"The establishment of the ATEL is aimed at improving the competitiveness of ASEAN tuna fisheries in the global market by building ASEAN tuna brands as sustainable and traceable products," Suseno Sukoyono, an expert staff member of the Minister for Social Affairs and Inter-Institutional Relations at the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs, noted in a statement received by Antara here, Monday.
Sukoyono, who accompanied Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman, as the chair of the Indonesian delegation at the meeting, expressed hope that the implementation of ATEL would be more applicable than the existing certification mechanisms.
ATEL is expected to not burden stakeholders, be voluntary, and be consistent with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations` Guidelines.
Sukoyono remarked that Indonesia had initiated the ATEL since 2012, the basic principle of which was to cater to the needs of tuna fisheries businessmen for tuna sustainability certification with reasonable costs.
In addition, ATEL certification can form branding for ASEAN tuna products.
ATEL is also a correction for existing eco-label certificates that have started to become a new obstacle to enter retail markets of developed countries.
This annual meeting aimed to discuss several collaborative documents that have been recommended in the agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors.
In particular, the ministers approved the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry to promote investment in the three sectors in the ASEAN region. The sectors are considered to offer contributions to regional economic development, food and nutrition security, and supports sustainable use of natural resources.
At this meeting, Indonesia expressed its commitment to continue supporting efforts to increase food security and safety in the ASEAN region.
On the occasion, Minister Sulaiman pointed out that Indonesia has applied responsible fisheries practices by avoiding Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and maintaining the quality of fishery products.
The minister also noted that Indonesia had applied a documentation mechanism to record all catches and traceability of capture fisheries, including for aquaculture fisheries. The system has enhanced competitiveness in fishery and product quality and promoted the implementation of aquaculture practices as well.
On behalf of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the minister of agriculture invited all ASEAN heads of state and ministers engaged in maritime and fisheries affairs to attend Our Ocean Conference (OOC) on October 29-30, 2018, in Bali.
Reporting by Muhammad Razi Rahman
Editing by Libertina W Ambari
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Yosep Hariyadi
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
