The Oceans and Fisheries Partnership between the United States Agency for International Development, the “Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center” and the “Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security” works to strengthen regional cooperation to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, promote sustainable fisheries and conserve marine biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific region.

DEVELOPING A CATCH DOCUMENTATION & TRACEABILITY SYSTEM

Southeast Asia houses some of the world’s most productive and biodiverse marine ecosystems. These ecosystems provide food and income to over 200 million people in the region; however, unsustainable fishing practices threaten biodiversity, food security and livelihoods. The Oceans and Fisheries Partnership supports the development of a transparent and financially sustainable catch documentation and traceability system to help ensure that fisheries resources are legally caught and properly labeled. This risk-based, electronic system will be applied to wild capture fisheries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region and will be based on the ecosystem approach to fisheries management. The partnership collaborates with technology companies to harness the latest communication and traceability innovations.

CONSERVING MARINE BIODIVERSITY & PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY

To enhance the fisheries sector sustainability and ecosystem productivity, the Oceans and Fisheries Partnership helps regional organizations with harmonizing oversight policies, providing standard training curricula and developing joint initiative on sustainable fisheries and marine biodiversity conservation. Close coordination, communication and collaboration among regional stakeholders will also enhance the effectiveness and implementation of the catch documentation and traceability system.

ENHANCING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND INVESTMENT

To improve transparency in the seafood supply chain and to help ensure successful implementation, the Oceans and Fisheries Partnership engages a variety of fisheries stakeholders and forms new partnerships among governments, regional institutions and the private sector. Developing partnerships in the commercial seafood industry anchors the partnership’s efforts in market realities and provides increased scale and sustainability for project investments.

PARTNERS

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center is the technical and operational arm for fisheries matters in the region and the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security is an intergovernmental collaboration to conserve marine and fisheries resources. Both are important partners that will help design and implement project activities with fisheries and environment agencies in the region. Other partners include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the U.S. Department of the Interior; the UN Food and Agriculture Organization; Tetra Tech ARD; Verite; and the Government of Sweden.