On 15 February 2020, the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) organized a virtual briefing on the Growing Challenge of Confronting Fisheries Crime in ASEAN.

This virtual briefing was the first joint event between ICCF and AIPA after the signing of MoU in early February as a concrete step following the implementation of the resolution adopted in 2020. This virtual briefing discussed the full scope of the fisheries crime security threat, gained insight into the governance and tools required to confront fisheries crime, and empowers AIPA Parliamentarians to combat IUU fishing & secure their blue economies.

The Opening remarks was delivered by Hon. Cheam Yeap, First Vice-President of the National Assembly of Cambodia which was followed by a message from Rep. Ed Case, member of the US Ocean Caucus.

The first session was presented by Dr. Marzuki Darusman, Chair and Co-Founder of the Foundation for International Human Rights Reporting Standards (FIHRRS), about the major human rights and labour rights violations in the fisheries industry, including modern slavery, forced labour, and human trafficking. Dr. Darusman quoted that human rights and labour rights and indivisible.

The second presentation was presented by Dr. Ian M. Ralby, Founder and CEO of I.R. Consilium, explaining the distinction between illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fisheries crime, and state-protected illicit fishing. The primary key defining terms are that IUU fishing is about sustainability and conservation, fisheries crime is related to security crime and law enforcement, and state-protected illicit fishing has implications to sovereignty and geopolitical relations.

AIPA member & observer parliaments shared their best policies & practices in combating IUU fishing and stressed the importance of international cooperation to effectively tackle such illegal activities.
.
Virtual briefing recording can be accessed on AIPA Youtube channel: