WORKSHOP CONCLUSIONS AND CALL FOR ACTION

The Workshop Meeting agreed that due to the extremely serious nature of fishing overcapacity and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Asian region, all APFIC members should, as a matter of urgency, begin implementing the following "call for action", noting that:

Strong mandates for action existin Ministerial endorsements of the FAO International Plans of Actions (IPOAs) and, more recently, the Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating IUU Fishing in the Region (RPOA)¹

Key messages to policy makers and Government are that:

Overcapacity and IUU fishing threaten economic development and food security
Pro-active tackling overcapacity and IUU fishing delivers concrete benefits throughout the sector and the economy at large.

The workshop recognized that the following considerations relating to responsible fishing need to be included in any actions:

1. Socio-economic considerations should be central to any action

Better understanding of structure and function of fisheries (esp. socio-economic aspects) will lead to better management
Studies will be useful in highlighting economic losses and benefits (e.g. The World
Bank/FAO rent drain study)

2. NPOAs, as developed by some countries, can be a very effective tool providing that they are:

Developed across a number of Departments/Ministries
Used as a learning process to raise national awareness
Referred to regularly and implemented, not just treated as a paper policy

3. Capacity management in many situations will benefit from the allocation of clear user/access rights

Translating paper policy and agreements into concrete action will require:

A 5-10 year timescale (Programme), building on ongoing activities/processes;
Committed partnership amongst countries in the region and Regional Fishery Organizations (SEAFDEC, APFIC, BOB-IGO), economic cooperations (e.g. ASEAN & BIMSTEC) and NGO's; and
Strong political commitment and engagement (Departments cannot promote this in isolation).

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¹This RPOA was endorsed by the Ministers responsible for fisheries from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam, during the "Regional Ministerial Meeting on Promoting Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating IUU Fishing in the Region" held in Bali, Indonesia, on 4 May, 2007.