Fish for the People Vol.19 No.3
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6761
2024-03-29T10:42:41ZFish for the People Vol.19 No.3
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6760
Fish for the People Vol.19 No.3
2022-02-09T00:00:00ZTowards the sustainable development of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture: The legacy of SEAFDEC
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6759
Towards the sustainable development of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture: The legacy of SEAFDEC
Smithrithee, Malinee; Honda, Koichi; Tongdee, Nualanong; Sulit, Virgilia T.
In Southeast Asia, history has it in the past few decades or so that fishing operations were simple and conducted in nearshore areas using non-motorized or non-mechanized fishing vessels. Fish landings were barely enough for domestic consumption, but some countries dared to explore the export market with their fishery products that gave them in return, not only additional economic advantage but also the inspiration to enhance their fishing capabilities. Adapting the fishing technologies learned from more advanced countries, e.g. trawl fisheries, many Southeast Asian countries were able to increase their fish landings. Causing a domino effect, many fishing vessels were deployed to sea using a great variety of fishing gears, not minding their possible impacts on the fishery resources. Eventually, their catch started to get smaller not only in terms of quantity but also in size, prompting the governments to look for the ways and means of properly managing the fishery resources. In an effort to address the issues at hand, one of the major decisions made by the governments of the Southeast Asian countries was to agree on the establishment of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in December 1967. With an initial task of promoting fisheries as means of improving the food situation in Southeast Asia, SEAFDEC has since then served as a catalyst for the transformation of the region’s fisheries towards sustainability.
To enable SEAFDEC to carry out such gigantic tasks, the Southeast Asian governments also agreed to establish the SEAFDEC Training Department (TD) in 1968 in Samut Prakan, Thailand, with an initial task of training the officers and technical staff from the region to enhance their capabilities in directing and managing fishing activities. As the SEAFDEC responsibilities in the region progressed, TD in mid-1970s redirected its focus on the development of responsible fishing technologies and practices, and the promotion of marine and coastal fisheries management to ensure the stable supply of fish for food security of the region. Subsequently, the Marine Fisheries Research Department (MFRD) of SEAFDEC was established in Singapore in 1969 to conduct research on the actual conditions of the region’s fishing grounds and improving the utilization of fishing grounds towards sustainability, a task that was taken over by TD before the end of the 1970s. By mid-1970s, as fish production of the region drastically increased necessitating the development of sustainable postharvest technologies, MFRD refocused its activities on the safety and quality of fish and fish products including the development of fish preservation protocols to upgrade the quality of the region’s traditional fishery products, and on the proper utilization of trawl bycatch for the production of comminuted fishery products, e.g. surimi, and the development of surimi-based products. Meanwhile, as the adoption of culture technologies also flourished in the region, the Southeast Asian governments agreed to establish the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) in the Philippines in 1973 to make sure that the development and adoption of aquaculture technologies in the region, i.e. in coastal, brackishwater, and freshwater environments, are sustainable. Later, as the Southeast Asian countries needed assistance in the development and management of their marine fishery resources, the establishment of the SEAFDEC Marine Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (MFRDMD) in 1990 in Terengganu, Malaysia has addressed their concern. Furthermore, to also ensure the sustainable development and management of the region’s inland fisheries, the SEAFDEC Inland Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (IFRDMD) was established in 2014 in Palembang, Indonesia.
2022-02-09T00:00:00ZThe development of traceability systems for capture fisheries in Southeast Asia: the eACDS in focus
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6758
The development of traceability systems for capture fisheries in Southeast Asia: the eACDS in focus
Saraphaivanich, Kongpathai; Suthipol, Yanida; Imsamrarn, Namfon
Traceability system is one of the most recent trade requirements being put into force in response to the pressing needs expressed by the markets to ensure that fish and fishery products in the supply chain are not derived from IUU fishing activities. It is also being used to facilitate the tracking of the flow of products through the production processes or the supply chain to ensure that these are safe for human consumption. In the Codex Alimentarius Commission, traceability is defined as “the ability to follow the movement of a food through specified stage(s) of production, processing and distribution.” Traceability has therefore been used to compile information regarding the identity, history, and source of a product or of the materials contained within a product, as well as on its destination, or any ingredient contained within it, making traceability system an information management tool. In the fisheries sector, information on traceability is used to ensure food safety which means that the products and materials from which they are made should come from origins that meet food safety conditions. Traceability is also applied for determining the tariffs and quota tariffs, making sure that appropriate rates of duty are applied, and finally, traceability is also meant to warranty that the fish is derived from sustainable sources, e.g. from fishing operations and vessels that follow conservation rules.
2022-02-09T00:00:00ZMinimizing the impacts of fishing on the environment through innovations in technologies and operations
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6757
Minimizing the impacts of fishing on the environment through innovations in technologies and operations
Thanasarnsakorn, Suthipong; Thimkrap, Thaweesak
Fishing operations could create certain impacts on the environment, especially on the fishery resources and their habitats, where the impacts on the fishery resources could be from fishing practices without appropriate fisheries management to control fishing capacity as well as from IUU fishing. Fishing activities could also result in changes of the environment due to carbon emissions, and one of the major concerns is related to the impacts of fishing vessels and fishing gears on fish and non-fish species, incidental catch/bycatch of very small fishes, juveniles, or even the endangered species. Modifications of such fishing vessels and gear, and improvement of the associated fishing operations and practices could reduce the impacts of fishing on the environment. Concerned about the impacts of fishing on the environment, the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) had always been of the consensus on the need to obtain understanding and mitigate the impacts of fishing on the fishery resources and the environment. Given such a backdrop, SEAFDEC and the ASEAN made sure that the Resolution and Plan of Action on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security for the ASEAN Region Towards 2030 adopted by SEAFDEC and the ASEAN, include provisions on the need to “Support the efforts to promote low carbon development technologies by minimizing the contribution of the fisheries sector to greenhouse gas emissions, with emphasis on promoting the use of energy-efficient equipment and alternative energy sources” (Resolution No. 9); “Enhance the efficient use of energy by adapting appropriate technologies for fishing gear and fishing vessel design, and fishing operations; and promote the use of alternative energy sources” (Plan of Action No. 18); “Improve the capability of fishing crew and workers in fishing industry, and conduct educational and skills development program for new crew members and workers entering the industry; while also adopt appropriate technologies to optimize number of crew onboard fishing vessels” (Plan of Action No. 19).
2022-02-09T00:00:00Z