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RAP PUBLICATION 2007/16 Fishing capacity management and Gary Morgan, Derek Staples |
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RAP PUBLICATION 2007/16 Fishing capacity management and Gary Morgan, Derek Staples |
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© FAO 2007
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for sale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Senior Fishery Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand. |
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The Senior Fishery Officer |
In response to the recommendations of the 29th Session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) to assist members improve management of their fishing capacity, APFIC Secretariat convened a regional workshop on �Managing fishing capacity and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Asian region in Phuket, Thailand, from 19 to 21 June 2007. This report has been commissioned as a background paper for this workshop to identify the major issues faced by APFIC Members.
The report provides a regional synthesis based on responses to questionnaires sent to 15 countries in the region in addition to the previously available information. These focused on the current status of the management of fishing capacity and how countries in the region are addressing IUU fishing by both national and foreign fleets. The report shows that there were still many fishing overcapacity issues in the region and that some progress to address these issues is being made. This included the formulation of National Plans of Action (NPOAs) on fishing capacity and attempts to assess fishing capacity and implement fishing capacity reduction programme in major fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries.
At the regional level, fishing capacity in both industrial and small-scale fisheries has continued to rise and production had also decreased in the majority of fisheries for which data were provided, indicating that the problem still pervades in the region. Identified problems include lack of policy and operational tools as a major constraint to solving the problem, with only 50 percent of the major fisheries having management plan. Very weak vessel licensing systems and catch and effort data systems and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) capabilities further hamper progress. IUU fishing also remains a major issue in the region, with many Members identifying illegal fishing by both national and foreign fishers in their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) as the main issues.
This background report gives a clear picture of the need for action to address capacity management and IUU fishing in the Asia region.
He Changchui
Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative
FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Fisheries capacity management in APFIC countries
Have countries of the region identified fishing capacity issues that require management?
To what extent have national plans of action to address fishing capacity issues been developed?
What are the legislative and institutional barriers to addressing fishing capacity in the region?
What methods have been most commonly used in the region for capacity reduction?
Have previous attempts at capacity reduction in specific fisheries been successful?
What progress has been made by countries of the region since 2002 in addressing fishing capacity?
What plans do member countries have to address fishing capacity issues within the next five years?
What are the greatest IUU fishing issues reported by member countries?
Where are vessels of the region that are engaged in foreign fishing operating?
To what extent have national plans of action been developed to address IUU fishing?
