FAO/APFIC REGIONAL WORKSHOP TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2009 FAO PORT STATE MEASURES AGREEMENT 23 27 April 2012 SWISSOTEL LE CONCORDE HOTEL BANGKOK, THAILAND PROSPECTUS 1. INTRODUCTION Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing occurs in all capture fisheries and poses a direct and significant threat to effective conservation and management of many fish stocks. By frustrating fishery management objectives, IUU fishing can lead to the collapse of a fishery or seriously impair efforts to rebuild depleted fish stocks. This in turn may result in lost economic and social opportunities, both shortterm and long term. Left unchecked, IUU fishing can completely negate the benefits of effective fisheries management. Since the late 1990s, a number of international fora issued calls to combat IUU fishing, and in March 2001, the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) adopted the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU fishing (IPOA IUU) and in 2005 COFI endorsed the Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (Model Scheme). Recognizing the cost effective role of Port State controls in combating IUU fishing, FAO members agreed at COFI in 2007 to negotiate a binding instrument on Port State Measures based on the IPOA IUU and the FAO Model Scheme. After an intense round of negotiations the FAO Conference approved the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (Port State Measures Agreement). Immediately following its approval, the Agreement opened for signature and remained open for one year. In that period 23 countries signed the Agreement. Currently, it has one ratification, one approval and two accessions. It will enter into force 30 days after the date of the deposit of the twenty fifth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the depositary, the Director General of FAO. Based on feedback from Member Countries, FAO anticipates that the Port State Measures Agreement will enter into force in late 2013. The purpose of the Port State Measures Agreement is to combat IUU fishing through the implementation of effective port State measures. The intention is that the Agreement will be applied widely and effectively by parties, in their capacities as port States, for vessels not entitled to fly their flags. i It will apply to these vessels when seeking entry to parties ports or while they are in port. If implemented effectively the Agreement will stem or block the flow of IUU caught fish into national and international markets. By making it more difficult to market fish, the economic incentive to engage in IUU fishing should be reduced. The international community expects that port State measures, if used in conjunction with catch documentation schemes, will have the potential to be one of the most cost effective and efficient means of combating IUU fishing. Both FAO and the Asia Pacific Fishery Commission have been requested to assist Member Countries to raise awareness and to develop capacity to implement the Port State Measures Agreement, as well as promote regional coordination and strengthen and harmonize Port State Measures. In response to these regional requests FAO and APFIC the will jointly convene the workshop FAO/APFIC Regional Workshop to Support the Implementation of the 2009 FAO Port State Measures Agreement, in Bangkok, 23 27 April 2012.
2. BACKGROUND: GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FISHERIES, IUU FISHING, REGIONAL FISHERY ARRANGEMENTS & PORT STATE MEASURES 2.1 General characteristics of fisheries Fisheries resources in the APFIC region have declined dramatically since the introduction of modern fishing technologies (vessels and gear) during the 1960s and 1970s. Some current indicators of overfishing include fleet overcapacity, destructive fishing practices and IUU fishing, as shown by regional trends in fishery catches, time series analyses of research surveys, country stock assessments and analyses of ecosystem changes. In addition, there are ongoing fisheries conflicts that are symptomatic of weak fisheries management frameworks. Where total catches of fish in some parts of the region have either continued to increase or have stabilized in recent years, major changes have occurred in their composition. The changes can sometimes be linked to environmental factors but in many cases they are a result of fishing down the food chain where the longer lived predatory species of fish are overfished and replaced by more shorter lived species lower down the food chain. There is a range of initiatives in the Asian region to improve fisheries management at the local, national and sub regional levels, but IUU fishing remains a major challenge. 