Sustainable Fisheries Discussion at Southeast Asia and Pacific Re-gional Fisheries Summit

The CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat recently attended the South-East Asia and Pacific Regional Fisheries Summit organized by The Economist in Jakarta, Indonesia from 27^th to 28^th July 2016. It was represented by the Regional Secretariat’s Executive Director, Dr. Widi A. Pratikto.

The summit succeeded to gather stakeholders from most sectors ranging from business leaders, politicians, policy-makers and academics involved in the fisheries industry across South-East Asia and the adjacent Western Pacific region.

The two-day Summit stimulated discussions among the stakeholders on the critical need to prioritize sustainable fisheries practices; incited discussions on the need for more scientific data to support decision making; and the delicate issue of enforcement of catch limits and the limited human resources capacity. Additionally, there were queries and interest as to how they could scale and finance the necessary investment and infrastructure to institute a more serious sustainable fishing practices in this region.

Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) of Indonesia, Susi Pudjiastuti shared her thoughts and experiences in a Keynote Interview session on “Combating IUU fishing, the front line of fisheries freedom” moderated by Charles Goddard, Editorial Director Asia Pacific of the Economist.

Widi A. Pratikto, Ph.d, Executive Director of CTI-CFF (center) shares a light moment during the South East Asia and Pacific Regional Fisheries Summit in Jakarta with Mas Achmad Santosa (second from left), Head of Indonesia’s Task Force on the Prevention and Eradication of IUU Fishing and Alfred Nakatsuma, Regional Environment Director for USAID (far left) and two delegates from the other participanting countries.