SEAFDEC PROGRAMS OF ACTIVITIES IN 2019
4. Strategy IV: Addressing international fisheries related issues from a regional perspective
4.1 Development of regional standards, policies and guidelines to enhance intra-regional and international trade
Traceability system is one of the important emerging market requirements due to the pressing needs expressed by the markets to ensure that fish and fishery products in the supply chain are not derived from IUU fishing, and facilitate the tracking of the flow of products through the production processes or the supply chain. The project “Combating IUU Fishing in the Southeast Asian Region through Application of Catch Certification for Trading of Fish and Fishery Products” implemented by MFRDMD since 2013, came up with the “ASEAN Guidelines for Preventing the Entry of Fish and Fishery Products from IUU Fishing Activities into the Supply Chain” which was endorsed by the 37th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in 2015, and supported the promotion and implementation of the “ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme” in pilot countries of the Southeast Asian region. Starting in 2018, follow-up activities with AMSs were carried out on their respective actions to implement the said ASEAN Guidelines. In 2019, MFRDMD organized the “Terminal Regional Technical Consultation (RTC) for Combating IUU Fishing in the Southeast Asian Region through Application of Catch Certification for International Trade in Fish and Fishery Products” during 3-5 September 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Attended by representatives from the ten AMSs, the RTC discussed the issues that the AMSs encountered in the implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines as well as the results of the self-evaluation on status of implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines in the respective AMSs. Results have indicated that most of the AMSs have implemented more than 80%
of the articles in the ASEAN Guidelines, indicating that the AMS are committed to combat IUU fishing. The results of the self-evaluation were subsequently reported to the 42nd PCM and the 22nd FCG/ASSP Meeting in November 2019, where the AMSs were requested to continue monitoring the status of implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines in their respective countries based on the self-evaluation method prescribed by MFRDMD. The Report of the Terminal RTC and the Project Terminal Report would be published in January 2020 for dissemination to the concerned stakeholders.
• The AMSs could enhance their capabilities through the Technical Compilation, which is being prepared for publication, as it would serve as a useful tool in the facilitation of exchanging information among the AMSs
Participants of the Terminal Regional Technical Consultation (RTC) for Combating IUU Fishing (3-5 September 2019, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Officials from TD, MFRDMD and Department of Fisheries Brunei Darussalam during the on-site testing of the implementation of improved eACDS in Brunei Darussalam
The ASEAN Guidelines had supported the promotion and implementation of the “ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme” in pilot countries of the Southeast Asian region. The
“ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme (ACDS)” is one of the regional initiatives pursued by SEAFDEC with the collaboration of the AMSs for improving the traceability of marine capture fisheries to ensure that the entry of fish and fishery products from IUU fishing activities into the supply chain is prevented. From 2014 to 2017, technical consultations and expert meetings were organized to develop the ACDS concept which was endorsed by the ASEAN during the 25th Meeting of the ASWGFi in 2017, and subsequently adopted by the SOM-AMAF Meeting, also in 2017. After the endorsement of the ACDS concept, an electronic application of ACDS or the “eACDS” was developed by TD, taking into consideration the instruction of the SEAFDEC Council of Directors that the ACDS should not create unnecessary burdens, costs or lengthy processes for the supply chain, as well as importers/exporters. Thus, the eACDS was pilot tested in Brunei Darussalam June 2017, and in the following years, in Viet Nam, Myanmar, and Malaysia.
Brunei Darussalam
After pilot testing the eACDS in Brunei Darussalam in mid 2017, the Project Team from TD started developing the eACDS applications, and a series of consultations and on- site trainings ensued on the use of eACDS with involvement of relevant stakeholders in collaboration with the DOF of Brunei Darussalam. Subsequently, the eACDS system was applied, tested, and improved. In 2019, follow-up activities and monitoring on the use of the eACDS system were carried out from 28 to 31 January 2019, and based on the suggestions during the monitoring, the eACDS application was improved and adjusted to be more user friendly. After the improvement of the application, the TD Project Team trained the staff of the DOF Brunei Darussalam during 21-24 October 2019, on the use of the web-based and mobile applications of the improved eACDS, for offline reporting of the catch at sea.
Viet Nam
During the 40th Meeting of the SEAFDEC Program Committee in 2017, the representative from Viet Nam requested SEAFDEC to support the country in the application of eACDS for tracing its marine fishery products. In response, SEAFDEC organized a consultation with relevant stakeholders and officers of the Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) in Viet Nam at the end of 2017, to introduce the eACDS system, and was followed in 2018 by a discussion on the preparation of Key Data Elements (KDEs) for the eACDS database development and selection of pilot areas. In 2019, the TD Project Team continued its discussion with the Sub Directorate of Fisheries (Sub D-Fish) on 8-12 July 2019 in Binh Thuan, a selected pilot site.
Subsequently, series of visits were conducted on 12-16 August 2019, 26-30 August 2019, 9-13 September 2019 and 7-11 October 2019, to verify the eACDS applications together with training on the use of the applications for officers and stakeholders, i.e.: 1) web-based and mobile applications of the eACDS a part of the country’s Point In-Port Out system;
2) catch report at sea using offline technology and issuance of Catch Declaration (CD);
3) movement procedures for issuance of Movement Document (CD), and purchasing via mobile application; and 4) requirements for Catch Certification which had to be provided prior to the issuance of Statement of Catch (SC), and Catch Certification (CC).
Web-based and mobile applications (offline catch report at sea) of the eACDS introduced to the staff of DOF Brunei Darussalam during a training on 21-24 October 2019
Myanmar
In response to request expressed by Myanmar during the 50th Meeting of the SEAFDEC Council, for SEAFDEC to support the implementation of the eACDS in Myanmar, the TD Project Team discussed with relevant stakeholders and officers of the DOF of Myanmar in 2018 about the initial plans for the use of the eACDS in Myanmar. On 4-7 February 2019, the Project Team assisted the concerned staff of DOF Myanmar in gathering the KDEs as basis for development of the eACDS Database and its application, which was followed by the verification of the KDEs on 30 July-2 August 2019. Subsequently, the eACDS was introduced through the training of officers of the DOF Myanmar on 9-13 December 2019, and the use of the eACDS applications was made part of the country’s Port In-Port Out system and issuance of Catch Declaration (CD).
Malaysia
As requested by Malaysia during the 41st Meeting of the SEAFDEC Program Committee in 2018, for the country to serve as one of the project countries for the eACDS implementation with Kelantan and Kuantan selected as the project sites, the Project Team from TD introduced the eACDS system to relevant stakeholders and staff of the DOF Malaysia.
Thus, initial planning and discussion on the required cooperation with the DOF Malaysia was carried out on 21-25 April 2019 at the pilot site in Kelantan, and subsequently on 17-21 June 2019, a baseline survey and analysis including collection of KDEs for eACDS Verification of Key Data Elements for development
of the eACDS Database in Viet Nam Training on the use of web-based and mobile applications of the eACDS, for officers and
stakeholders in Viet Nam
Testing the application of eACDS Database by staff of the DOF of Myanmar
5. Strategy V: Addressing cross-cutting issues, such as labor, gender and