CAPFISH Project Regional Summer Academy: Pacific Islands – book of presentations

CAPFISH Project Report : Summer Academy for the Pacific Islands

The CAPFISH Project was created in response to an identified need for capacity-building to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related matters – a complex problem affecting aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. Over the last four years, the CAPFISH Project has provided training and educational materials on IUU fishing to developing country administrations around the world, most recently with a two-week regional Summer Academy for the Pacific Islands. This Academy ran for two weeks and included delegates from fisheries, labour, safety, maritime, foreign affairs, and enforcement administrations in the Pacific Islands region. Speakers comprised representatives of regional and sub-regional fisheries bodies, UN Agencies working in the region, NGOs, academic institutions, enforcement agencies, and independent regional experts. This report presents key takeaways from Summer Academy lectures, biographies of speakers, and details of attendees, as well as providing participant breakdowns by gender and region.

At the fifth meeting of the FAO-IMO-ILO ad hoc Joint Working Group (JWG) on IUU Fishing and Related Matters, held in Geneva from 8-12 January, the World Maritime University (WMU) introduced a document on the CAPFISH project highlighting the success of interdisciplinary capacity-building on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The CAPFISH document introduced at the JWG summarizes the educational activities delivered by WMU and Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) with funding provided by the Republic of Korea. Additionally, the document stresses the participation of fisheries, and maritime administration and enforcement agencies from developing countries, and praises interagency cooperation and interdisciplinary approaches to address IUU fishing and enhance fisheries management.

It is of note that many of the delegates at the meeting have attended the CAPFISH workshops or are WMU alumni. The JWG Chairman, Mr. Awudu Enusah, is also a WMU alumnus from the Class of 2012 and currently serves as the Principal Maritime Administrative Officer for the Ghana Maritime Authority.

About the CAPFISH Project

CAPFISH draws upon global expertise in fisheries, such as the United Nations Agencies directly involved in the fishing sector (FAO, ILO, and IMO), non-governmental organizations, and experts across the world, to create a unique opportunity for transformative education to help solve the problem of IUU fishing. It is a trans-disciplinary initiative that integrates science, economics, maritime policy and ocean governance, law and regulation, maritime technology and operation, safety at sea, societal factors, human rights, and compliance monitoring and enforcement. Through three educational workshops and a WMU Summer Academy offering, the CAPFISH Project has disseminated the expertise of the UN specialized agencies as well as incorporated academic and practical knowledge to maritime professionals from across the developing world. CAPFISH aligns SDG-17 (Partnerships for the Goals) with SDG 4 (Quality Education) to address the problem that IUU fishing presents for achieving SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

About the FAO-IMO-ILO ad hoc Join Working Group on IUU Fishing and Related Matters

Combating IUU fishing, along with other illicit factors associated with fishing operations, requires inter-agency coordination, particularly through the implementation of relevant international agreements. The FAO-IMO-ILO ad hoc Joint Working Group (JWG) on IUU fishing and related matters was established as a result of the call made by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, which met in April 1999, highlighting the issue of flag and port State responsibilities and the need for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to cooperate on solving problems relating to IUU fishing. Following the decision by the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at its 335th session, the ILO also formally joined in 2019. The JWG discusses and makes recommendations to address IUU fishing, maritime safety and security, decent work in the fishing sector, protection of the marine environment, capacity development, and other relevant topics.

From 14-25 August, the World Maritime University (WMU) hosted a Summer Academy on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing as part of the CAPFISH research project sponsored by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of the Republic of Korea and delivered in cooperation with the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI). The Mediterranean focused, two-week programme covered a number of topics related to IUU fishing and fisheries more broadly, in order to raise awareness of global and regional problems as well as tools available to address them.

Professor Max Mejia, WMU President, welcomed the participants by noting that IUU fishing is one of the biggest ocean and maritime challenges saying, “Not only does it have far-reaching economic consequences, it is also associated with labour abuses, including slavery-like conditions and other human rights infringements, organized crime, environmental degradation, and security and socioeconomic challenges. As IUU fishing is a complex and difficult problem, cooperation and collaboration are necessary to address it effectively.”

