The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducted a trial of a new methodology to assess the status of fish stock from the regional and global perspective, jointly with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP) and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institution (CMFRI).

 

The Joint Exercise was carried out during 8 -10 August 2022 in the BOBP Secretariat, Chennai, India. Dr. Rishi Sharma, Senior Fishery Resources Officer, Fisheries & Aquaculture Department, FAO, Rome led the team, wherein serving and retired experts from CMFRI and members of BOB-Policy Research Group took part.

 

FAO is the custodian of SDG 14: Life Below Water and informs the global community about the progress made in SDG 14. The new methodology will strengthen reporting of SDG 14.4.1 i.e., "Proportion of marine fish stocks within biologically sustainable limits".

 

Due to data limitation, FAO usually assesses the status of many fish stocks using catch-only methods. The new method includes information from national stock assessments, scientific publications and reported catches to assess the stock.

 

The trial was carried out for FAO Major Fishing Area 57 (Eastern Indian Ocean). FAO Major Fishing Areas are statistical divisions of the global marine waters for data collation, reporting, and fisheries management. There are 19 such areas. Dr. Rishi Sharma said the initial results are promising, however, further trials will be conducted before the new method is implemented. He thanked BOBP and CMFRI for their support and the quality of work done.

 

Dr. P. Krishnan thanked FAO and CMFRI for their cooperation and said that the BOBP-IGO is committed to promoting regional cooperation in fish stock management, for which quality and timely information is necessary.

 

BOBP works with national governments and research agencies in its member countries to improve data collection and stock assessment to aid in achieving SDGs, said Dr. Krishnan.

 

Dr. Kripa, Member Secretary, Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) and Mr. Antony Xavier, Director, CAA interacted with the experts on 10 August 2022.