2.2 IUU fishing In common with other regions of the world, IUU fishing in Southeast Asia is widespread and problematic. IUU fishing undermines national and regional efforts to sustainably manage stocks and inhibits efforts to rebuild them. In simple terms, IUU fishing means fishing without a proper authorization in EEZs or in an unregulated manner in high seas fisheries. Generally, IUU fishers target high valued species that have a ready market and areas where the chances of apprehension are least (i.e., in more remote high seas areas and the EEZs of developing countries). The 2004 FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (Penang, Malaysia, 10 14 October 2004) considered the range of IUU fishing problems prevalent in Southeast Asia and developed priority listings by country. Priority ranking of issues for the sub region was developed and a list of actions to be taken to address the IUU fishing problems and combat these problems. In general, discussion of the main IUU fishing issues in the Workshop reflected well the problems that countries are encountering and highlighted that many of the IUU fishing problems were similar although their severity varied among countries. The Workshop was aware of the merits of adopting both hard (e.g. confiscation of catch and vessels) and soft (awareness building) approaches to combating IUU fishing, recognizing that a mix of measures were needed depending on national policies and conditions and whether nationals or foreign fishers were involved in infringements. The Workshop stressed the importance of bilateral and regional cooperation in matters relating to IUU fishing, citing activities such as the sharing of information about IUU fishers and vessels and joint enforcement programmes. It was noted that such programmes had proven to be effective in facilitating coordinated MCS arrangements and reducing the incidence of IUU fishing in some instances. A follow up FAO/APFIC/SEAFDEC Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing convened in Bangkok, Thailand, 31 March 4 April 2008 sought to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, sub regional and/or regional coordination so that countries would be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement further the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and contribute to the development of a legally binding instrument on port State measures. 2
2.3 Regional fishery arrangements Asia Pacific Fishery Commission The 29 th Session 1 of the Asia Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) recommended that APFIC assisted Members to improve the management fishing capacity in the region, including combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). The 71 st Session of the Executive Committee 2 of APFIC referred to discussions in FAO and other fora about the role of regional fisheries bodies such as APFIC, and recognizing the important role of regional fishery bodies such as APFIC in the development of fisheries management at a regional level. Port State measures were identified as a key issue in that context. The 30 th Session 3 of APFIC, recognizing that there is great diversity in fisheries within the region and that IUU fishing existed in a wide variety of forms, the Commission unanimously agreed that the APFIC member countries are strongly committed to continue their efforts to combat IUU fishing and take action against IUU-fishing. The Commission also agreed that APFIC members recognize the clear benefits from collaboration and coordination within the region in sharing experiences and information on actions to combat IUU fishing. The 31 st Session 4 of APFIC called for continued assistance from developed countries and international organizations to support their efforts of the region in combating the IUU fishing. The draft APFIC Strategic Plan (2012 2018) which was presented at the 73 rd Session of the APFIC Executive Committee 5 identified that APFIC could support members by focused awareness raising workshops on such emerging matters of regional and international interest and that APFIC should facilitate access to training and capacity building for combating IUU fishing and implementation of Port State Measures. Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating IUU Fishing in the Region (RPOA) In May 2007, Ministers and their Representatives responsible for fisheries of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam agreed on a common and collaborative approach to promote responsible fishing practices and to IUU fishing in the region where these States are located with a focus, in particular, on the South China Sea, the Sulu Sulawesi Seas and the Arafura Timor Seas. It was reaffirmed that the region s shared fish stocks were very important as a source of food and for trade. It was noted that overfishing and IUU fishing depleted seriously the region s fish stocks. Furthermore, the Ministers inter alia agreed that regional cooperation among countries to promote responsible fishing practices and to combat IUU fishing was essential, particularly in order to sustain fisheries resources, ensure food security, alleviate poverty and to optimise the benefits to the region s people and economies. Ministers emphasized that existing international instruments on promoting longterm sustainable fisheries should be considered when implementing responsible fishing practices, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, the 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement, the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and other FAO international plans of action. In their deliberations, the Ministers also welcomed the progress achieved in the development