On behalf of the RPOA-IUU, the RPOA-IUU secretariat was invited to attend the Workshop on the Project End of Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Enhancing National Capacities to Eliminate IUU fishing in Southeast Asia held virtually on 20-21 March 2024. The Workshop aimed to share the ongoing activities for combating IUU fishing in the Southeast Asian region and to identify new areas and ways forward to combat IUU fishing in the Southeast Asian region. Other regional organizations, such as FAO, ASEAN and ASEAN Network on IUU (AN-IUU), and the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO) were invited.
During the workshop, the RPOA-IUU Secretariat covered the topics of ongoing global and regional implementation through future trends in combating IUU fishing. At the beginning of the presentation, the RPOA-IUU secretariat pointed out the key points from the Resolution and Plan of Action for the ASEAN Region toward 2030 that align with the RPOA-IUU objectives. The RPOA-IUU secretariat also identified trends in modus operandi on IUU fishing in the RPOA-IUU work area, such as falsification of documents, violation of transshipment and decent work, and poor and inaccurate catch reports.
To address these issues, the representative of the RPOA-IUU secretariat outlined the effective measures taken by countries. These measures include increasing multi-agency cooperation and multi-door approach developing national plans of action on IUU fishing, and adopting and implementing the international and regional instruments.
It was explained that the RPOA-IUU Work Plan serves as an effective tool to address global issues on IUU fishing. For example, the RPOA-IUU acknowledges the importance of ratifying the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement to control and regulate any subsidies contributing to IUU fishing. The RPOA-IUU secretariat also emphasized the significance of implementing international and regional standards for working conditions on the fishing vessels to prevent and combat any fisheries-related crime. The progress report of those points will be reported by countries in the annual RPOA-IUU forum, namely the RPOA-IUU Coordination Committee Meeting.
In conclusion, the RPOA-IUU secretariat suggested that enhancing the effectiveness of combating IUU fishing could be achieved by promoting the safety of fishers working on board, enhancing robust traceability systems and market measures, advancing data-sharing mechanisms into intelligence-information sharing, designing a collaborative and coordinated capacity building, and intensifying the implementation of regional tools and framework, such as the RPOA-IUU watch list, the Regional Fishing Vessels Record (RFVR), and the ASEAN Catch Documentation System (ACDS).
