US signs MOU on sustainable fisheries with Southeast Asian Nations

[webfact]

US signs MOU on sustainable fisheries with Southeast Asian Nations
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, June 17 -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote sustainable food security and biodiversity in Asia and the Pacific.

The MOU was inked by SEAFDEC Secretary-General Chumnarn Pongsri and USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia Director Michael Yates and witnessed by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney in Bangkok on Monday.

Under the MOU, USAID and SEAFADEC agreed to work together in funding, designing and implementing and evaluating activities for sustainable fisheries in the region.

Both organizations will organise regular meetings to implement and carry out plans for effective natural resource management and set up a committee to work on a regional agenda to promote sustainable, responsible fisheries in which all products can be traceable.

USAID and SEAFDEC also planned to cooperate with other US Government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Interior for technical experts and supports in such activities.

According to SEAFDEC, 70 per cent of the world’s total fisheries production in 2011 was from Asia, while 18.8 per cent of the total production was from 10 South East Asian Nations. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-06-17

[winstonc]

anything about sustainable slave workers..maybe a sore point to include this non-event chestnut..way to go u.s.a.

[shirtless]

When the last fish is caught, they will implement fishing quotas,

[tomross46]

The MOU is only political, so the USA can say look at what I am doing. In the past USAID has been used as a cover for other agencies. Thailand need to watch very closely what the USAID people are doing.

[easton]

The MOU is only political, so the USA can say look at what I am doing. In the past USAID has been used as a cover for other agencies. Thailand need to watch very closely what the USAID people are doing.

You have hit the nail on the head about USAID. Thailand should be very wary indeed.

[davehowden]

Beware the Trojan Horse:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-18/its-time-to-reform-usaid

[DeepInTheForest]

The small fishermen-- those who work in artisanal fisheries-- will doubtless face an uphill struggle in trying to secure a fair stake in negotiations over catch limits. Large firms have stripped the seas, and the small fishermen who practiced a more sustainable style of fishing for centuries, are being squeezed out of existence. A contributor to this has been the decimation of the mangroves in the service of fish farming.

Many of the fisherfolk in the south are Muslims, who had a healthy livelihood until, as Sanitsuda Ekachai has written, the trawlers arrived. They violate the law, which calls for their exclusion within 3 km of shore. Ekachai calls out the corruption and violence of the state, saying that it is rich, corrupt and influential outsiders who have inflicted suffering on locals for the purpose of profit. Google ' "Sanitsuda Ekachai" muslim fishermen ' for more.

In the meantime, maybe we can look into Green Net and see if their work is legit and worth supporting.

http://www.greennet.or.th/en/article/1553

Edited June 22, 2014 by DeepInTheForest