SEAFDEC Annual Report 2019

Abstract

The SEAFDEC Annual Report 2019 summarizes the programs of activities undertaken by SEAFDEC throughout the year, in-line with the priority needs and policy directives of the Member Countries conveyed through the SEAFDEC Council and the SEAFDEC Program Committee. The programs in 2019 had been categorized into: 1) Programs under the Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (FCG/ASSP) (23 projects); Departmental Programs (12 programs); and Other Programs (1 program). The programs were aligned with the “SEAFDEC Strategies Towards 2030” adopted by the SEAFDEC Council in 2017, comprising six Strategies, namely: 1) Securing the sustainability of fisheries to contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and livelihood of people in the region; 2) Supporting the sustainable growth of aquaculture to complement fisheries and contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and livelihood of people in the region; 3) Ensuring the food safety and quality of fish and fishery products for the Southeast Asian region; 4) Enhancing trade and compliance of the region’s fish and fishery products with market requirements; 5) Addressing cross-cutting issues, such as labor, gender and climate change, related to international fisheries; and 6) Empowering SEAFDEC to strengthen its roles in the region and to improve its services for the Member Countries.

In 2019, SEAFDEC also continued to strengthen its cooperation and partnership with other international and regional organizations, national agencies of the Member Countries, as well as non-member governments that share common interest towards sustainable development of fisheries, specifically their expertise and relevant resources that were tapped for the programs and activities of mutual interest. SEAFDEC also continued to organize regional consultations on wide range of subjects to gather inputs from the Member Countries with a view to ensuring that its programs properly address the common concerns of the countries; while efforts of the Departments in the implementation of the Information Strategies were sustained, especially the compilation of outputs from their programs and projects, and disseminating these to target audience. Furthermore, as the SEAFDEC Council adopted the SEAFDEC Gender Strategy in 2019, progress in the implementation of the Gender Strategy by the SEAFDEC Departments was also monitored and summarized in this Annual Report.

This SEAFDEC Annual Report 2019 could therefore be used as reference for obtaining a better view of the roles, activities and achievements of SEAFDEC in supporting the Member Countries in their efforts towards achieving sustainable development of fisheries in their respective countries. Furthermore, the issues and concerns as well as gaps and limitations could be used as take off points for which fisheries management in the whole Southeast Asian region could be improved.