The 35th Meeting of INFOFISH Technical and Advisory Board (TAB)
The 35th Meeting of INFOFISH Technical and Advisory Board (TAB)
The 35th Meeting of INFOFISH Technical and Advisory Board was organized from 19-21 July 2022 through a virtual format. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Kusuadi bin Sallih from Malaysia, and Ms. Shirlene Maria Anthonysamy, the director of INFOFISH, served as the meeting secretariat. Participants included representatives from the INFOFISH Member Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Malaysia, Republic of Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, as well as INFOFISH officers and observers from the FAO and World Sustainable Organisation (WSO). The objective of the meeting was to bring together representatives at the technical level of the member countries to review the INFOFISH implementation report for the years 2021-2022. They were also encouraged to consider the Work Program 2023. In addition, the Secretariat presented the "Technological Developments and Innovations in Aquaculture" as well as post-harvest activities related to the entire production chain, including the report on the status and trends of the world's main fishery product market. During the meeting, Thailand proposed the following activities to be included in the Work Program 2023:
1) Preparing the Member Countries through sharing knowledge and experiences for the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), to comply the USA’s requirements in exporting fishery products to the US,
2) Sharing information and knowledge among Member Countries on collaboratively data collection and management of transboundary and migratory species under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) requirement for sustainable fisheries,
3) Arranging a workshop on the identification of Sharks and Rays listed under CITES based on their genomics as well as the utilization of their parts for commercial purposes,
4) Arranging a workshop on sharing knowledge and experience in fishery management of billfish species and their conservation,
5) Arranging a workshop on technology and innovation to enhance productivity and reduce costs in shrimp farming for increase trade competitiveness.
The meeting took note of Thailand’s proposal and assigned INFOFISH to explore the possibility of implementing the proposal.