APFIC meetings (APFIC seventy-first Executive Committee meeting; APFIC twenty-ninth session meeting);
• reports on the two APFIC regional consultative workshops on managing fishing capacity and IUU fishing in the Asian region and certification schemes for capture fisheries and aquaculture;
• a report titled Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific 2006;
• various technical reviews: The history of industrial fishing in Southeast Asia; Fisheries policy content and direction in Asian APFIC member countries; Integrating fisheries into the development discourse; Fishing capacity management and IUU fishing in Asia; A short history of industrial fishing in the Pacific Islands; Potential costs and benefits of fisheries certification for countries in the Asia-Pacific region; A qualitative assessment of standards and certification schemes applicable to aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region;
• an overview of the impact of the tsunami on selected coastal fisheries resources in Sri Lanka and Indonesia; and
• APFIC regional consultative forum meeting report Reforming fisheries and aquaculture in Asia-Pacific.

Project proposals under development in support of the work and objectives of the commission

20. Two significant projects are being developed by the FAO Regional Office in Bangkok, which also concurrently acts as the secretariat for APFIC. These two projects are:

• the Spanish-funded Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme, which will operate in six target countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam), with a regional coordination and policy component. The outputs of the project will also contribute to guiding FAO's and APFIC's regional work on advising member countries in the region on developing policies related to sustainable fishery livelihoods;
• the APFIC secretariat has been actively supporting the development of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem project. The project has been endorsed by the eight Bay of Bengal countries (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand). Co-financing has been successfully sought and the project proposal approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2005, and later endorsed by the GEF secretariat in July 2008.

Other activities of APFIC

21. The Commission was informed of the activities of the interim secretary, Simon Funge-Smith and his appointment as secretary of APFIC in December 2007.

Responses by APFIC and observers

22. The Commission endorsed the report of the seventy-first APFIC Executive Committee and expressed its appreciation of the work undertaken during the current biennium.

23. The secretary expressed sympathy to the people of Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis. As part of the UN flash appeal to support the Government of Myanmar and the people in the affected areas, FAO is developing immediate projects based on initial rehabilitation and is seeking funding for more comprehensive longer-term rehabilitation projects. The APFIC secretariat is following this up and assisting in the development of these projects. On the issue of early warning in remote and small-scale fishing communities, the secretariat reported that most coastal or remote fishing communities still lack an effective communication system. This is perhaps a lesson of the Asian tsunami that has not been taken up yet and therefore coastal communities remain vulnerable to such natural disasters.

24. The Commission agreed that non-participation by member countries at the APFIC sessions could constrain the effective functioning of the Commission and undermine the efforts of those countries participating. The Commission requested that all Members participate in the regular sessions of the Commission to ensure a quorum. To this effect, the Commission requested the APFIC chairperson to write to those member countries which had not participated in the last three sessions of APFIC to enquire whether these countries wished to continue their membership of the Commission.

25. Nepal noted its appreciation of recent support from the APFIC secretariat in developing a review of aquaculture potential for the country. This assistance was backed up with FAO support to improving carp genetics.

26. The secretary thanked the Members for their appreciation of APFIC's activities and confirmed that both APFIC and FAO would look for ways to answer the various requests of the Members.