Forty-ninth Meeting of the Council
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
The Rizqun International Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
3-7 April 2017
WP05.1.1
ASEAN GUIDELINES TO PREVENT THE ENTRY OF FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS
FROM IUU FISHING ACTIVITIES INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN
SEAFDEC/MFRDMD
Executive Summary
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing was identified as one of the biggest threat to the
sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region. To combat IUU
fishing, countries are asked to take actions among others to adopt on sub-regional cooperation in
preventing, deterring, and eliminating IUU fishing in the region. There have been emerging traderelated measures and requirements aiming to combat IUU fishing and enhance responsible fishing
practices, among which is EC No. 1005/2008. It is urgently needed for Southeast Asian Countries to
strengthen measures to exclude IUU fish and fishery products from the supply chain. In this regard,
SEAFDEC/MFRDMD in collaboration with SEAFDEC/Secretariat started the program in 2013 with
funding support from JTF VI to formulate and to disseminate the “ASEAN Guidelines for Preventing
the Entry of Fish and Fishery Products from IUU Fishing Activities into the Supply Chain”. The
Guidelines will serve as tools for Southeast Asian countries to combat IUU fisheries through
controlling and monitoring trade of fish and fisheries products and help Southeast Asian countries to
comply with IUU related trade measures.
The Guidelines take into consideration the relevant international and regional trade-related measures
that prevent the marketing of fish and fish products derived through unsustainable means and from
unsustainable sources. Throughout several meetings involving all SEAFDEC Member Countries,
experts from national and regional organizations, the Guidelines has been developed for endorsement
through ASEAN protocol. With incorporation of suggestions from Member Countries during 17th
Meeting of FCG/ASSP (4 to 5 December 2014, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand) and 47th Meeting of the
SEAFDEC Council (31 March to 3 April 2015, Chiang Rai, Thailand), the final draft of the Guidelines
was endorsed by 23rd Meeting of the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi) (10 to
12 June 2015, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar) for consideration of higher level meetings of the ASEAN.
Consequently, “Joint ASEAN-SEAFDEC Declaration on Regional Cooperation for Combating IUU
Fishing and Enhancing the Competitiveness of ASEAN Fish and Fishery Products” was adopted by
the high-level officials of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC MCs on 4 August 2016, Bangkok, Thailand.
Following the establishment of the Guidelines, SEAFDEC/MFRDMD has started its dissemination in
collaboration with SEAFDEC/Secretariat, as Member Countries still require assistance to implement
the Guidelines at their national levels. SEAFDEC/MFRDMD convened the Regional Technical
Consultation Meeting (7 to 9 March 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) to clarify current status and
issues in preventing trade of IUU fishing related products in each Member Country. Through sharing
information among Member Countries based on the questionnaires, the meeting discussed on
effective, practical, appropriate actions/protocols for implementation of the Guidelines at national
level. Also, SEAFDEC/MRDMD has conducted country visit for information gathering in Malaysia,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand in 2015 and Lao PDR in 2016.
REQUIRED CONSIDERATION BY THE COUNCIL
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To take note of the progress of the implementation of the Guidelines; and
To provide comments and advice to the activities and the way forward.
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