The work of APFIC has, since its inception in 1948, been funded by FAO. The machinery for implementing the work directed by the Commission comprises the Executive Committee, the Secretariat, committees and working parties, and the Commission in session itself.
The Executive Committee, as stipulated in Rule IX of the APFIC Rules of Procedure, approved by the Twenty-fifth Session of APFIC (Seoul, Republic of Korea, 1996), consists of the Commission Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the immediately retired Chairman and two members elected by the Commission. The APFIC Secretary serves as an ex-officio member without vote. The Commission Chairman serves concurrently as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee, which should meet at least once a year, conducts administrative business on behalf of the Commission between regular sessions. Other duties include the preparation of budget estimates for the succeeding two years; coordination of the work of committees and working parties established by the Commission; and editorial work (Rule IX.1 of the APFIC Rules of Procedure). A list of members of the APFIC Executive Committee from 1949-1997 appears as Appendix 6.
The Secretariat of the Commission is provided by FAO. It consists of a Secretary and such staff responsible to him as may be determined by the Director-General (Rule IV of the APFIC Rules of Procedure). The Secretary is currently the FAO Senior Fishery Officer for Asia and the Pacific. He is assisted by a Regional Aquaculture Officer of FAO and technical staff from the FAO Fisheries Department in Rome, as well as by a technical assistant and a general service staff member of the FAO Regional Office in Bangkok. The Secretary is responsible for the preparation of the Commission sessions; the receipt, collation and circulation of documents, reports and resolutions of the sessions of the Commission; the preparation of the records of their proceedings; the certification of expenditures and financial commitments as well as the performance of such other duties as the Commission or the Executive Committee may direct (Rule IV.2). The activities of the Secretariat are of particular importance in ensuring adequate follow-up during the intersessional periods of the Commission.
It should be noted that during the earlier years of the Commission, especially 1954 to 1968, the Commission was serviced by six staff members stationed at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand. These were the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary (Assistant Regional Fishery Officer), a Technical Assistant (Fisheries) and two local general service staff members. However, since 1970, the staff has been reduced and now consists of only the Secretary, a technical officer, a technical assistant and one local general service staff member. A list of the Secretariat of the Commission since its inception appears as Appendix 7.
For technical work, the Commission in its earlier years was assisted by two Technical Committees, viz., Technical Committee I on Hydrology and Biology, and Technical Committee II on Technology established under Rule X 2 of the 1948 APFIC Rules of Procedure. At the Second Session of APFIC in 1950, the two Technical Committees established several ad hoc sub-committees to consider various aspects of fisheries. At its Sixth Session (1955), APFIC reviewed their work and procedures and agreed that, in order to enhance the work of the Commission, the Technical Committees should each be split into three panels, namely ‘inland fisheries’, ‘sea fisheries’ and ‘miscellaneous fisheries’ for Technical Committee I, and ‘craft and gear’, ‘food technology’ and ‘socio-economic issues including statistics’ for Technical Committee II. The use of panels created some difficulties because of the limitation of manpower resources of the member countries and the limited number of members of the delegations attending the sessions. These panels were, therefore, disbanded after the Tenth Session of APFIC (1962) and were replaced under Technical Committee I by two Sub-Committees, viz., Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment and Sub-Committee on Fisheries Oceanography, and under Technical Committee II, by three Sub-Committees, viz., Sub-Committee on Fishing Craft and Gear; Sub-Committee on Food Technology; and Sub-Committee on Socio-economic issues and Statistics (including fish marketing).
In order to strengthen its technical work, APFIC at its Ninth Session (Karachi, Pakistan, 1961) revised the terms of reference of the two Technical Committees. These revisions reflected the increased concern of the Commission for the rational management, conservation and proper utilization of the fishery resources of the region. Further revision of the terms of reference of these two committees was made at the Twelfth Session of the Commission (Honolulu, Hawaii, 1966). With the last revision, Technical Committees I and II were to be concerned with ‘Resources and Exploitation’ and ‘Fishery Economics and Products’ respectively.
