ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING

1. BACKGROUND AND AUDIT PLANNING

SAI Indonesia and SAI Malaysia conducted the third parallel audit on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and its environment in 2012. The topic was agreed in Manado, Indonesia in 2011 and consequently second technical meeting was held in Pangkor Island, Malaysia on April 9 till 10, 2012. This is one of the cooperative activities between two SAIs under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Mexico, on 4 November 2007.

The topic chosen for this parallel audit focus on the IUU i.e. fishing which does not comply with national, regional or global fisheries conservation and management requirements. IUU can occur within areas of national jurisdiction, within areas controlled by regional fisheries management organizations or on high seas. It can cause depletion of commercially important fish stocks due to excessive fishing effort has emerged as one of the major problems faced by many countries around the world. This issue has especially become a major concern among fishery managers whose duties are to ensure that fish stocks are exploited on a profitable but sustainable basis.

With regards to the form of cooperation, the audit is conducted by SAI Malaysia and Indonesia with a separate audit team from each SAI submitting the report to the respective parliament/government. This implies that each SAI will adopt different approach suited to national needs and preferences. Information exchange and lessons learnt will be the most important aspect of this form of cooperation in order to enhance audit capacity building.

The audit objective is to assess whether the IUU and its environment have been controlled efficiently and effectively in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations as well as achieved its stated objectives with consideration to environmental impacts. The audit criteria, methodology, technique and approach, as well as audit tools were discussed during the meeting. The study is carried out for the period of 2010 until 2012.

2. METHODOLOGY

Files, records and relevant documents for the period 2010 to 2012 were scrutinized and reviewed. Observation, site visit, interview were conducted in order to collect the information. On the other hand, Geographic Information System (GIS) used in selecting sample and decision making as well as analysis for audit.

3. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Preliminary findings from on-going audit by both SAI’s are presented below.

i. VIOLATION OF THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Illegal fishing takes places where fishers operate in violation of the laws of fisheries, either within areas controlled by regional fisheries management organization or high seas. Unreported fishing is fishing that has been unreported or misreported to the relevant national authority or regional organization in contravention of applicable laws and regulations. Unregulated fishing refers to fishing by vessels flying the flag of a country not party to the regional fisheries management organization governing that fishing area or species. There are instances whereby dynamite and poisons are used to harvest fish which is prohibited by law. These practices can have considerable negative effects on fish habitats such as coral reefs and can represent health and safety risks.

ii. NON SELECTIVE FISHING EQUIPMENT

Some fishing equipment can be highly destructive for species that are not being targeted. Traditionally, bottom trawling, drift nets, and surface long-line fishing technologies have been the most destructive. This equipment has had adverse impacts on fish stocks, turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, such as dolphins. The by-catch and discard problems associated with this equipment have had an effect in terms of loss of human food, and significant effects on entire ecosystems. By-catch is also an economic cost to fishermen because of wasted time and effort. There have been international efforts to eliminate or limit the impacts of these types of equipment. As well, the fishing industry itself has developed technology to reduce the negative impact. For example, many fishermen now employ technology to divert non-targeted species away from bottom trawling equipment.

iii. LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

The international community has recognized that fisheries operate in large, complex, and interconnected ecosystems, which are subject to natural fluctuations and, in some cases, affected by long-term trends resulting from human activity. The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) believes that the functioning of marine ecosystems is only partially understood and that there is a need for a greater understanding of the effects of human activities, including fishing, and the potential reversibility of these effects. While the FAO has been gathering statistics on fisheries since the 1950s, with a few exceptions, the information available on the fisheries themselves is incomplete.

iv. IMPACTS AND RESULTS

Monitoring, Controllng and Surveillance (MCS) is all about compliance to fishery management measures. Monitoring gathers information on the fishery that is used to assist in developing and assessing appropriate management measures, while surveillance uses this information to ensure that these controls are complied with. Controlling is the regulatory conditions under which the exploitation of the resource may be conducted and surveillance is the degree and types of observations required to maintain compliance with the regulatory controls imposed on fishing activities. These elements need to be enhanced by both countries in order to prevent IUU fishing.

4. CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS

Since Malaysia and Indonesia make fisheries management decisions in cooperation, it was advantageous for the two SAIs to cooperate in assessing the implementation of the same decision. As with other international agreements, goal achievements in the Malaysia – Indonesia management is dependent on the performance of both parties. It is challenging for SAI to place responsibility with its authorities in cases where goals are not reached.

5. LESSONS LEARNED

Indonesia and Malaysia can develop good cooperation for their mutual benefits since both countries have very rich in natural resources and surrounded by a vast ocean and forest. By cooperating on auditing and the awareness to encounter so many problems arise associated with these conditions was a favorable way of holding both countries responsible. This is because the IUU fishing represented a threat to the sustainable management of the fish stocks – a central goal fishery policy.