During its first two years, the CAPFISH Project ran four global workshops aimed at building capacity in developing regions. These workshops reached over 100 practitioners in maritime and ocean administrations across the developing world. To better facilitate regional cooperation to address IUU fishing, CAPFISH has now moved into a new phase and will offer programmes in different developing regions, beginning with this first Mediterranean-focused Summer Academy that included 23 practitioners from fisheries administrations across the Mediterranean including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Türkiye, Albania and Montenegro. The Project team worked closely with the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) to deliver the Summer Academy with GFCM providing invaluable expertise and assistance on regional matters, and assistance in identifying delegates as well as securing their in-person participation.

Through case studies, panels, and interactive sessions, participants had the opportunity to engage with each other, highlight local and regional issues, and consider solutions to local problems. Experts from the FAO, UN DOALOS, UNODC, GFCM, the National Institute of Fisheries Science in Korea, the Korea Coast Guard, and academia delivered a series of presentations on blue economy, international and regional fisheries governance, IUU fishing and other maritime crimes, small-scale fisheries, labour and safety on fishing vessels, trade in fish, and cooperation to fight IUU fishing. Interactive activities included surveys, vessel tracking exercises with Global Fishing Watch, the creation of a roadmap to improve safety in the region, a visit to the SEA-U Marine Science Centre, and presentations by delegates on IUU fishing and cooperation at regional and sub-regional level. The delegates also participated in a role-playing exercise developed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, in which they took the role of either fishers or coast guard and developed policy solutions to problems identified during the course of the exercise. It was an important learning experience, as the delegates could see the effects of their policy decisions play out in real time.

The Summer Academy closed with remarks from Dr Miguel Bernal, the Executive Secretary of GFCM saying, “We all have a responsibility to work together towards the eradication of illegal fishing; if we are able to efficiently implement some of the ideas that have been discussed during this course, we would make big advances in this direction and leave the sector in a better situation for future generations.”

As a trans-disciplinary initiative, the CAPFISH Project surfaces knowledge and breaks silos to provide a comprehensive picture of IUU fishing to identify adequate responses. CAPFISH aligns SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) with SDG 4 (Quality Education) to address the problem that IUU fishing presents for achieving SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To access the programme from the Mediterranean Summer Academy, click here.

From 18-21 October, the World Maritime University (WMU) hosted the third workshop on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing as part of the CAPFISH research project sponsored by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of the Republic of Korea and delivered in cooperation with the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI). The hybrid workshop included a broad spectrum of presentations from high-level IUU Fishing experts to tackle the complex and multifaceted issue. Participants included maritime and ocean professionals from 20 countries.

In welcoming the participants, Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President of WMU, said, “IUU fishing continues to remain one of the biggest ocean and maritime challenges of our time and is a scourge from which the world needs to rid itself.” She confirmed WMU’s commitment to vitally important capacity-building and education drive to raise awareness and find integrative solutions to the problem.

The workshop was the third in a series intended to disseminate the expertise of United Nations specialized agencies and included expert speakers from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Additional speakers included the Chairperson of the IMO Council, representatives from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), St. Andrews University, Global Fishing Watch, Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT), the Guyana Fisheries Department, the Senegalese Maritime Administration (ANAM), the Ship Standard Bureau of Thailand, the Korea Coast Guard, the Maritime Authority of Peru, and the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), and independent experts from Fiji and Iceland.

Experts from the Republic of Korea, Peru, Thailand, Senegal, Guyana and Fiji presented case studies on the response to IUU fishing in their countries. Interactive presentations and panel sessions addressing collaboration by the UN Agencies through the Joint Working Group on IUU Fishing and related matters, implementation of international instruments to tackle IUU fishing, fisheries subsidies, small-scale fishing, and maritime crime, provided important messages on the realities and economic drivers of IUU fishing, as well as international cooperative efforts to address this problem.

The workshop also provided the opportunity for current students in the Class of 2022 to present their dissertation research focused on implementation of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) in the Philippines, and catch documentation schemes and fisheries co-management in Ghana.

As a trans-disciplinary initiative, CAPFISH intends to break silos and provide a comprehensive picture of IUU fishing to identify adequate responses. CAPFISH aligns SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) with SDG 4 (Quality Education) to address the problem that IUU fishing presents for achieving SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To access the report from CAPFISH Workshop 1, click here
To access the programme from Workshop 2, click here

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