The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies. The Fisheries Working Group (FWG) was created by Senior Officials in 1991. The APEC FWG is one of several APEC working groups that define and support sectoral work programs.
The FWG was created as an informal dialogue group - APEC has since become the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic cooperation. Its goal is to advance Asia-Pacific economic dynamism and sense of community.
Purpose
The FWG aims to promote the conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources:
- sustainable development of aquaculture and habitat preservation
- development of solutions to common resource management problems
- the enhancement of food safety and quality of fish and fisheries products, and
- sector-specific work relating to trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation.
Australian Priorities
The 2005 Bali Plan of Action is the guiding document for the fisheries management priorities of the FWG. Australia is supportive of the Working Group’s continued focus on delivery to the Bali plan and particularly on combating IUU fishing and on aquaculture development.
Members
APEC was established with 12 founding Member Economies including Australia. APEC now includes 21 Pacific Rim countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the Unites States of America and Vietnam). The APEC Secretariat is based in Singapore.
Meetings
The FWG holds annual meetings hosted by one of the Member Economies. FWG documents can be downloaded on the FWG website - documents section.
More information
For more information on the APEC FWG see the APEC Fisheries Working Group website.