FAOR Indonesia and Timor Leste Statement to the Ministerial Meeting on Traceability of Fish and Fisheries Product
Your Excellency, Susi Pudjiastuti Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia
Excellencies, Ministers from the Asia Pacific Region
Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen
On behalf of the FAO Director General, José Graziano da Silva, I wish to thank the organizers for inviting FAO to participate in this Ministerial meeting on traceability of fish and fisheries products for South-East Asia and the Pacific.
Fisheries and Aquaculture (that we know as the “Blue Sectors”) contribute in a significant way to food and nutrition security and the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.
Indeed some 880 million people globally are dependent on these sectors with around 200 million people relying on the value chain from harvesting to distribution and consumption. Seafood products are among the most traded commodities globally.
Furthermore, the importance of marine and inland fisheries and aquaculture production systems, processing, and consumption patterns are recognized as being central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially to SDG 14 and SDG 12, and more broadly speaking to SDGs 1 and 2.
The Blue Sectors are even more important in the Asia-Pacific Region itself, which is home to around 87 percent of the people with livelihoods that depend on them. The Asia fishing fleet accounts for nearly three-quarters of the world’s vessels, of which 90 percent are small scale fishers. Similarly the Region employs 97 percent of the world’s aquaculture farmers (16.6 million). It is self-evident that in Indonesia and other countries of SE Asia and the Pacific, fisheries and aquaculture are vital sectors.
However, in recent years capture fisheries production has levelled off and more fisheries have become fully exploited or over exploited. The reasons for this are complex but include, for example, overexploitation of marine resources and marine pollution and habitat modification. The effects of climate change further compound the increasing pressures stemming from human action.
The rapid expansion of capture fisheries, combined with a lack of effective regulatory and management systems has resulted in stagnation in marine production with declines in many areas, leading furthermore to social and economic problems.
The adoption of ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management and traceability along the fish supply chain can reduce both, economic losses and the entry of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fish into domestic and international markets. The economic advantages to fishers at every scale by restoring fisheries through sustainable management are clear:
- Improved Fisheries Management reduces the impact on ecosystems, while an improved flow of information along the value chain informs stakeholders of recommended sustainable practices.
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in itself represents a major problem for the fisheries sector, jeopardizing already difficult efforts to sustainably manage fisheries resources. IUU fishing destroys marine and coastal ecosystems, threatens biodiversity, is linked to human trafficking and forced labour, and causes the loss of billions of dollars to the formal economy. IUU fishing is a particular problem in the Asia Pacific Region with significant economic losses to fisheries and those vulnerable communities most dependent on these valuable resources.
Thanks to the entry into force of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) on June 5th 2016, IUU fishing is about to become much more difficult. (Indonesia was one of the original signatories in November 2009, and deposited its instrument of ratification on 23rd June 2016).
The new treaty requires that parties designate specific ports for use by foreign vessels, making control easier and thus market access for illegal fish more difficult. Those ships must request permission to enter ports ahead of time, and provide local authorities with information, such as the fish they have on board, and allowing physical inspection of their log book, licenses, fishing gear and their cargo.
The agreement calls on countries to deny entry or inspect vessels that have been involved in IUU fishing, and to take necessary action – and then share the information with other parties.
Traceability and catch documentation systems are also vital parts of the effort to combat IUU fishing and to ensure seafood safety. Traceability to combat IUU fishing is a new market requirement for products entering the main import markets. In many countries, traceability systems are already in place because they are mandatory under the food safety regulations of major importing countries or regions.
These systems allow the provenance and safety of fish and seafood to be documented and traced from harvest to table to ensure the safety of food supplies. More recently, government regulatory requirements include the need to have traceability systems in place that document the legality of the fish in order to export, for example to the EU and, next year, to the USA.
Over the years, FAO has worked in close partnership with the Government of Indonesia and other states in the Asia Pacific Region in developing and managing the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, while also responding to emergencies impacting on these sectors.
As examples of close collaboration with FAO in the Blue Sectors, Indonesia has since 2015 participated in the piloting of a Global Record Programme, while also taking action at national level to support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Security Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication.
Forthcoming cooperation with Indonesia in the fisheries sector includes cooperation under the GEF International Waters and Biodiversity programmes with two new projects, in addition to the Indonesian Seas Large Marine Ecosystem Project in cooperation with Timor-Leste.
In two other specific areas of work, FAO looks forward to further development of the second phase of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BOBLME II) and follow-up to the Strategies for Management of Trawl fisheries project (REBYC II). FAO commends the support provided by Indonesia to address fish loss assessment through a joint case study.
Indonesia is, furthermore, one of several countries in the Asia-Pacific Region working with FAO on its Regional Initiative on Blue Growth.
In closing, ladies and gentlemen, FAO stands ready to support and collaborate with countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, and with regional - and development partners in the further roll-out of traceability systems and in combating IUU fishing, including through capacity development, technical advice and exchange of knowledge on good practices in fisheries management.
Thank you very much for your attention.