38th SEAFDEC
Council Proves 'Crucial'
GADONG, 18 April 2006,
Tuesday - Brunei Darussalam has reached a crossroad and the fisheries
sector has been identified as one of the sectors that can contribute to
the sustainable economic diversification agenda.
This was stated by Dato
Paduka Hj Hamdillah bin Hj Abd Wahab, the Acting Minister of Industry
and Primary Resources in his speech as guest of honour at the official
opening of the 38th Meeting of the Council of the Southeast Asian
Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC), yesterday at The Rizqun
International Hotel in Gadong.
Dato Hamdillah added that
the Brunei Government through the Fisheries Department is embarking on a
series of challenging initiatives to accelerate the development of the
fisheries sector and "our young marine eco-tourism sector".
He said that the country's
fisheries industry is fast developing, especially after the declaration
of the 200 nautical-mile Brunei Fishery Limits and the Exclusive
Economic Zone, and that fisheries growth has been further enhanced with
the development of aquaculture and seafood processing industry.
Speaking on the Southeast
Asian Fisheries Development Centre, Dato Hamdillah said that after 38
years of existence, the future operation of SEAFDEC is uncertain due to
its limited funding and increasing demands for its resources.
"This will affect how
effectively SEAFDEC will continue to pursue the institutional mandate
and tackle international issue affecting the sustainable development of
fisheries in the region.
This meeting therefore is a
crucial one, where members have to make tough but important decisions to
charter the future roadmap and develop necessary courses of actions to
overcome these challenges," he said. ,
He highlighted that Brunei
would like to see the continuing existence of SEAFDEC to support and
implement various programmes including sustainable fisheries development
for food security in the ASEAN region.
The Acting Minister
underscored a compelling case which is the business issue whereby the
fisheries sector is of considerable importance to most countries in
Southeast Asia in securing food and a better livelihood for the future
of the citizens.
He also called for a deeper
and more concerted effort. He said world capture fisheries production in
2000 was 95.5 million tonnes and the figure has shrunk to 93.2 million
tonnes in 2002, and that resources of marine fish is now going down
rapidly due to overfishing, illegal fishing, nursery and adult habitats
being marred by pollution, destructive fishing practices and other
environmental degradation impact.
Dato Hamdillah called for
SEAFDEC to join forces with international organisations like APEC to
look into ways and means to suppress those illegal practices.
The 38th SEAFDEC Council
Meeting continues until Friday, 21st April 2006 at The Rizqun
International Hotel.
This is the second time
Brunei Darussalam hosts such meeting, with the first being held in 1998.
The focal point of the meeting includes future programmes for the year
2006/2007 in areas of Operational Budget Allocation for SEAFDEC and
Asean-SEAFDEC Strategic partnership.
The Director of the
Fisheries Department, Dyg Hjh Hasnah bte Ibrahim,-also the Council
Director for Brunei Darussalam was elected as the Chairperson of the
meeting. The 38th Council of South East Asian Fisheries Development
Centre (SEAFDEC) comprises some 50 delegations from its member
countries, Secretary General of SEAFDEC, Head of Departments under
SEAFDEC as well as representatives from various regional and
international organisations such as ASEAN Secretariat, FAO RAP and the
Swedish Board of Fisheries.
The event also saw the
launch of the book "Sharks and Rays of Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam".
The book is the product of a six-year joint effort comprehensive study
of "elasmobranch" from estuaries, coastal areas, exclusive economic
zones and also from the fresh water bodies of the two countries.
SEAFDEC was established in
1997 with the aim of promoting cooperation and teamwork among its
members as well as with international organisations and non-member
countries in contributing towards the development of fisheries in the
South East Asian region.
SEAFDEC operates through
its secretariat office in Thailand. SEAFDEC members comprise all the
ASEAN member countries along with Japan, being the main donor to the
organisation.
- Courtesy of
Borneo Bulletin -
