Central role to Play in Conserving and Sustainably Using Tuna and Tuna-like Species in Indian Ocean

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea (MOF) announced the election of Ms. Jung-re Riley Kim of International Cooperation Division of the MOF as Chair of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) with the full and unanimous support of its Member states at the 25th session of its annual meeting held online from 7th to 11th June 2021.

The IOTC has since its establishment in 1996 served as a platform for its 33 Member states including the Republic of Korea, the EU, Japan and Maldives to conserve, manage and ensure sustainable use of the tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean, which is the second largest tuna fishing ground for the Korean tuna fleets following the Pacific Ocean with a KRW 50 billion worth of annual tuna production. As of last year, 21,265mt of tuna were caught by the Korean fishing vessels in the IOTC Area of Competence.

Having engaged in the IOTC meetings since 2010 as a Korean delegate, Ms. Kim was first elected as Vice Chair at the 21^st session of the annual meeting in 2017, earned her second term as re-elected at the 23^rd session in 2019 and led the Commission as Acting Chair after the sudden resignation of her predecessor on 27^th January this year.

Even in the unprecedented virtual setting for the annual meeting for two years in a row due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, she competently examined the conflicting positions among the Member states and mediated the debate to help them achieve an agreement on necessary decisions for management of the tuna and tuan-like resources in the Indian Ocean. The Commission Members at the 25^th session expressed their high trust to her work and contributions and unanimously selected her as their next Chair.

Ms. Jung-re Riley Kim, who is also the incumbent Chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), has years of experience in chairing international fisheries meetings, including the Standing Committee on Implementation and Compliance (SCIC) of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Her experiences and know-how easily convince us that she is one of the high-profile figures in the global fisheries arena who will spearhead our future discussions on management and rational use of the fisheries resources with a balanced mix of competencies of her wise chairmanship, expertise in rules and fisheries of different fisheries organizations and the excellent language ability.

Mr. Dong-sik Woo, Director General for International Cooperation Bureau of the MOF, said “As a Korean was elected as Chair of the Commission for our number-two tuna fishing ground, our concerns are to be better taken into account while we, as a leading and responsible fishing nation, further strengthen our positions in the international fisheries world”, adding “we will continue our efforts until the sustainable fisheries are ensured around the world.”