APPENDIX F. - SUMMARY OF THE REPLIES ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON FUTURE DIRECTION OF APFIC*

YES

NO

1. Do you concur with the APFIC Executive Committee (Para. 25 of the Report of the 67^th Session) that it is time for the Member States to make a collective and clear decision on the future of APFIC to ensure that the Commission is an effective regional body?

19

-

2. If no, please explain: -

3. If yes, what should be the best option for APFIC to operate in the future:

a) as an FAO statutory body under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution, partially funded by its Members?; or

17

1

b) as an independent intergovernmental body to be operated 1 8 and funded by its Members?

1

8

4. If your answer is no to No. 1, do you agree with the current functions of the Commission as given in Article IV of the APFIC Agreement?

1

-

5. Should APFIC’s functions be further amended in order to serve more effectively as a regional fisheries management body?

10

7

6. If yes, do you support the amendments to Article IV as proposed but suspended at the Twenty-fifth Session? (Appendix F of the Report of the 25^th Session, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 15-24 October 1996).

6

6

7. Do you agree with the broad area of competence of APFIC as given in Article VI, i.e., the Asia-Pacific area?

17

2

8. If no, what should be a more specific area of competence for APFIC?

a) Marine fishing areas of Asia only;

1

3

b) Marine and inland areas of Asia;

3

-

c) Sub-regional areas, such as:

(1) Bay of Bengal;

-

3

(2) South China Sea;

-

3

(3) East China Sea and Yellow Sea;

-

3

(4) Asian inland areas; or

-

3

(5) Others (please specify): Australian waters

1

-

9. Do you concur with emerging issues in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the region identified by the Commission as its last session (Para. 49 of the Report of the 26^th Session)?

18

1

10. If no, please indicate the issues that are most relevant to your country:

1) Securing livelihood of rural and coastal populations dependent on fishery resources;

2) Adoption and implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries;

3) Analysis of fishery trends and state of fish stocks; and

4) Coordination of activities with other fishery bodies in the region.

11. The Executive Committee has reviewed these issues and recommended that the programmes of activity in the following areas be accorded high priority by APFIC (Para. 29 of the Report of the 67^th Session):

%

a) Collection, dissemination and exchange of fishery information and statistics;

76

b) Development of national fishery policies towards attending the sustainability of fisheries and fishery resources;

80

c) Marine fisheries management and related research;

62

d) Development of responsible aquaculture; and

63

e) Acceleration of the transfer of appropriate technology and capacity building in the fisheries sector.

59

Please rank the importance of the above subjects in accordance with your country’s needs (by giving scores: 0, for lowest priority, to 5 for highest priority) for each subject.

12. The APFIC Secretariat presently has no budget and technical staff to assist Members in implementing activities as required. Will your government consider the possibility of providing a contribution to support the activities of the Commission?

5

11

13. As a body under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution (item 3a), do you agree that Members should provide contributions to support the activities of the Commission as specified in Article VIII of the APFIC Agreement?

13

5

14. If yes, what should be the appropriate option(s) for such a contribution?

a) Members to provide annual contributions based on an agreed scale (if yes, see item 15);

5

7

b) Voluntary contributions by participating countries for specific activities or projects (if yes, see item 16);

10

2

c) Financial support for their own representatives at sessions of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies.

8

1

(Para. 61 of the Report of the 25^th Session)

15. If yes (for 14a), what should be the appropriate scheme and scale of the Members’ contributions?:

a) Same scale as that for the contributions of Member Nations to FAO (in percentages of agreed budget for the biennium);

1

2

b) Same scheme as that for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC);

1

3

c) New scheme and scale based on a fixed 15 percent for the Secretariat’s expenses and 85 percent divided among Members in proportion to their per caput GNP, total fishery production and export earnings of fish and fishery products;

-

3

d) Another scheme and scale to be formulated by the Ad hoc Legal and Financial Working Group.

3

1

16. If yes (for 14b), would you support the establishment of a trust fund for Members’ contributions to APFIC’s co-operative projects?

6

5

17. In implementing regional co-operative projects, would you support the establishment of a technical group in the Secretariat in addition to those provided by FAO?

9

9

18. For future activities of the Commission, what should be the role of its subsidiary bodies?

a) Maintain the current technical Committees to serve as fora for discussion among Members and to formulate recommendations on fisheries and aquaculture to the Commission;

10

3

b) Abolish the technical Committees and establish ad hoc Working Groups of Experts to serve as technical arms and to report directly to the Executive Committee or the Commission;

9

6

c) Revise the role and functions of the Executive Committee (Article III and Rule IX of the APFIC Agreement and Rules of Procedure) to serve more effectively as an administrative board of the Commission in the inter-sessional period.

8

7

d) Other suggestions: -

19. As APFIC belongs to the Members and FAO’s role is that of a facilitator and coordinator, will you provide the travel expenses of your delegate(s) to attend this important meeting of the Ad hoc Legal and Financial Working Group?

9

9