SEAFDEC Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
The Twenty-eighth Meeting of the Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (28FCG/ASSP) was held on 6-7 November 2025 in Langkawi, Malaysia, in conjunction with the 48th SEAFDEC Program Committee Meeting (48PCM). At the Opening Session, the 28FCG/ASSP was officiated by the Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia, Dato’ Luqman bin Ahmad. Co-chaired by the representative from Myanmar, Mr. Nyunt Win, the current Chairperson of the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi) and the Secretary-General of SEAFDEC, Ms. Sampan Panjarat, the 28FCG/ASSP was attended by representatives from the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Member Countries, representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as the SEAFDEC Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General, and senior officials of the SEAFDEC Secretariat and Departments.
The 28FCG/ASSP took note of the follow-up actions undertaken by SEAFDEC and ASEAN with respect to the directives given at the SEAFDEC meetings and ASEAN bodies related to fisheries. Specifically, the 28FCG/ASSP noted the endorsement of the two regional policy documents developed through SEAFDEC initiatives, namely: Report of the Stock and Risk Assessments of Two Seerfish Species (Scomberomorus guttatus and S. commerson) Resources (1950-2022) in the Southeast Asia Region using ASPIC 5 (Prager, 2004), and the Regional Guidelines on Good Manufacturing and Handling Practices (GMP&GHP) for Ready-to-eat Raw Fish and Fishery Products, by the 47th Meeting of AMAF in October 2025.
Moreover, the 28FCG/ASSP took note of the programs and activities implemented in 2025 and the proposed activities for 2026 under the FCG/ASSP mechanism, as previously approved by the 48PCM, including one Pipeline Project, which is still under development. The 28FCG/ASSP discussed several international issues requiring attention from the region, including efforts to combat IUU fishing, implementation of the Regional Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity, CITES-related issues, WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, and ecosystem and biodiversity protection policies related to fisheries.
The results from the 28FCG/ASSP would be submitted to the 58th Meeting of the SEAFDEC Council and to the 34th Meeting of the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi), respectively, for consideration and endorsement.
