APFIC REGIONAL CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOPS

Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page

APFIC REGIONAL CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOPS

65. The Executive Committee considered the above agenda item referring to document APFIC:
ExCo/07/07 and recalled that the Commission at its Twenty-ninth Session in 2006 had put high priority to the issues of improving and reforming the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the region and agreed that two major issues, namely, fishing capacity management and IUU fishing and certification of fishery and aquaculture production in the Asia and Pacific region.

66. The Secretariat reported that, in response to the Commission's directives, the APFIC Regional Workshop on "Fishing capacity management and IUU fishing" in the Asia-Pacific Region was held in Phuket, Thailand from 13 to 15 June 2007 and the APFIC Regional Workshop on "Certification of fishery and aquaculture production" will be held 18_20 September 2007 in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and the outcomes of the meeting will be reported to APFIC members at the 30th APFIC Session to be held in Indonesia in August 2008.

67. The Executive Committee acknowledged the in-kind contributions from Thailand and Viet Nam to these two regional workshops and also the in-kind contribution of other member countries through the funding of additional participants.

68. The workshops have been or, will be, joined by participants from the APFIC member countries, regional bodies (BOB-IGO, INFOFISH, NACA, SEAFDEC) and arrangements (Ministry of Fisheries, Viet Nam), as well as other interested organizations (ICSF, Marine Stewardship Council, SIFFS, Shanghai Fisheries University, University of British Columbia "Seas Around Us" Project, WWF International). The outcome of these two Workshops, as detailed in document APFIC:ExCo/07/07 and a report to the 30th Session, will provide substantial input for the preparation of the 2008 Regional Consultative Forum, in which the two topics constitute the major issues to be discussed.

69. The Executive Committee agreed with the main findings of the IUU fishing workshop and supported the need to address the very large issue of fisheries management and IUU fishing in the Asia-Pacific region. The workshops were seen as very useful and being an important part of the regional discussions also outside the meetings themselves.

70. The Executive Committee advised the Secretariat on how the outputs of these two workshops and future workshops can be communicated to the APFIC members. It was noted that the soft copies of the reports made available on the website was an effective way of distributing APFIC information material. The successful implementations of the workshops were seen as an important criterion for a successful Regional Consultative Forum Meeting where they should also be reported back to members.

71. It was recommended that the Secretariat should distribute reports as soon as possible following a workshop and it was the responsibility of the APFIC focal points to distribute these further within their respective governments. It was recommended that member countries actively should take the advice from the workshops and try to implement the findings in their national action plans. The Executive Committee noted that reporting back to the APFIC session was a way to monitor impact of these workshops.

72. The Executive Committee endorsed the recommendations and action plan of the "Fishing capacity management and IUU fishing" workshop and encouraged APFIC to prioritize some key areas for an achievable plan of action through the Regional Consultative Forum Meeting. It requested the Secretariat to submit these for approval by the Commission at the 30th Session.

Previous Page Top of Page Next Page