Fisheries are an important socioeconomic activity in coastal developing countries. However, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing has brought not only overexploitation of fisheries resources but also hindering the recovery of fish populations and ecosystems in addition to affecting the economic and social well-being of fishing communities, which in turn could negatively affect the countries with weak regulatory systems as specified in Sustainable Development Goal 14. Therefore, countermeasures to combat IUU fishing have been drawing attention internationally.

Taking into account the significant contribution of fish and fishery products from Southeast Asian countries to the world market, the ASEAN Secretariat in cooperation with regional partners led by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) has strengthened regional initiatives for facilitating the sharing of experiences and information among the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) in order to enhance the respective countries’ capacities and efforts to deal with eliminating IUU fishing and market-driven measures. This was demonstrated when the AMSs adopted in 2016 “The Joint ASEAN-SEAFDEC Declaration on Regional Cooperation for Combating IUU Fishing and Enhancing the Competitiveness of ASEAN Fish and Fishery Products” to strengthen efforts in implementing regional initiatives to combat IUU fishing and promoted the “ASEAN Guidelines for Preventing the Entry of Fish and Fishery Products from IUU Fishing Activities into the Supply Chain,” endorsed by 37th AMAF in 2015.

This project aims at enhancing the capacities of AMSs to prevent and combat IUU fishing through a series of training and/or workshop activities, and target staff of the government agencies concerned responsible for the implementation of relevant activities to eliminate IUU fishing. This project will be implemented in line with the “Resolution and Plan of Action for 2030” on fostering cooperation between international and regional organizations in combating IUU fishing and developing adequate capacities among the member countries in implementing specific measures to further promote sustainable fisheries as well as the ASEAN Roadmap on Combating IUU Fishing (2021–2025). This project is expected to contribute to the “ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025: Specifically, Increase of Fishery/Aquaculture Production (C.5.57.i), and Enable Sustainable Production (C.5.57.iii)”.

The project comprises three (3) outputs i.e., 1. Responsible fishing technologies and practices to combat IUU fishing are promoted, 2) The capacity of AMSs to combat IUU fishing activities is enhanced through effective management tools of traceability for fish and fishery products, and 3) Policy measures to combat IUU Fishing are enhanced in AMSs. Activities under all outputs are undertaken by SEAFDEC/TD. The project timeframe is from 2024 to 2027.

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