Thumbnail Image

Report of the four GEF/UNEP/FAO Regional Workshops on Reducing the Impact of Tropical Shrimp Trawl Fisheries. Lagos, Nigeria, 15-17 December 1999. Puntareñas, Costa Rica, 15-17 January 2000. Teheran, Iran, 28 February - 1 March 2000. Denpasar, Bali, Indon

Year of publication 2000

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 40

Author FAO

Product type Book (series)

Category Technical report

ISBN 9251045127

Series title FAO Fisheries Report

Series number 0429-9337 - R627

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) As part of the development of the project “Reducing the impact of tropical shrimp trawling fisheries on living marine resources through the adoption of environmentally friendly techniques and practices”, mainly funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), four regional workshops were conducted during the period between December 1999 and March 2000 in Nigeria, Costa Rica, Iran and Indonesia. The main objectives of the workshops were to review the situation with regard to impact on the envir onment of shrimp trawling in each of the four regions and in the 13 participating countries in particular, and to discuss and agree on regional priorities and content of a possible main phase project. Reports from baseline studies in each of the 13 countries were presented. The most serious problems identified were capture and discard of juvenile food fish and high discard levels of most non-shrimp catch. It was also reported that more and more countries are introducing regulations to reduce d iscarding of bycatch. In some countries collecting, landing, processing and selling bycatch has become a new and viable occupation for coastal communities. Reduced shrimp catches and different levels of management action, like seasonal closure and mesh size regulations were reported by some countries. Conflicts about the use of fishing grounds and resources between industrial and artisanal fishers was reported to be widespread. The impact of trawling on the bottom habitat is an area where little knowledge exists among the participating countries. It was, however, realized that such impact might be important for some areas and the need for research within this field was stressed. Some countries have in their regulations the mandatory use of the Turtle Excluder Device, but many of these reported low compliance with such regulations.

Cite this content as:

FAO.Report of the four GEF/UNEP/FAO Regional Workshops on Reducing the Impact of TropicalShrimp Trawl Fisheries. Lagos, Nigeria, 15-17 December 1999. Puntareñas, Costa Rica,15-17 January 2000. Teheran, Iran, 28 February-1 March 2000. Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia,6-8 March 2000.FAO Fisheries Report. No. 627. Rome, FAO. 2000. 40p.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Technical report
    Report of the Workshop of National Coordinators of the UNEP/GEF/FAO Project on Reducing the Impact of Tropical Shrimp Trawling Fisheries on Living Marine Resources Through the Adoption of Environmentally Friendly Techniques and Practices.
    Rome, Italy, 17-19 March 1999
    1999
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    To initiate the preparatory phase of a UNEP/GEF/FAO project aimed at reducing the impact of tropical shrimp trawling fisheries on living marine resources through the adoption of environmentally friendly techniques and practices a Workshop was organized by FAO at their Headquarters in Rome from 17 to 19 March 1999. This report summarizes the outcome of this Workshop which was attended by FAO staff and 12 National Coordinators. The National Coordinators from 12 counties: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Camer oon, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, had been appointed by their respective governments. The workshop reviewed the situation with regard to problems associated with shrimp exploitation as well as the multi-sectoral structure in place for consultation on such issues in each country. It was generally agreed that the present exploitation pattern for shrimp in most countries is non-sustainable, mainly because of capture of ju venile fish and overfishing. A priority issue, however, to be addressed and hopefully solved by such a project, is to reduce capture of juveniles of commercially important food fishes. It was recognized that any introduction of new environmentally friendly techniques and practices depends to a large extent on the acceptance by the fishing industry of any such devices, technologies or regulations. The participation of affected stakeholders should therefore be given priority in all the phases of p roject implementation. The workshop agreed on follow-up activities, which included preparation of detailed reports about the shrimp fisheries in each country, and venues for four regional workshops to be arranged in December 1999/January 2000.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Bulletin
    Report of the Regional Workshop on Approaches to Reducing Shrimp Trawl Bycatch in the Western Indian Ocean. Mombasa, Kenya, 13-15 April 2003 2004
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The wokshop was jointly organized by the FAO Fishery Industries Division, the Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) in Mombasa (Kenya) and the Oceanographic Research Institute in Durban (South Africa), and was hosted by KMFRI. Twenty-nine participants from five countries (Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa) attended the workshop. The participants represented national fisheries administrations, non-governmental organizations and scientific institutions. During the workshop, participants discussed existing bycatch policy and legislations, the state of bycatch knowledge and impacts of bycatch, as well as methods for reducing bycatch or improving bycatch utilization in their respective countries. The participants recommended the use of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) in the region, to harmonize the data collection among the countries and the improved utilization of bycatch.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Manual / guide
    A guide to bycatch reduction in tropical shrimp-trawl fisheries (Revised Edition)
    REBYC - Reduction of Environmental Impact from Tropical Shrimp Trawling, Through the Introduction of By-catch Reduction Technologies and Change of Management
    2007
    Also available in:
    Bycatch is the unwanted or non-target part of the catch taken by fishermen. It is either discarded at sea or used for human or animal consumption. The capture of bycatch may pose a threat to species diversity and ecosystem health because this part of the catch is usually unregulated. In tropical shrimp-trawl fisheries, bycatch often consists of juvenile food-fish species and is therefore a threat to food security and sustainable fisheries production. Bycatch is a global problem that must be addressed. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is addressing this problem through the technical project, 'Reduction of discards and environmental impact from fisheries. Under this project FAO is executing a five-year global project funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) titled, Reduction of environmental impacts from tropical shrimp trawling, through the introduction of bycatch reduction technologies and change of management. Twelve countrie s1 from Latin America, the Caribbean, West Africa, Southeast Asia and the Gulf region, and one inter-governmental organization2 are also participating in this project. A Guide to Bycatch Reduction in Tropical Shrimp-Trawl Fisheries is a result of this project. It is designed for fishermen, net makers, fishing technologists and others interested in a practical guide to the design, use and operation of effective bycatch reduction devices. Fishery managers, policy-makers and legislators w ill find this guide useful to help develop specifications governing the design and application of these devices in a shrimptrawl fishery. The issue of bycatch is not going away and scrutiny of fishing activity is increasing. All fishermen are strongly urged to use appropriate bycatch reduction measures to help maintain the productivity of the fishery and the long term prosperity of the fishing industry. By responding appropriately, fishermen can help to protect the marine environment and assist global food security both now and in the future.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files
Show more