RPOA-IUU 1st Consultative Meeting

The RPOA-IUU (Regional Plan of Action to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing) held its 1st Consultative Meeting on September 26, 2024, via the Zoom platform. This meeting served as an inter-sessional discussion before the scheduled RPOA-IUU Coordination Committee Meeting. The primary objective was to designate the Chair and Vice Chair of the Data Sharing Mechanism Working Group (WG DSM). The meeting was attended by representatives from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand. 

The meeting was commenced with the presentation of the background of the meeting and the outcomes from the 2nd Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on the Data Sharing Mechanism by the RPOA-IUU secretariat. One of the key recommendations from that earlier discussion was the designation of the Chair and Vice Chair for the WG DSM. Mr. Eko, as the RPOA-IUU Secretariat Vice Executive Director led the session focused on the designation of the Chair and Vice Chair of Working Groups. He also explained that one of the core tasks of the working group encompasses the development of a roadmap for establishing a Data Sharing Mechanism for RPOA-IUU. 

Countries are invited to participate in the Zoom Poll, as one of the features to collect countries’ preference for Chair and Vice Chair of the Working Group. As a result, Indonesia was chosen as the Chair, with Australia selected as the Vice Chair. The Secretariat subsequently introduced a timeline of the working group’s future activities. 

The participants agreed to hold the first Data Sharing Mechanism Working Group Meeting on November 25, 2024, back-to-back with the CCM. The objective’s activity is to identify the types of data to be shared and determine methods for exchanging data. USAID SuFia TS will assist by facilitating meeting and providing an expert or a Specialist to moderate the discussions. As follow-up actions from the meeting, the RPOA-IUU secretariat will circulate the necessary documents before the event.