The Fisheries Component of the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project has been working closely with the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) to develop a system of fisheries refugia for the management of fish stocks important, in terms of income generation and food security, to coastal fishing communities in the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea.

The PCU was recently invited by SEAFDEC to prepare a set of guidelines on the use of fisheries refugia in fisheries management as an addition to the existing suite of ASEAN-SEAFDEC Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries in Southeast Asia. These guidelines have been developed in support of the regionalisation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and will be published in December 2005 in conjuction with a new guidelines from SEAFDEC relating to small-scale fisheries management, as well as the use of indicators and statisics for sustainable capture fisheries. This initiative represents a valuable outcome of the ongoing collaboration between the SCS Project and SEAFDEC.

Note: In the context of the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project, fisheries refugia are defined as "spatially and geographically defined, marine or coastal areas in which specific management measures are applied to sustain important species [fisheries resources] during critical stages of their lifecycle, for their sustainable use." They will have a very clear fisheries agenda and will NOT be no-use areas.