ILOILO CITY (PIA) -- The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) convened for its 45th Program Committee meeting here to strengthen strategies in curbing the prevalence of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in the Southeast Asian region.

SEAFDEC secretary general Malinee Smithrithee noted that the group will be working on the continuous promotion of customized strategies guided by the regional policy documents including the joint Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -SEAFDEC declaration on the regional cooperation to combat the enduring problem of IUU across the globe.

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) in Southeast Asia, and application of e-ASEAN Catch Documentation Scheme (eACDS) and other tools for traceability to eliminate IUU fisheries products, among others.

Meanwhile, OIC-director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Demosthenes R. Escoto, who delivered the message of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. as the keynote speaker of the convention, emphasized the importance of the gathering in assessing the activities of SEAFDEC departments and ensuring that there is complementation rather than duplication among their respective programs.