At the Thirtieth Meeting of the Council of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) at Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on 17-21 March 1998, the Council Directors fully supported the program for the Regionalization of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. They unanimously agreed to implement it in SEAFDEC’s prioritized program in view of the facts that 1) some part of the global Code of Conduct require modification to adjust to the regional specificity; and, 2) clear regional policy should be reflected in the Code. The Council also specified that SEAFDEC should make efforts to establish an Asian Code of Conduct for coastal fisheries and aquaculture, which may be expanded to cover the other ASEAN members. In addition, SEAFDEC Strategic Plan adopted at the same meeting emphasizes the importance of the program on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Based on the recommendations made at the Council Meeting, SEAFDEC prepared a comprehensive program on “the Regionalization of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries”(http://www.seafdec.org). Since the program is a long term and wider commitment for SEAFDEC to implement the various required activities, the preparation of Regional Guideline for the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Phase 1: Responsible Fishing Operations was selected as the primary and major activity under the program. In June 1998, five regional core experts (Indonesia: Mr. Chairul Nasution, Malaysia: Mr. Rosidi Bin Ali, the Philippines: Mr. Jonathan O. Dickson, Thailand: Mr. Pirochana Saikliang, Vietnam: Dr. Nguyen Long) and four Advisors (Mr. Bundit Chokesanguan, Prof. Dr. Takafumi Arimoto, Dr. Frank Chopin and Dr. Yasuhisa Kato) were selected for the preparation of documents on the draft regional definition of terminology and draft Regional Technical Guidelines. A Pre- Meeting of Core Experts was organized to harmonize the approach for the preparation of documents. Between 9-12 November 1998, an “Expert Consultation on the Regionalization of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries Phase 1:Responsible Fishing Operations” was Article 8, Fishing Operations of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Also discussed were the required regional definitions of terminology prepared by the Core Expert Group. The context of this document is based on the outcome of the meeting.

Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, T. (1998). Regional Guidelines for Responsible Fishing Operation in Southeast Asia . Samut Prakran: Training Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.