SEAFDEC Newsletter Vol.46 No.2

Abstract

One of the highlighted events of the second quarter of 2023 is the Fifty-fifth Meeting of the SEAFDEC Council where the progress of activities of SEAFDEC in 2022 as well as the proposed program of activities to be undertaken in 2023 were reported. Upon noting the progress of the development and implementation of several regional fisheries policies and frameworks, the Council also approved the draft report of the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of the RES&POA-20230 and supported its submission to the ASWGFi.

During this quarter, SEAFDEC continued to organize regional events including the mid-term review meeting and training workshop on enhancing food safety and quality on the application of the High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology to fish and fishery products as well as on regulations and standards related to ready-to-eat raw fish and fishery products. Several training and workshops were also organized to enhance the capacity of the SEAFDEC Member Countries, SEAFDEC staff, and fisheries students with the topics including eco-friendly practices for sustainable fisheries resources management, basic marine engineering, freshwater aquaculture, sandfish aquaculture, eACDS application for small-scale fisheries, gender mainstreaming in the fisheries sector, and development of the EAFM plan.

SEAFDEC also continued to get involved with collaborating organizations including Symposium on Sustaining Marine Biodiversity through Blue Economy which served as the platform to share knowledge and experiences in marine biology, ecology, management, and conservation. SEAFDEC also attended the 32nd Meeting of the Animal Committee and 18th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on CITES and Wildlife Enforcement to share information on measures implemented by the Southeast Asian countries in managing and conserving shark resources and fisheries, current status of management and conservation in the region, and regional needs in the form of building capacity; the 37th Session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) which highlighted the ongoing collaboration between FAO and SEAFDEC on stock assessment, fisheries subsidies, and new projects to be funded by GEF. SEAFDEC also attended the Regional Workshop on Development of Management and Conservation Plan for the Mekong Freshwater Dolphin and Biodiversity to share its expertise in fisheries management, conservation practices, and sustainable development in the context of the Mekong River and its freshwater dolphin populations.