SEAFDEC Newsletter Vol.44 No.4

Abstract

During the last quarter of 2021, SEAFDEC organized annual events that were significant for the region such as the 44th Program Committee Meeting (44PCM) which discussed and reviewed the programs, projects, and activities implemented by SEAFDEC in 2021 and those proposed for 2022 and the 24th Meeting of Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (24FCG/ASSP) which addressed the policy considerations on issues of importance to the fisheries sector of the region.

Regional technical events were also organized including the SEAFDEC Webinar “Regional Responses to U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act” which discussed and shared information on issues, actions, and needs related to the U.S. MMPA, and the “Regional Workshop on Effective Practice for Supporting the Livelihood and Well-being of Small-scale Fishers in Southeast Asia” that shared the lessons learned from the success cases that applied practices to support and improve the livelihoods including the adaptations to the COVID-19 situation of small-scale fishers. Moreover, another important regional events was the “Consultative Planning and Training Workshop on Stock Assessment in Support the Implementation of the International Commitments for Sustainable Use of Fisheries Resources in Southeast Asia” which was organized to enhance the capacity of the SEAFDEC Member Countries to determine the reference points of fish stocks for proper management and sustainable utilization of fishery resources.

The respective SEAFDEC Departments continued the conduct of several training courses and workshops. TD conducted the “Regional Training Course on Implementation of Port State Measures for Inspection,” “Regional Training on Ocean Environment and Marine Resources,” “Online Training on Implementing Adaptive Fisheries Management and the Use of FishPath Decision Support Tool,” and “Regional Training on Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) for Aquaculture.” AQD organized training courses on aquaculture technology, fish feed and nutrition, mangrove crab hatchery, catfish hatchery and grow-out operations, tilapia culture technology, and sandfish seed production. MFRDMD conducted the workshops on seerfish, sharks, and rays through parasites’ perspective and analysis of sharks and rays species to determine MSY; while IFRDMD organized the workshop on community based-management for sustainable inland fisheries conservation.

Furthermore, SEAFDEC/AQD also launched two new publications, i.e. a manual on Aquaculture Techniques for Freshwater Species, and a collection of Scientific Articles on Sustainable Aquaculture, Resource enhancement, and Aquatic Animal Health.

Finally, SEAFDEC welcomed the new Chief of IFRDMD, Mr. Zulkarnaen Fahmi starting 28 December 2021 to succeed Dr. Arif Wibiwo.