Organizational Structure

About RPOA IUU

An Organisational Structure for the Implementation of the RPOA

The Coordination Committee is a high level decision-making body providing strategic advice and direction to RPOA member countries. The Coordination Committee’s advice will need to cover matters such as conservation of the marine environment, sustainable management of fisheries resources, managing fishing capacity, building competency in fisheries management, and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region.

organization sructure

The Committee’s functions are to:

Foster

Foster an environment of cooperation and collaboration among RPOA member countries

Advise

Advise on national, sub-regional and regional priorities to guide implementation of the RPOA

Plan and report

Plan RPOA activities, report on implementation of measures and maintain a forward work agenda

Provide Strategic oversight

Provide strategic oversight and advice on RPOA activities to further develop and implement responsible fishing practices in the region

Monitor, review and advice

Monitor, review and advice on the effective implementation of the RPOA;

Report to Fisheries Ministers

Report to Fisheries Ministers on the progress of implementation and any additional measures required for implementation

Communicate

Communicate with the FAO and other relevant international and regional bodies, as appropriate;

Collaborate

Collaborate with international/regional organisations, programs or projects concerned with fisheries management and sustainable use of fisheries resources in implementing the RPOA.

The Coordination Committee may, as and when required, set up ad-hoc technical working group(s) to provide information and advice on the fishery resources in the region and related matters that may be relevant to the conservation and management of those resources and to address specific technical and/or scientific issues with regard to the implementation of the RPOA.


The role of the working groups will be to address specific fisheries management issues, including assessment and in-depth studies, on the basis of the direction of the Coordination Committee, including

  • Scientific and technical analyses and/or tasks in support of the work of the Coordination Committee
  • Provision of reports on the results of their scientific work, advice and recommendations in support of the formulation of conservation and management measures and other relevant matters; and
  • Perform other functions and tasks as required.

A Secretariat is necessary to effectively service and facilitate the functioning of the Coordination Committee and working groups.
The functions of the Secretariat include:

  • Receive and transmit the Coordination Committee’s official communications
  • Coordinate the preparation of agendas and papers for meetings of the Coordination Committee and working groups, as required;
  • Facilitate the compilation and dissemination of data and information
  • Prepare administrative and other reports for the Coordination Committee;
  • Administer agreed arrangements and the provision of advice;
  • Publish the decisions of, and promote, the activities of the Coordination Committee; and
  • Undertake other administrative functions, as required.

In The last meeting of Coordination Committee, held in Lombok – Indonesia, 4-5 November 2009, it was agreed that Indonesia will continue to serve as the RPOA Secretariat. Fisheries Ministers from all 11 member countries have endorsed the RPOA. In the spirit of Ministers’ endorsement, Coordination Committee members have been nominated at a level at which they can commit their agencies to participating in meetings and workshops to further develop RPOA measures, and pursue RPOA implementation at the national, subregional and/or regional level. Commitment also involves budgeting and members are requested to make provision in their agency budgets to enable active participation in RPOA meetings, workshops and implementation