Report of the Regional Meeting on the Regional Fishing Vessel Record (RFVR) for 24 meters in length and over as a Management Tool toward Combating IUU Fishing in ASEAN

Abstract

The SEAFDEC Training Department (TD) organized “The Regional Meeting on the Regional Fishing Vessel Record (RFVR) for 24 meters in length and over as a Management Tool toward Combating IUU Fishing in ASEAN” from 12 to 13 December 2018 at Training Department, Samut Prakan province, Thailand. There were 30 delegates from SEAFDEC Member Countries and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) participated in this Meeting. Furthermore, this meeting emphasized on the management and updating of RFVR Database for 24 meters in length and over, sharing information on fishing vessels in AMS, and initiative activities of the RFVR Database less than 24 meters which appropriate range of vessel length to reduce IUU fishing in the Region. After the meeting, the expected outputs were the following: the situation from AMS to reduce IUU fishing through update number of fishing vessels by size (categories) and by type of fishing, way forward for AMS and SEAFDEC to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing through utilization of RFVR, and suitability of length for fishing vessel less than 24 meters for the development of RFVR Database in next step. Finally, the RFVR is a practical tool for related authorities of ASEAN Member States (AMSs) in checking and taking corrective actions against inappropriate behavior of its fishing vessels, thereby supporting elimination of IUU fishing in the Southeast Asian Region.