The Establishment

Fishery is recognized by the world community as an important source of animal protein for the rapidly expanding populations. When FAO was established in 1945, fishery was amongst the major items on the agenda of the earlier sessions of the FAO Conference. The First Session of the FAO Conference (Canada, 16 October - 1 November 1945) recommended that one of the most urgent tasks of FAO was to start compiling information and statistics concerning world fishery production and marketing. Another important task was to appraise the status of the unexploited fishery resources with a view to accelerating food production. Further pressing problems to be tackled included the need for conservation measures because the food shortage in Europe and elsewhere right after the second world war would probably stimulate overfishing. The Conference expressed the hope that by ascertaining and publishing the facts, FAO could stimulate governments to work out the necessary conservation agreements.

The idea of having regional fishery bodies in different parts of the world to help the countries therein in the rational exploitation of fishery resources and in the increase of fish production to augment food supply was discussed at the Second Session of the FAO Conference (Copenhagen, Denmark, 2-13 September 1946). The Fisheries Committee under Commission A of this Second Session suggested that bodies similar to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) be established, especially in the Mediterranean, North America, the South Pacific and Southern Africa. This idea was given further impetus when the Commissioner General for the United Kingdom in South East Asia convened a fisheries conference in Singapore in January 1947. The conference urged FAO to form a fisheries council in the Asia and Far East region because of the urgency of increasing fish production for the rapidly expanding population there.

In the same year, the Third Session of the FAO Conference (Geneva, Switzerland, 25 August-11 September 1947) recommended that FAO take action to initiate the formation of regional councils for the scientific exploration of the sea in the parts of the world not now actively served by similar bodies, giving primary consideration to the following areas: Northwestern Atlantic, Southwestern Pacific and the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and contiguous waters, Northeastern Pacific, Southeastern Pacific, Southwestern Atlantic, and Southeastern Atlantic. The boundaries of these areas, and the constitutions of the councils, should be left open for discussion and determination by the nations concerned.

In pursuance of the above recommendation, the Director-General of FAO invited interested Member Governments of FAO to attend a meeting in Baguio City, the Philippines, in February 1948. At this meeting, an Agreement establishing the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council was drawn up by accredited delegates of eight nations attending the meeting, viz., Burma (now the Union of Myanmar), China, France, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Agreement came into force on 9 November 1948⁴. The FAO Conference at its Fourth Session (Washington DC, USA, 15-29 November 1948) approved the establishment of this regional fishery body with the title ‘Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council (IPFC)’, under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution.

The First Session of IPFC was held in Singapore in March 1949, with its first administrative task that of adopting the Council’s Rules of Procedure and the terms of reference of its two technical committees. Subsequent to the First Session, amendments to the Agreement and the Rules of Procedure have been adopted from time to time by the Council. The major ones include the amendments adopted by IPFC at its Ninth Session (1961) in order to bring it into line with the principles regarding such bodies adopted by the FAO Conference at its Eleventh Session (1961, Resolution 27/61). Amendments to its Rules of Procedure concerning subsidiary bodies of the Council and the terms of reference of its two Technical Committees were adopted at the Twelfth Session of IPFC (Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, October 1966) and approved by the FAO Council in 1967.

The change of the name ‘Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council’ to ‘Indo-Pacific Fishery Commission’ was made at the Seventeenth Session of IPFC (Colombo, Sri Lanka, October/November 1976). The Council at that session also decided to amend the Agreement to enable the Commission to take action directly related to fisheries management and development in its area of competence. The amendments were approved by the FAO Council at its Seventy-second Session (Rome, Italy, 1977, Resolution 4/72).

Further amendments to the Agreement were made at the Twenty-fourth Session of the Commission (Bangkok, Thailand, 23 November-4 December 1993), with the title of the Agreement changed to ‘Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC)’, and with amendments to the functions and responsibilities of the Commission, giving more emphasis to sustainable development and management. These amendments were endorsed by the FAO Council at its Hundred and Seventh Session on 21 November 1994 (para. 189 of the Report of the Council). The latest major amendments to the Agreement and the Rules of Procedure were adopted by APFIC at its Twenty-fifth Session (Seoul, Republic of Korea, October 1996). At this session, the Commission endorsed the recommendation of its Executive Committee that the Agreement and the Rules of Procedure revised at its Twenty-fourth Session should again be amended. The objective was to bring them into line with the Principles and Procedures which should Govern Conventions and Agreements Concluded under Articles XIV and XV of the FAO Constitution, and Commissions and Committees Established under Article VI of the Constitution (Part R of the Basic Texts of FAO which was revised by Resolutions 8/91 and 13/93 of the FAO Conference in November 1991 and 1993 respectively). These revisions were aimed at giving more flexibility to FAO Members in drawing up agreements under Articles XIV and XV of the Constitution and at allowing for a greater degree of autonomy for bodies established under such agreements. These latest amendments were approved by the FAO Council at its Hundred and Twelfth Session in June 1997 (para. 88 of the Report of the Council). The revised Agreement and the Rules of Procedure of APFIC appear as Appendix 4.

The Commission’s area of competence, as agreed upon by its Members, is kept flexible, covering all living aquatic resources, both marine and inland in the Asia-Pacific region. The long-term objective of APFIC is to ‘promote the full and proper utilization of living aquatic resources by the development and management of fishing and culture operations and by the development of related processing and marketing activities in conformity with the objectives of its members’. With this goal, the specific functions of the Commission are:

(a) “to keep under review the state of the fishery resources and of the industries based on them;

(b) to formulate and recommend measures and to initiate and carry out programmes or projects to:

(i) increase the efficiency and sustainable productivity of fisheries and aquaculture;
(ii) conserve and manage resources;
(iii) protect resources from pollution;

(c) to keep under review the economic and social aspects of fishing and aquaculture industries and recommend measures aimed at improving the living and working conditions of fishermen and other workers in these industries and otherwise at improving the contribution of each fishery to social and economic goals;

(d) to promote programmes for mariculture and coastal fisheries enhancement;

(e) to encourage, recommend, coordinate and, as appropriate, undertake training and extension activities in all aspects of fisheries;

(f) to encourage, recommend, coordinate and, as appropriate, undertake research and development activities in all aspects of fisheries;

(g) to assemble, publish or otherwise disseminate information regarding the living aquatic resources and fisheries based on these resources; and

(h) to carry out such other activities as may be necessary for the Commission to achieve its purpose as defined above.”

Since its inception in 1948, the role of APFIC has been essentially advisory in nature. It does not have clear management functions to regulate fisheries as, for instance, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (I-ATTC) and the recently established Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) do. The Commission provides advice and recommendations for consideration and implementation by its Members. It also directs recommendations to FAO to consider implementing certain activities, and these usually concern publications, the strengthening of the Secretariat, and the convening of working parties, etc.

As a body established under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution, APFIC enjoys considerable independence. The scope of its activities and powers was defined in the Agreement itself as adopted and accepted by its own Members. The Agreement may also be amended by the Members, the only condition being that amendments must be consistent with the purposes of FAO and the provisions of the FAO constitution. Thus the role of the Commission does not have to be limited to making recommendations but may cover the adoption of management measures as envisaged by UNCLOS. Hence, during the past decade, the Commission has endeavoured to equip itself to play an appropriate role in the implementation of UNCLOS and in the promotion of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. In the future, in order to ensure a concrete and dynamic role in regional fisheries governance, especially in regard to fisheries management and sustainable use of living aquatic resources, the Commission will need stronger support and commitment from its Members.