Industry News

First BSC Regional FIP Conference

by adminapri November 20, 2015 0 comments

The first Regional Asian Blue Swimming Crab Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) Conference was conducted in Bangkok Thailand on November 17 -18, 2015. The conference was organized by The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and 50in10 along with support from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. This conference was attended by regional governments and industry stakeholders, Department of Fisheries Thailand, Seafood Watch, Marine Stewardship Council, Thai Union, World Wildlife Fund, USAID-Oceans, Sustainable Fisheries Partnerships, Thai Frozen Foods Association, among others. This meeting was showcase and review progress for all of NFI’s Blue Swimming Crab FIPs in Asia and explore best practices in FIP Implementation, sustainability standards, fishery management, as well as discuss market linkages to FIP progress.

The Meeting Objectives were to discuss the importance of FIPs and their role in supporting a sustainable future for blue swimming crab fisheries in Asia, to explore the requirements from the marketplace to support FIPs as a measure of progress in improving blue swimming crab fisheries, updates on the current status, challenges, and key next step for blue swimming crab FIPs in Asia, and explore existing and developing tools to support traceability as well as the environmental and social performance of blue swimming crab fisheries

Blue Swimming Crab is a key species of importance for the US market and offers the potential to improve livelihood benefits for coastal communities if the fishery can be managed effectively. “FIPs have grown in importance over the last decade as a tool for fishery stakeholders to address environmental challenges. Their definition and implementation have evolved substantially since the idea was first developed and are now seen as a key requirement for buyers to source seafood products responsibly from fisheries that cannot immediately qualify for international sustainability standards” said Dr Hawis Madduppa, APRI’s executive director.