Brunei Inks Deal to Map Out Fisheries Plan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 09
August 2007, Tuesday - BRUNEI has inked a deal to start mapping out a
strategy to curb illegal fishing.
Brunei yesterday signed a contract with Australian consultant, Professor
Martin Tsamenyi, PhD, to help the sultanate develop an action plan to
protect its marine resources.
Professor Tsamenyi is the director of the Australian National Centre for
Ocean Resources and Security, of Wollongong University, Australia, and
has vast experiences in doing related works with other countries in the
region including Australia, Philippines, Indonesia and the Pacific
Island nations.
Under the contract, Tsamenyi is required to produce two papers for the
Fisheries Department and prepare a national strategic plan on
monitoring, control and surveillance and a national plan of action,
promoting responsible fishing practices including combating illegal,
unregulated and unreported fishing.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the proportion of
overexploited and depleted marine stocks has grown from about 10 per
cent in the mid-1970s to about 25 per cent in the early 2000s.
The decline is caused by, among others, over-fishing and pollution
damage on nursery and adult marine habitats as well as illegal and
destructive fishing practices.
The report also noted illegal fishing practices in Brunei, with 480
cases of foreign fishing vessels trespassing and fishing illegally in
national waters between 2000 and 2006.
A dialogue meeting was also held after the contract signing to brief the
consultant on the roles and functions of the Fisheries Department.
As part of his tasks, the professor will familiarise himself on national
and international fishing laws and investigate how the local marine
police, ports authority, marine department and other relevant
authorities can help to solve this growing problem.
The consultant will return to Brunei in November, where he will report
and submit his initial findings to the relevant ministers.
The Brunei action plan will contain guidelines and information on ways
to stop illegal fishing activities, including outlining the
responsibilities of coastal states and other relevant authorities.
The plan will also include market measures and plans to strengthen
monitoring, control and surveillance systems.
The action plan will also contain guidelines and information on ways to
stop foreign vessels from trespassing into national waters and
exploiting Brunei's marine resources without proper licenses — an act
regularly carried out.
To make the action plan a success, the combined efforts of other
government departments such as the police, navy, customs and port
authorities are required, said Haji Ajamain Haji Sawal, head of the
management and supervision division at the Fisheries Department.
"The national plan will not be successful without the involvement and
commitment of other relevant authorities," he said.
In May, regional ministers met in Bali, Indonesia where they endorsed a
regional plan of action on promoting responsible fishing practices.
The meeting brought together regional countries bordering the South
China Sea, Sulu-Sulawesi Seas as well as the Arafura-Timor Seas such as
Australia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Papua New
Guinea, Thailand and Philippines.
Abdul Halidi Mohd Salleh, Acting Director at the Fisheries Department,
signed the contract with Tsamenyi on behalf of the department.
The signing was witnessed by guest of honour, Pengiran Hajah Mariana
Pengiran Dipa Negara Laila Diraja Pengiran Haji Abdul Momin, Deputy
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.
- Courtesy of the
Brunei Times -
