BOBP-IGO participated in the 5th World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress, held at Dusit Thani Hua Hin, Thailand, from 27 April to 1 May 2026. The Congress, organised by TBTI Global Foundation in partnership with the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), brought together over 300 participants from more than 60 countries, affirming its stature as the foremost global platform for dialogue on small-scale fisheries (SSF) research, policy, and governance.

 

Themed "Small-Scale Fisheries for Advancing Just Harmony, Young Futures, and Regenerative Wisdom", the Congress featured a dense programme of plenary discussions, concurrent sessions, a Science Café, and a community field visit to Bang Saphan, a coastal fishing village with a long tradition of co-existence between small and large-scale fisheries.

 

BOBP-IGO was represented by Dr. P. Krishnan, Director, BOBP-IGO, and Mr. Rajdeep Mukherjee, Project Coordinator, BOBLME, BOBP-IGO. Senior representatives and participants from BOBP member-countries included Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary (Fisheries), Government of India; Dr. K. Mohammed Koya, Fisheries Development Commissioner, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India; Dr. Md Zia Haider, Director General, Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh; Mr. Md Ahsanur Rahman Hasib, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh; Ms. Sinesha Karunarathne, Assistant Director, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Sri Lanka; and Ms. Aishath Sarah Hashim, Fisheries Officer, Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Maldives.

 

Dr. P. Krishnan contributed to two important events at the Congress. In the session on “Advancing Small-Scale Fisheries Sustainability through the Ecosystem Approach and Other Governance Measures: Lessons from the Gulf of Thailand and Bay of Bengal,” he presented the Bay of Bengal region’s experience in applying the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management under the BOBLME-II Project. The presentation highlighted EAFM pilots, shared stocks management, regional cooperation, and the need for practical governance pathways suited to multi-species and multi-gear fisheries.

 

Dr. Krishnan also participated in the FAO-led discussion on National Plans of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries. He traced the process from its origins at a High-Level Policy Guidance Meeting in Malé (February 2025), through Regional Capacity Development and Inception Workshops in Chennai (September 2025) and Colombo (November 2025), to the current phase of developing country-specific NPOA-SSF Development Plans for Bangladesh, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Dr. Krishnan also noted that BOBP-IGO's support is not limited to NPOA-SSF development, but runs concurrently with efforts to address systemic bottlenecks, spanning IUU governance, traceability, EAFM embedding, and shared stocks management, in what he termed the "BOBP Stack" for addressing the concerns of small-scale fisheries communities in the region.