The meeting was organized at the invitation of the government of the Philippines. The meeting was chaired by the Philippines as the SEAFDEC Council Chair for 2024–2025. In this regard, Ms. Drusila Esther E. Bayate acted as the chairperson of the meeting.
This is an annual Council Director-level meeting to discuss SEAFDEC’s strategic policies, approve SEAFDEC’s scoping meeting reports, and provide direction on new proposals and initiatives. In attendance at the meeting were the Council Directors and delegates from the SEAFDEC Member Countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam; SEAFDEC Secretary-General; SEAFDEC Deputy Secretary-General; as well as officials from the SEAFDEC Secretariat and Departments (Training Department (TD), Aquaculture Department (AQD), Marine Fisheries Research Department (MFRD); Marine Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (MFRDMD); and Inland Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (IFRDMD). Besides, the meeting was also attended by international and regional organizations and non-member governments, namely FAO/RAP, NACA, and USAID/RDMA.
Participants had the opportunity to conduct a field trip to visit the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute-Freshwater Fisheries Research and Development Centre (NFRDI-FFRDC) in Butong, Taal, Batangas.