More than 500 representatives from the fisheries co-operative sector from across the world met in Indonesia to celebrate the third World Fisheries Cooperative Day.
The event, which took place on 16-19 June, was organised by the International Co-operative Fisheries Organisation — a sectoral organisation of the International Co-operative Alliance — and coincided with the National Leaders Meeting of DEKOPIN, the Indonesia Cooperative Council.
The event was attended by high-level co-operators, including ICA President, Dame Pauline Green, who delivered a keynote speech on the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade. She was joined at the opening ceremony by Lee Jong Koo, Chairman of ICFO and Nurin Halid, Chairman of DEKOPIN. The theme of the event was assessing fisheries in developing countries.
Following the opening ceremony Chung Man-hwa, President of Fisheries Economic Institute of the Korea National Federation of Fisheries Co-operatives, delivered a presentation on the future of mankind and the importance of fisheries. The discussion continued with a lecture on the role of fisheries co-operatives in the Central Java Province by Professor Budi Prajitno from Diponegoro University. Delegates also assessed the Korean Government’s Policy for Fisheries Cooperatives.
“At this moment in time, when environmental conditions surrounding fisheries are dramatically changing, fisheries co-operatives over the world must co-operate with ICFO and play a pivotal role in taking sensible actions to overcome the crises world fisheries have faced and to continuously contribute to the development of humankind,” said ICFO Chairman, Lee Jong-Koo.
Highlighting the role World Fisheries Cooperative Day has played in promoting co-operation within the sector, he said that fisheries co-operatives stand at the forefront of development. He added that co-operatives have been instrumental in addressing some of the key challenges faced by fishermen across the world such as: a declining number of fishermen, growing exploitation and commercialisation.
The event also saw the presentation of the annual World Fisheries Cooperator Prize, which went to Achmad Goestomy, Vice President of “Misoyo Sari” Fisheries Co-operative for his role played in stabilising the function of the fish auction system managed and controlled by fisheries co-operatives.
World Fisheries Day enabled representatives from fisheries co-operatives to share experiences and expertise, comparing methods and statistics.
