Benchmarking assessments of stock status, ecosystems impacts and management frameworks for small pelagic fisheries in the Bay of Bengal LME region Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia & Indonesia

FAO RAP - Project Dates:
September 2010 - December 2010

Description of Project:
The objective of BOBLME Component 2 (Coastal/Marine Natural Resources Management and Sustainable Use) is to promote the development and implementation of regional and sub-regional collaborative approaches to common and/or shared issues affecting the health and status of BOBLME. Results and outputs of the various activities described below will serve as inputs into the finalization of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and into the development of the SAP.

The objective of the Subcomponent 2.3 (Collaborative Regional Fishery Assessments and Management Plans) is to introduce and promote collaborative fisheries management approaches for selected key transboundary species through the development of regional and sub-regional management plans and harmonization of data collection and standardization. To achieve these objectives, the subcomponent will support the following activities: (i) development of a regional fishery management plan for sharks; (ii) development of sub-regional fishery management plan for Indian mackerel (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand); (iii) development of sub-regional fishery management plan for Hilsa shad (Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar); and (iv) design and implementation of a common fishery data/information system in the BOBLME.

Services Provided:
A team of four Poseidon staff conducted “pre-assessments” of the small pelagic fisheries in each country , using the principles and criteria developed for pre-assessments for the Marine Stewardship Council (MCS) in the BOBLME countries and producing a pre-assessment report compatible with MSC requirements.