5. The Senior Fishery Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO/RAP) and Workshop Coordinator, Mr Derek Staples, explained administrative arrangements for the Workshop. He advised that Mr Ahmad Saktian Bin Langgang, Head of Coastal Resource Management Section, Department of Fisheries, Malaysia, had been selected as Workshop Representative. Mr Staples noted the importance of the role of the Workshop Representative in securing an independent and balanced perspective of the deliberations of the Workshop.
6. The Agenda for the Workshop is attached as Appendix A and the list of documents is attached as Appendix C.
7. Mr David Doulman provided an overview of the technical issues to be addressed in the Workshop. He stated that the objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity so that countries would be better placed to elaborate their NPOAs-IUU. He outlined the contents of the Workshop in terms of a review of planning; the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the development of the IPOA-IUU, national action towards implementation and related matters; presentation of the IPOA-IUU; consideration of the technical guideline on IUU fishing; national plans of action case study; review of national and regional plans of action already developed, the formation of Working Groups to address making responsible decisions about IUU fishing; and skills development through the preparation of an outline for a NPOA-IUU.
8. With respect to the outcome of the Workshop, Mr Doulman evaluated that it should lead to an increased awareness about the problems and effects of IUU fishing and the need for countries to take concerted action to combat it and a clearer definition of the steps that countries should take to develop their NPOAs-IUU. This should include a greater sharing of experiences about IUU fishing by the participants, and a greater appreciation of the need for enhanced regional harmonization of measures to combat IUU fishing in Southeast Asia.
