Combating IUU Fishing and Enhancing the Competitiveness of ASEAN Fish and Fishery Products
Annex 11 STATEMENT
By Dr. Kao Sochivi
Deputy Director General, Fisheries Administration, Kingdom of Cambodia
Your Excellency the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, Dr. Teerapat Prayoonsit,
SEAFDEC Secretary-General, Dr. Kom Silapajarn,
Representative from the ASEAN Secretariat, Dr. Pham Quang Minh,
Honorable Delegates and Representatives from the ASEAN and SEAFDEC Member Countries, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon!
First of all, please let me express our utmost gratitude to the organizers for giving us the opportunity to participate in this High-level Consultation on behalf of the Fisheries Administration as well as of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia.
Fisheries is very important to Cambodia, and for many years, our country’s fisheries sector has contributed significantly to the employment and livelihoods of the poor, as well as to food security, GDP and foreign exchange balance for many years. The marine sub-sector contributes 14-16% to the total fisheries production each year for the past seven years and is now just over 120,000 metric tons in 2015. Fisheries production is estimated to be worth around 1.4 billion US$ per year and contributes 8-10% to our GDP. However, the marine fisheries resources of Cambodia are threatened by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing especially by foreign vessels.
National actions towards preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU in Cambodia started in 2014 when a High Level National Consultation was held to seek support and cooperation for the process of developing our National Plan of Action - IUU Fishing Cambodia. This was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Council of Ministers. Follow-up meetings with SEAFDEC and FAO- RAP/APFIC recommended the drafting of a comprehensive NPOA-IUU Fishing based on the guidelines provided by the FAO International Plan of Action – IUU (IPOA-IUU) and the Regional Plan of Action RPOA to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (RPOA). The meetings emphasized that management of fishing capacity will facilitate the effective implementation of the NPOA-IUU Fishing.
A Fisheries Administration IUU Task Force (FiA-IUU-TF) was subsequently formed in 2015. An assessment of fishing capacity and IUU activities in the Cambodian EEZ and high seas was then carried out with support from the EU Program on “Promotion of inclusive and sustainable growth in the Agricultural Sector: Fisheries and Livestock” in early 2016. Then, the draft NPOA-IUU Fishing was developed in early 2016. Based on the NPOA-IUU Fishing and the assessment of capacity and IUU activities, the next steps for Cambodia would include:
• Strengthening human and institutional capacity building;
• Increasing awareness of stakeholders;
• Signing of relevant international instruments;
• Reviewing and revising the fisheries law;
• Implementing and managing registration and licensing of fishing and transport vessels;
• Strengthening the reporting system necessary for capacity and resource status assessments;
• Strengthening landing sites inspection;
• Strengthening MCS and VMS;
64
• Implementing the Catch Documentation and Traceability System; and
• Increasing dialogue and cooperation with neighboring countries, such as Viet Nam and Thailand.
The current works towards attaining these objectives include assessing the roles and responsibilities of different agencies involved in MCS and enforcement in marine fisheries of Cambodia. As planned, a risk-assessment would be undertaken based on identification and analysis of IUU-fishing hot spots and areas, and fishing vessels census for registration and license renewal based on the database platform of SEAFDEC and also other related information of relevance to NPOA-IUU Fishing, including the proposed official fishing ports and/or landing sites for intensified inspection. Work is also underway to select a pilot site where registration and licensing will be strengthened with the assistance of SEAFDEC along with improved MCS arrangements and activities, including increased port inspections. The draft NPOA-IUU Marine Fisheries will also be reviewed, revised and then adopted, including an effective action plan with budget from the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). Cambodia is also strengthening its dialogue with neighboring Thailand and Viet Nam for the possible adoption of Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) to combat IUU fishing.
Cambodia fully supports the "Joint ASEAN-SEAFDEC Declaration on Regional Cooperation for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Enhancing the Competitiveness of ASEAN Fish and Fishery Products” and looks forward to having increased cooperation and collaboration with its ASEAN neighbors, especially its closest neighbors, Viet Nam and Thailand.
Cambodia fully believes and expects that all ASEAN Member States or AMSs will benefit from all the actions covered in this Joint Declaration. Specifically for Cambodia, its priorities are in the following areas:
• Cooperation and collaboration in sharing the experiences, best practices and lessons learnt to help each other to build capacity on common issues;
• Strengthening the MCS under each AMS’s national laws and regulation for combating IUU fishing and enhancing cooperation among relevant national agencies within the country for effective implementation of laws and regulations;
• Intensifying capacity building and awareness-raising programs, including information, education and communication campaigns;
• Enhancing traceability of fish and fishery products from capture fisheries through the implementation of the “ASEAN Guidelines for Preventing the Entry of Fish and Fishery Products from IUU Fishing Activities into the Supply Chain,” and “ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme for Marine Capture Fisheries”;
• Enhancing traceability of aquaculture products, through the implementation of all ASEAN GAPs with certification scheme based on regulations of respective countries, and traceability systems that are harmonized with those of major importing countries;
• Managing fishing capacity with a view to balance fishing efforts taking into account the declining status of the fishery resources in the Southeast Asian region, and establishing conservation measures based on scientific evidence;
• Promoting the implementation of port State measures through enhanced inter-agencies and regional cooperation in preventing the landing of fish and fishery products from IUU fishing activities from all foreign fishing vessels, and encouraging the use of the “Regional Fishing Vessels Record (RFVR)”;
• Enhancing regional cooperation in managing trans-boundary fisheries resources through regional, sub-regional, and bilateral arrangements in combating IUU fishing, particularly poaching by fishing vessels, transshipment and transportation of fish and fishery products across borders of respective countries;
• Regulating the quality and safety of ASEAN fish and fishery products throughout the supply chain to meet standards and market requirements as well as acceptability by importing countries, and development and promotion of ASEAN seal of excellence/label;
65
• Addressing issues on labor, especially safe, legal and equitable practices, in the fisheries sector in the Southeast Asian region through strengthened cooperation among relevant national agencies within the country as well as establishing regional, sub-regional and bilateral cooperation and collaboration via relevant ASEAN platforms, and helping to support the development and implementation of relevant labor guidelines for the fisheries sector; and
• Undertaking collective efforts in developing preventive and supportive measures to strengthen rehabilitation of resources and recovery of fish stocks to mitigate the impacts of IUU fishing.
Finally, we wish to reiterate that Cambodia is committed to working with the ASEAN Community.
Again, we thank you for giving Cambodia the opportunity to speak in support of the Joint Declaration. We look forward to working with other AMSs to implement the specific actions and also to support regional and international organizations and donor agencies that could make the implementation of the Joint Declaration possible.
Thank you!
67
Annex 12