SEAFDEC Newsletter Vol.45 No.3

Abstract

During the third quarter of 2022, SEAFDEC organized the “Regional Technical Consultation (RTC) on Development of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Common Positions on the Proposed Listing of Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species (CEAS) into the CITES Appendices” and came up with the “Positions of the ASEAN–SEAFDEC Member Countries on the Proposed Listing of Commercially exploited Aquatic Species (CEAS) into the CITES Appendices at the CITES-CoP19” which was subsequently approved by the SEAFDEC Council ad referendum prior to the forthcoming 19th Meeting of the CITES-CoP19.

The “Second Consultation on Fisheries and Statistics and Information in Southeast Asia” was also the highlighted event during this quarter, which discussed and agreed on the revision of the Regional Framework specifically on marine and inland capture fisheries, aquaculture, fishers and fish farmers, producer price, while also suggested new statistics to be included. The “Regional Workshop on MCS for Combating IUU Fishing in Southeast Asia” was organized and came up with the specific requirements to enhance the MCS capacity such as technical assistance on NPOA capacity, capacity building on the electronic traceability, training on risk analysis of the pattern of fishing operation in fishing gear by using VMS and AIS, and technical assistance on data collection, stock assessment, etc. The “Seventh Meeting of the Scientific Working Group on Neritic Tunas Stock Assessment in the Southeast Asian Waters” was convened to share the progress of the studies of Thunnus Tonggol population and Euthynnus affinis life history, as well as to present the stock status of seerfish in the Southeast Asian region.

Furthermore, SEAFDEC continued to conduct several training courses including the Regional Capacity Building Network (RECAB) on Gender Mainstreaming in Small-scale Fisheries and Aquaculture for Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia, Second Training Course for Advanced Stock Assessment in Support of the Implementation of the International Commitments for Sustainable Use of Fisheries Resources in Southeast Asia, Regional Training Course on Container Inspection, Regional and National Training Course on Fisheries Management Tools, Regional Training Course on Marine Debris and Mircroplastic Sampling Collection and Analysis, GIS and RS Technology Workshop for Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture, Regional Training Course on Fish Population Dynamics and Fisheries Management, and Training on Gender Mainstreaming in Fisheries Sector.

Finally, the publication “Small-scale Fisheries of Southeast Asia: A Regional Digest” was launched by SEAFDEC in celebration of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) 2022.