港口国措施协定(PSMA)

Workshop on Catch Documentation Schemes for the Philippines

19/04/2021

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in coordination with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), concluded an online workshop with the Philippine authorities last week, entitled “Understanding and implementing catch documentation schemes (CDS) to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing”.

The workshop was held over four half-day sessions, on 6, 7, 13 and 14 April 2021.

The workshop brought together over 70 participants from BFAR Central Office and Regions and the Philippines Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) with the aim of guiding the authorities through an analysis of their national systems and procedures, in order to draw concrete conclusions on how to most effectively and efficiently respond to CDS information demands.

CDS compile information and assurances provided by various actors along specific supply chains to certify the legal provenance of the products from fishing grounds to markets, and thus contribute to combatting IUU fishing.

The Philippines exports its fisheries products to the European Union and the United States of America, both of which protect their domestic markets from the products of IUU fishing through a market-based CDS. Countries that export to such CDS-covered markets must meet specific information and procedural requirements.

As part of the workshop, priority supply chains of the Philippines were mapped out and working groups were established for each of them, providing the basis for interactive discussions on how the Philippines meets the relevant CDS requirements and where any improvements in the national level systems and procedures may be needed.

The workshop was delivered under the umbrella of FAO’s Global Programme to support the implementation of the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and complementary international instruments to combat IUU fishing and in complementarity to the workplan designed to assist the Philippines in the implementation of the PSMA to combat IUU fishing and fishing related activities for 2020-2023.

The online workshop was made possible with the financial support of the Republic of Korea and the Republic of the Philippines.