Since the work of the Technical Committees after the Commission’s Eleventh Session (1964) was taken over by a number of working parties established to carry out specific tasks, no formal meetings of the Technical Committees were held during 1970-74. The need for the Technical Committees was questioned by the Commission at its Fifteenth Session (1972). In concurrence with the recommendation of its Executive Committee, APFIC at its Sixteenth Session (1974) decided to abolish its Technical Committees. Amendments to the Agreement and the Rules of Procedure of the Commission were made accordingly at its Seventeenth Session (1976).
Under the APFIC Agreement, the Commission may also establish other committees or working parties as may be required to consider such matters as may not fall within the terms of reference of its Technical Committees or which may be common to more than one of them. The Eleventh Session of APFIC (1964) established several working parties to tackle specific fisheries development and management issues. This new pattern of work proved more effective than the previous panels as FAO provided technical and financial support for the work and the holding of the meetings of these working parties. During the intersessional period 1972-74, there were seven working parties assisting the Commission.
A number of committees were also established by APFIC. A steering committee was established to guide the regular session work during 1957-1968. The Fourteenth Session of APFIC (1970) established a Special Committee on Management of Indo-Pacific Tuna in response to the recommendation of the Indian Ocean Fishery Commission (IOFC) and on the recommendation of the Technical Scientific Meeting on Management of Common Use Resources and Development of Fishing Potential held during that Session. Another important committee established was the Coordinating Committee of the South China Sea Fisheries Development and Coordinating Programme by APFIC at its Sixteenth Session (1974) to coordinate the work between the Commission and the FAO/UNDP South China Sea Programme (SCSP). This Committee was superseded by a standing Committee for the Development and Management of Fisheries in the South China Sea (CDMSCS) established in 1980 by the Nineteenth Session of APFIC. CDMSCS was in turn replaced by the Committee on Marine Fisheries under the current amended APFIC Agreement.
Another important committee established by APFIC at its Seventeenth Session (1976) was the Standing Committee for Resources Research and Development (SCORRAD) to enhance the fishery research work of the Commission. Unfortunately, this Committee experienced difficulties from the time of its inception as its terms of reference covered not only marine fisheries research and development but inland capture fisheries, aquaculture, fish processing and product development. Attempts were made in the late eighties to streamline the activities of SCORRAD to focus mainly on marine fishery research. However, SCORRAD and the Special Committee on Management of Tuna were disbanded at the Twenty-fourth Session of APFIC in 1993 and their activities taken over by the Committee on Marine Fisheries (COMAF). A new committee, Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries Committee (AIFIC), was established in 1993 and the Working Parties on Aquaculture and on Inland Fisheries were amalgamated into a new Working Party on Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries to serve this Committee. The current structure of APFIC appears as Appendix 8.
The most important organ for discharging the work of APFIC is the Commission in session itself, where decisions are made on policies and specific matters. Under the 1948 APFIC Agreement, the Commission met annually; however, since 1958, when the APFIC Agreement was amended at the Commission’s Eighth Session, regular sessions have been held every two years. Since the Fourteenth Session in 1970, about two-thirds of each sessional period have been devoted to technical matters, including a symposium on a particular aspect of fishery research and development. Approximately one-third has been spent on administrative and other matters. The APFIC members generally agree that the symposia regularly organized by the Commission have been very useful as they stimulate thinking and, in most cases, have been a source of guidance influencing their research and policies for fisheries development and management. A list of the symposia held during the regular sessions of the Commission appears as Appendix 9.
The official languages of the Commission are English and French. However, it was recommended by the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM) of FAO at its 66th Session in 1997 that the Commission could decide on the working language or languages to be used at each of its sessions.
At each regular session, the Commission must consider reports of the Executive Committee and the Secretariat; a schedule of work for the succeeding two years and relevant financial implications; reports of the Commission’s committees and working parties; items referred to the Commission by FAO; and the election of officers of the Commission (Rule III.1 of the APFIC Rules of Procedure). Following each session, the Proceedings of the Commission are submitted to the Director-General of FAO and to the Commissions’ Members for consideration and appropriate action (Rule XII).
Twenty-five regular sessions of the Commission have been held since its inception in 1948 (Appendix 6) with a majority of its Members in attendance. Under the APFIC Agreement, the Chairman of the Commission, in consultation with the Director-General, is empowered to call a special session of the Commission if he deems it necessary (Rule II.2 of the Rules of Procedure), but no such session has been called so far.