of a Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating IUU Fishing in the Region (RPOA) as a regional commitment to conserve and manage fisheries resources and the environment in the areas of the South China Sea, Sulu Sulawesi Seas and Arafura Timor Seas. In this regard, the Ministers endorsed the RPOA. As a follow up activity, the Ministers agreed to establish a Coordination Committee that would monitor and review the effective implementation of the measures agreed in the RPOA. 1 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-23 August 2006 2 Jakarta, Indonesia, 20-22 August 2007 3 Manado, North Sulawesi, Republic of Indonesia, 11-13 August 2008 4 Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, 6-8 September 2010 5 Nha Trang, VietNam, 23-25 August 2011 3
ASEAN SEAFDEC The Ministers of ASEAN SEAFDEC Member Countries at the ASEAN SEAFDEC Conference on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security Towards 2020: Fish for the People 2020 Adaptation to a Changing Environment on 17 June 2011, agreed on the resolution for sustainable fisheries. This, inter alia recommended to: - strengthen regional and national policy and legislation to implement measures and activities to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, including the development and implementation of national plans of action to combat IUU fishing, and promote the awareness and understanding of international and regional instruments and agreements through information dissemination campaigns. - establish and strengthen regional and sub regional coordination on fisheries management and efforts to combat IUU fishing including the development of regional/sub regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) networks. - Facilitate consultative dialogue among fisheries legal officers to share, at the subregional/regional level, perspectives of the respective legal and regulatory framework in terms of developing MCS networks and to implement efforts to combating IUU fishing. - Build up capacity among Member Countries, including functions for regional and subregional cooperation, to effectively meet the requirements of port state measures and flag state responsibilities. 2.4 Port State measures The applicability of regional and international developments in Port State Measures to the fisheries conditions in the Southeast Asian region may appear tenuous due to existing circumstances at international, regional and national levels. - At international level, measures apply generally to foreign fishing, carrier or supply vessels. However, a challenge for many countries in Southeast Asia is to control IUU fishers that may be flying their own flag under a joint venture or other arrangement, but fish outside its zones and return to their ports for landing or transhipment. - Fisheries management measures in many countries in Southeast Asia are generally not harmonized on a sub regional or regional basis because of the expanse of fishing grounds in the region that are not encompassed under the mandate of an regional fisheries management organization and arrangements (RFMO). This includes the harmonization of port State measures through such RFMO tools as regional schemes, IUU or authorized vessel lists and information networks. - Additional problems are commonly experienced at national level in the coordination of administrative arrangements, information systems and training. However, these situations are not uncommon and sound approaches and solutions will be identified during the Workshop by considering and adapting relevant regional and international practices and instruments to regional needs. Importantly, the 2007 RPOA adopted by Ministers from the region addresses port State measures. It states: Port States play a key role in combating IUU fishing in the region, given the need to land catch and support fishing activities. In this regard, regional countries and fishing entities need to develop measures to regulate fishing vessels accessing their ports for transhipping and/or landing catch and collect and exchange relevant data. To address this need, countries should consider adopting port State measures, where appropriate, based on the FAO Model Scheme. 3. OBJECTIVE OF THE WORKSHOP The objective of the Workshop is to develop capacity and promote bilateral, sub regional and regional coordination to strengthen and harmonize port State measures to implement the Port State Measures Agreement. The Workshop will contribute to the implementation of the call to develop Port State Measures contained in the 2007 RPOA adopted by certain Southeast Asian and other States to combat IUU fishing. 4
