Webinar on Advancing Sustainable Fisheries Management in IORA

The fisheries sector plays an important role in contributing to food security, poverty alleviation, job creation and also represents huge business opportunities. Fisheries are one of the main resources of the Indian Ocean that provides food to hundreds of millions of people and greatly contributes to the livelihoods to coastal communities. However, despite of their great importance, the fisheries sector are facing a wide range of challenges such as overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, marine pollution, habitat destruction, among others

In order to sustain this sector, emphasis needs to be laid on the sustainability aspects, as well as in the protection of the marine environment. Therefore, this necessitates the attention of the IORA Member States given that fisheries and aquaculture is one of their main focus.

IORA attributes high importance to the fisheries sector and it is one of the main focus in IORA’s Blue Economy Agenda. In addition, the establishment of the Cluster Group on Fisheries Management (CGFM) (an initiative of Indonesia as the lead coordinator of the CGFM) has moved the fisheries agenda to a next level. With its detailed Work Plan, the CGFM aim at strengthening regional cooperation in the fisheries management sector in the Indian Ocean. It would initiate, develop, discuss, coordinate and monitor fisheries management cooperation in the IORA region together with the support and assistance of the IORA Fisheries Support Unit (FSU).

More than 1 billion of the world’s population rely on fish products as the principal source of food and animal protein. The importance of this sector was also highlighted at the IORA Leaders’ Summit in 2017, whereby the Leaders committed to, inter alia, “Promote sustainable and responsible fisheries management and development”, for example through “enhancing science-based management and conservation of marine living resources, including through supporting and strengthening the work of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), and enhancing regional and international mechanism to combat IUU fishing”, among others.

In view of further discuss and exchange information on the initiative of IORA in advancing development in the fisheries management sector, Indonesia, being the lead coordinator of the CGFM, will host a webinar that will enable Member States to keep abreast with the latest development, including the ongoing and upcoming projects, that will further strengthen and advance cooperation in the fisheries sector in IORA.

The aim of the webinar is to exchange information on current and upcoming initiatives of IORA in the fisheries management sector. The specific objectives are to:

• Provide a virtual platform where relevant stakeholders can discuss on opportunities and challenges related to fisheries management, with focus on post-COVID initiatives;
• Exchange information on the current and upcoming initiatives of the CGFM and the FSU, through its Work Plan and Action Plan, respectively;
• Share information on the previous IORA fisheries related events and follow-up actions;
• Strengthen collaboration with international organisations, including FAO, to further advance development in the fisheries sector;
• Increase visibility of IORA and on its Blue Carbon initiatives.

Speakers:

1. Trian Yunanda, Director, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia.
2. Lubna al-Kharusi, Director for IORA Fisheries Support Unit (FSU), Oman.
3. Aubrey Harris, Fisheries Expert at Cofrepeche, IORA - AFD (France) Fisheries Project, Seychelles.

Moderator:

• Andre Siregar, Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia.

Webinar Workshop Details:

Date: 29 September 2020

Time 07:00 (GMT)

Interested participants are requested to register via the following link:

https://forms.gle/Wt4dCuvvn2yYMjac7

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