Achievements
 

The Bali Plan of Action (BPA), issued as a result of the 2nd APEC Ocean Related Ministerial Meeting (AOMM2) which was held in Bali, Indonesia in September 2005, provides a comprehensive near to medium-term blueprint of activities. The BPA calls on the Fisheries Working Group to:

• Ensure the sustainable management of the marine environment and its resources

  • Understanding oceans, seas and coasts - through undertaking research, communication and information exchange on fisheries and other marine activities, and building capacity to enable APEC economies to conform to international reporting regimes;

  • Managing the marine environment sustainably - through such activities as sharing of best practices on the roles and function of the business and private sectors, and understanding and managing the impacts of human activities, including fishing practices and aquaculture, on environmental health and productivity;

  • Managing living resources sustainably - through various measures addressing issues such as IUU (illegal, unregulated, and unreported) fishing, bycatch, the use of conservation and fisheries management schemes, and encouraging APEC members to conform to international fisheries regimes, among others.

• Provide for Sustained Economic Benefits from Oceans

  • Maximize value from use, production and harvesting - through a wide range of initiatives such as health and safety standards, and production and post-harvest practices.

  • Trade facilitation and market access - with priorities being support for the WTO/Doha negotiations, exploring greater market access of SMEs, and other measures to ensure consonance with ongoing WTO negotiations, among others.

The FWG has also taken a very pro-active role in pursuing its agenda by formulating a Strategic Framework as its guide, and has also drawn up an interim list of BPA priorities while a BPA Stock Take project is still being undertaken.