The 16th RPOA-IUU Coordination Committee Meeting

The 16th Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices, aimed at combating IUU fishing in the Region (RPOA-IUU), convened its Coordination Committee Meeting (CCM) in Dili, Timor-Leste, spanning two days from October 26 to 27, 2023, adopting a hybrid format. Attended by 11 participating countries, including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, alongside RPOA-IUU advisory bodies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), InfoFish, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC), and observers like the Arafura and Timor Seas Ecosystem Approach Phase-2 (ATSEA-2 Project), the United States Agency of International Development for Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support (USAID SuFia TS), Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and International MCS Network (IMCSN). Notably, Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste participated in person, while others joined virtually. Additionally, organizations like FAO, USAID SuFia TS, and ATSEA-2 Project participated in person, while InfoFish, SEAFDEC, CCAMLR, and IMCSN joined virtually.

Domingos da Conceição dos Santos, Secretary of State for Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry in Timor-Leste, inaugurated the meeting, emphasizing the imperative of cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU). He underscored Timor-Leste's commitment to bolstering cooperation with regional countries under the RPOA-IUU framework, highlighting the pivotal role of the data-sharing mechanism in curbing IUU fishing activities. He emphasized that the mechanism serves as a cost-effective platform for enhancing surveillance operations, particularly given Timor-Leste’s resource and facility constraints.

The remarks from the RPOA-IUU Secretariat were delivered by Suharta, Executive Secretary of the Directorate General of Surveillance for Marine and Fisheries Resources at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in the Republic of Indonesia, serving as the RPOA-IUU Secretariat Coordinator. Suharta acknowledged the country’s participation in preliminary discussions on data-sharing mechanism development ahead of the CCM, highlighting the importance of data-sharing as a cornerstone of effective regional cooperation. He emphasized that transparency facilitated by data-sharing aids in the development of strategies to collaboratively achieve shared goals and address mutual challenges. He also referenced the 7th SESCS and SSS sub-regional working group meeting, where Malaysia, as the secretariat, initiated the organization of the meeting, inspired by the RPOA-IUU MCS Sub-Regional Workshop. This demonstration underscores the workshop's impact in motivating the South China Seas and Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape (SESCS and SSS) sub-regional working group to rejuvenate the activity of the SESCS and SSS sub-regional group.

Detail information on the outcome of the meeting can be accessed HERE