4. OUTCOMES The expected outcomes of the Workshop are to: 1. raise participants awareness about the need for strengthened and coordinated port State measures, so that countries may act in a concerted and decisive manner to prevent, deter and eliminate such fishing; 2. assure the comprehensive understanding of the regional requirements for the Port State Measures Agreement; 3. reach a clear understanding of the role of administrative arrangements in maximizing the effectiveness of port State measures; 4. identify concrete steps that national fisheries administrations should take to implement the Port State Measures Agreement; 5. build shared understanding and harmonization of port State measures needed in the region to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing; 6. contribute to the implementation of the port State measures contained in the 2007 RPOA. The outcomes of the Workshop will improve human and technical capacity for countries to strengthen and coordinate their port State measures with the overall objective of preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing. 5. FUNDING The Workshop will be funded under the FAO Regular Programme and the Government of the Republic of Korea under the project entitled Promotion of Responsible Fisheries Management by Combating IUU Fishing and Securing Sustainable Small scale Fisheries (GCP/INT/136/ROK). 6. PROGRAMME, TIMETABLE AND STRUCTURE OF THE WORKSHOP The provisional programme, timetable and structure of the Workshop are shown in Appendix 1. The emphasis of the Workshop is on providing essential information concerning the effective implementation of port State measures in the Southeast Asian region. 6.1 Working groups Working groups will be convened during the Workshop as a means of encouraging maximum group participation and interactive learning. The resource persons will assist the convenor of each working group by providing advice as required, and in assisting the finalization of the report of each group. The report of each group will be presented by the respective chairpersons in plenary and be incorporated into the report of the Workshop. Resource persons will provide commentary on the report of each working group, and will assist in drafting the report for the Workshop. 6.2 Location and dates The Workshop will be held at the Swissotel Le Concorde Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, from 23 27 April 2012. 6.3 Invitations and Participation The Workshop will be by invitation only. Invitations will be issued by the FAO s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Participants background and work experience should be directly relevant to combating IUU fishing and/or the development, review or operationalization of port State measures. Participation by middle to senior level managers or experts is encouraged. All participants are requested to complete a short questionnaire in relation to the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement. The questionnaire will be provided electronically to participants and will be analyzed prior to the Workshop. It will be despatched as soon as participants are nominated by their governments. It should be returned to Mr Matthew Camilleri, FAO, Rome, Italy by e mail (matthew.camilleri@fao.org) by 2 April 2012 at the latest. 5
Some sessions in the Workshop require presentations by participants concerning national practice relating to Port State Measures. In coordination with Mr Camilleri, participants making presentations should provide them to him in advance of the Workshop. Summaries of the presentations will be included in the report of the Workshop. 6.4 Partnership in Workshop delivery The Workshop will be delivered by FAO in partnership with APFIC. 6.5 Languages The Workshop will be conducted in English only. 6.6 Documents The Workshop s documents will be made available electronically to participants in advance of the Workshop. Participants will be expected to download and bring their own documents to the Workshop. They will not be made available in Bangkok. PowerPoint presentations and papers delivered at the Workshop will be made available to participants on CD ROM. 7 ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS Administrative arrangements for the Workshop will be handled by staff of the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok. Please contact Ms Kesara Aotarayakul if information is required (kesara.aotarayakul@fao.org). 8 REPORT AND OUTPUT OF THE WORKSHOP The report of the Workshop will be published in the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department report series. The Technical Secretary of the Workshop will oversee and coordinate the production and distribution of the report. 9 OFFICERS OF THE WORKSHOP Officers of the Workshop are: Workshop Coordinator Simon FUNGE SMITH Senior Fishery Officer, Secretary, Asia Pacific Fishery Commission FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Athit Road Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel.: (+66) 2 6974149 Fax: (+66) 2 6974445 E mail: simon.fungesmith@fao.org Technical Secretary David J DOULMAN Senior Fishery Liaison Officer Policy, Economics and Institutions Service Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy Tel.: (+39) 06 57056752 Fax: (+39) 06 57056500 E mail: david.doulman@fao.org 6
Secretary Gaelle HERMANUS (Ms) Secretary Policy, Economics and Institutions Service Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy Tel.: (+39) 065 7056595 Fax: (+39) 065 705 6500 E mail: gaelle.hermanus@fao.org Workshop Assistant Kesara AOTARAYAKUL (Ms) Technical Assistant FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Phra Athit Road, Bangkok 10200 Thailand Tel.: (+66) 2 6974176 Fax: (+66) 2 6974445 E mail: kesara.aotarayakul@fao.org 7