Coral Triangle Countries Adopt Common Framework to Address Transboundary Fisheries

The six Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) member states have  developed a policy framework that will address transboundary fisheries issues such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, live reef fish trade, overfishing, and by-catch of protected and endangered species. The common policy framework, which was developed through a series of regional exchanges supported by USAID’s US CTI Support Program, was finalized at a workshop on May 22-25, 2012 in Putrajaya, Malaysia

 The framework will be discussed in-country for endorsement and presented at the next CTI Senior Officials Meeting later this year  for formal adoption. It will support new legislation in all six countries to promote sustainable fisheries based on an ecosystem approach. This approach considers fisheries management not from just a single species perspective but incorporates the broader environmental and human context. The framework also supports the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing and the CTI Regional Plan of Action. The CTI countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.