Most of the countries from South and Southeast Asia sent two participants, one responsible for fishery statistics, and the other with responsibility for biological and stock assessment studies. However, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam and Myanmar sent only one participant each. The participants were requested to present the status of the statistical data collection, stock assessment and fisheries management in their respective countries. Most participants addressed the status and constraints in fishery statistics collection and fish stock assessment in their respective countries. Only a few countries mentioned the current issues in fisheries management. A summary of these comments is given here.
It was clear that the thirteen participating countries varied substantially in terms of their capabilities in the area of statistics collection and fish stock assessment. Marine fisheries are obviously important in this region, dominating the catch in the fisheries sector, except for Bangladesh and Cambodia where the inland fisheries sector is much more important. The main constraints, as reported by the countries, included inadequacies of manpower (in terms of quantity and quality), facilities (operational funds, research vessels), and institutional arrangements (unclear mandate, lack of training opportunity). Representatives of Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar reported constraints in staff recruitment, lack of training and inadequate funding for research and fishery survey.
Some participants indicated that there was lack of commitment on the part of their governments, due to insufficient understanding of fishery statistics and stock assessment, and a consequential lack of appreciation of these issues. On the more technical matters, some participants reported difficulties in obtaining fish samples for length measurements, especially for the more valuable species like shrimp. Lack of cooperation by fishers in assisting with catch sampling also creates problems. The absence of research vessels and, in some cases, the inadequacy or absence of operational funds in some countries were cited as a constraint.
With regard to fishery statistics, a number of participants reported some problems and constraints faced by their countries, and one country advised of current efforts in improving their statistics through the provision of assistance from a donor country. The participant from the Philippines reported the current weakness of their fishery statistics following the transfer of the responsibility on statistics collection from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics of the Department of Agriculture since 1995. He indicated, as an example, that statistics on catch by fishing gear is no longer available in the current statistics.
While the Departments of Fisheries generally collected fishery statistics in many countries, participants from India and Sri Lanka reported that some research institutes also collected statistics with the aim of obtaining specific data for stock assessment purposes. In many cases, however, the collection of such data still focuses only on commercially important species.
The FAO/DANIDA Training Project in Fish Stock Assessment and Fishery Research Planning Project (GCP/INT/575/DEN) has trained a number of scientists from the region in the past decade. However, many of these trainees have been promoted to higher posts, which do not necessarily deal with stock assessment. As a result, there is lack of research continuity which is important in this particular subject. Moreover, there are no training courses available for the new staff and this situation further weakens the capability of the research establishments in the region.
The situation in India is however different, as the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has a core group of specialists in stock assessment who offer such training courses to junior scientists. To a limited extent, some universities in the region also offer courses on stock assessment, but only superficially as the lecturers also lack experience in practical work.
The participants presented only brief reports on fisheries management issues. A small number mentioned that management measures currently practised in their countries are cases of zoning schemes and fishing closures. Moreover, participants from Brunei and Myanmar informed the meeting that their countries are also engaged in joint ventures with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The Malaysian participant indicated that the current administration encourages development of fisheries in the deeper waters (beyond 30 miles), especially for the less exploited areas such as in the eastern part of Malaysia. However, the provision of data from the fishing fleets is still not available for stock assessment purposes, especially on shared stocks.
