Fifteen delegates from the Indonesian Coast Guard (Bakamla) and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries recently paid a visit to of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority’s (AFMA) Canberra office to discuss methods and regional progress made in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Indonesian officials toured Australia as part of a professional development course run by the University of Wollongong’s Australian National Center for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), with funding for the excursion coming from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Australian Awards Fellowships. The trip took the delegates to meet with several Australian authorities, including the Maritime Border Command, before wrapping up at the AFMA’s office. Parties participating in the trip discussed strengthening global fisheries management, maritime enforcement and improving compliance measures.
As a means to improve the ease of international relations and communication, the AFMA has aided many of its officers collaborating directly with the Indonesian sector in learning the Bahasa language “to help break down language and cultural barriers,” said the organization.
“AFMA is proactive about working closely with Australia’s neighboring countries, including Indonesia, to better inform and collaborate on compliance measures to strengthen fisheries management,” it explained in a news release.
