Representatives of the fisheries sector of 11 ASEAN nations gathered in Hanoi on April 4 for the 37th meeting of the Council of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).
The four-day conference - the second of its kind hosted by Vietnam since it became a SEAFDEC member in 1995 - will work to strengthen fisheries collaboration and co-operation between ASEAN and SEAFDEC.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Minister of Fisheries Ta Quang Ngoc stressed that the meeting will address international issues affecting sustainable fisheries development in the region. “Participants will come up with a fisheries relief program for countries in the region affected by the recent tsunami disaster and develop a framework of support in the event of future large-scale natural disasters that affect the fishery and aquaculture sectors,” Ngoc said.
In addition, the conference will promote the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries to ensure that fishery sectors of all member countries are developed responsibly. This will ensure sustainability of the sector for all whilst enhancing the competitiveness of fishery products in the international market. SEAFDEC has developed a five-year plan for 2006-10 with an emphasis on responsible and sustainable fisheries and greater food safety.
SEAFDEC is an autonomous intergovernmental organization established in 1967 with a view to promote sustainable development of fisheries through rational utilization of fishery resources. The council currently includes 11 member nations including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In related news, Vietnam and Hungary on April 6 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in freshwater aquaculture, helping raise the capacity of Vietnam's Institute for Aquaculture Research to develop fresh water aquaculture and improve the living conditions of rural people in southern provinces.
The Director of the Hungarian Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI) sent a letter to the Vietnamese Ministry of Fisheries in October, 2003, announcing that HAKI will continue to help develop freshwater aquaculture in Vietnam and that it has been assigned to implement fresh water aquaculture projects in Vietnam and train Vietnamese experts in Hungary.
Vietnamese
