Current Knowledge of Fisheries Resources in the Shelf Area of the Bay of Bengal - BOBP/WP/8

Abstract

This paper summarises published knowledge of theexploited and exploitable fishery resources in the shelf area of the Bay of Bengal. It also offers some general remarks about the potential for fisheries development in some areas of the region and the need for management measures in other areas; the types of resources studies that need to be carried out; and the availability of information. The author of the paper is Dr. B. T. Antony Raja, Deputy Commissioner, Fisheries Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, New Delhi, India, who served as a consultant to the Bay of Bengal Programme for the Consultation on Stock Assessment for Small-Scale Fisheries held in Chittagong, June 16-21, 1980. The paper is based on “status papers” submitted to the consultation by member countries, as well as information that emerged during the consultation; additional information from other sources was also utilised. The author and the Bay of Bengal Programme than k the writers of the country status papers and the participants in the consultation for providing most of the material that has gone into the paper. The purpose of this paper is to indicate, to the extent necessary, which of the various stock assessment estimates for the Bay of Bengal region can be reliably adopted by planners for development and management. The paper does not attempt to evaluate or critically examine the existing information.