Under the activity series of the Fisheries Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) Training Course in Southeast Asia held in Viet Nam on April 2024, the RPOA-IUU secretariat had an opportunity to cover presentation about “Regional Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) challenges” delivered by Matheus Eko Rudianto, representing the RPOA-IUU Secretariat Coordinator.
Primarily, the presentation provided an overview of the RPOA-IUU, highlighting the significance of sub-regional in facilitating effective cooperation and capacity-building between member countries of sub-regional groups in combating IUU fishing and in providing an information-exchange platform for member countries of sub-regional groups, ranging from fisheries resource and management, MCS development, MCS market measurement, port monitoring system to vessels associated IUU fishing operating in respective sub-regional groups.
The presentation also elaborated on a study result of IUU fishing issues in the Asia-Pacific region conducted by the FAO and CSIRO. Referring to key findings of a study, it was estimated that illegal fishing landings across the Asia Pacific area, excluding the South China Sea, amounted to a total of 6.6 million metric tons (MT) in 2019, valued at USD 23.3 billion. It was also found that in both small-scale and industrial sectors, encroachment and breach of the license were the most common infractions, followed by non-compliant gear, illegal transhipment, and other intended activities. The trends of modus operandi on IUU fishing identified within the RPOA-IUU’s work area include commodity smuggling and human trafficking, unreported catch reports, extensive incidental by-catch, and violation of decent work. From that study, it is recommended that countries reduce illegal fishing in the region by establishing a transparent, repeatable, and cost-effective approach to benchmarking unlawful fisheries and the effects of interventions in the region, developing guidance for countries in legal and regulatory reform, and strengthening information-sharing to support cost-effective technological innovation in monitoring and surveillance.
The presentation emphasized the implementation of the RPOA-IUU core elements in each country and underscored that several participating countries have ratified the key international agreements, about the eradication of IUU fishing and developed national regulations for assessing the status of fisheries resources. International agreements play a vital role in administering regulation of fisheries resources which complies with international provision. It is divided into two categorizations; legally binding and non-legally binding.
International fishery’s legally binding framework includes UNCLOS, UNFSA, FAO Compliance Agreement, PSMA, and WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, meanwhile non-legally binding framework includes Code of Conduct on Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), IPOA-IUU, Rome Declaration, Voluntary Guidelines (VG) Flag State Performance, VG Global Record and Catch Documentation Schemes, VG Marking of Fishing Gear, and VG Transshipment at Sea.
The presentation also underscored the definition of MCS. Monitoring focuses on the collection, measurement, and analysis of fishing data. Meanwhile, control focuses on the regulations related to fishing activities, both nationally, regionally or internationally. Lastly, surveillance is an element related to law enforcement and focuses on ensuring that fishing activities are by applicable regulations. Under these umbrellas, the RPOA-IUU secretariat suggested implementing the ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme, CCAMLR Catch Documentation Scheme, and regional market measures, at the monitoring level. Meanwhile, at the control level, the RPOA-IUU secretariat highlighted the significance of the implementation of international and regional instruments, and lastly, at the surveillance level, the country could take into account the development of data-sharing mechanism and fisheries intelligence cooperation and the enforcement of Flag State, Port State, and Coastal State responsibility.
He also explained the RPOA-IUU’s prioritized programs which include several initiatives aimed at enhancing data-sharing mechanism, fisheries intelligence, improving working conditions on fishing vessels and seafood industry, regional market measures (CDT), and other regional capacity-building programs. In conclusion, he emphasized that effective IUU fishing eradication requires close collaborationwith broader stakeholders in the region. Addtionally, he underscored that a combination of using advanced technology and physical measures can enhance the MCS activity.