In the framework of First Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM 1) and related meetings of APEC 2017 in Nha Trang, member economies discussed about policies and measures to use and development fisheries sustainably at the Ocean and Fisheries Working Group Meeting.
In the framework of First Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 1) and related meetings of APEC 2017 in Nha Trang, member economies discussed about policies and measures to use and development fisheries sustainably at the Ocean and Fisheries Working Group Meeting.
Fishery facing challenges
APEC members currently account for over 80 percent of global aquaculture production and more than 65 percent of the world’s capture fisheries. The consumption of fishery products in the APEC region is 65 percent higher than the world average. Therefore, increasing fishery production and decreasing loss after harvest are targets of APEC. However, fishery of APEC is facing some challenges due to unfavorable weather, climate change and unsustainable fishing.
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| At Ocean and Fisheries Working Group Meeting |
According to Tran Dinh Luan, Deputy Head of the Directorate of Fisheries (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), at the meeting, delegates discussed about sustainable use and development of fishery resources in the Asian Pacific region. In addition, the delegates also discussed about protecting sea environment and increasing ability to cope with natural disaters, weather and other changes of nature.
Vietnam’s delegate said that Vietnam’s fishing has small scale. As a result, sustainable development to ensure living for coastal communities and ensure justice for fishermen is an significant priority Vietnam is aiming to.
Intensifying support for fishermen
At the margin of the meeting, Toshihiko Horiuchi - Cabinet Counsellor, the Secretariat of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy, Cabinet Secretariat, the Government of Japan – said that to develop fishery sustainably, APEC member economies need to step up supporting fishermen and fishery community, especially helping fishermen to access market, improving products’ quality, using resources sustainably, etc. At present, fishery of the member economies is facing challenges like food safety, recovery ability after natural disasters, etc.
According to Toshihiko Horiuchi, to develop fishery sustainably and effectively, APEC member economies need to enhance the role of the local authority and people in managing waters. Besides, scientific technologies need to be applied more to reach higher growth, more sustainable use and more effective exploitation.
During the past years, Japan has supported many member economies to develop fishery such as supplying machines, guiding ways of capture and preservation for products with better quality. To Vietnam, the Japan International Cooperation Agency has supported tuna fishing devices for fishermen in Binh Dinh Province. Some Japanese businesses have also cooperated with Vietnam to improve the quality of tunas. Japan is currently the second biggest fishery export market of Vietnam (after the United States).
At the meeting, delegates shared experience and suggestion to use and develop fishery resources sustainably. Many ideas said that APEC member economies need to build up a common policies on fisheries.
Xuan Thanh
Translated by T.T
