Towards Guaranteed Traceability of Fish and Fishery Products from Southeast Asia: the ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme

Abstract

During the implementation of the project “Combating IUU Fishing in the Southeast Asian Region through the Application of Catch Certification for International Trade in Fish and Fishery Products” by the SEAFDEC Marine Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (SEAFDEC/MFRDMD) with funding support from the Japanese Trust Fund (JTF)-II in 2011-2012 and JTF-VI during 2013-2019, the series of core experts meetings convened among SEAFDEC and the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) at the outset of the Project implementation agreed on the development and promotion of the ASEAN Guidelines for Preventing the Entry of Fish and Fishery Products from IUU Fishing Activities into the Supply Chain also known as the ASEAN Guidelines. Moreover, as part of the ASEAN Guidelines, a catch certification system for largeand small-scale fisheries should also be established for the Southeast Asian region to ensure that only non-IUU/legal fish and fishery products are traded in the supply chain. These tools had been envisioned to address the issues and concerns on IUU fishing activities directly or indirectly, in large- and small-scale fisheries in the Southeast Asian waters, as well as enhance and strengthen the traceability of the region’s fish and fishery products entering the supply chain.