This document is the final report of an environmental assessment in the Bay of Bengal carried out between April 1991 and February 1993, with special reference to fisheries. It includes edited versions of the status reports from every member country of the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP). They were presented at the regional workshop held in Colombo, February 2-6, 1993 at the conclusion of the assessment.

The country reports and the state reports from India were prepared by representatives of each country/state. Figure and data in these status reports are sometimes difficult to compare due to different methods of analysis, insufficient information sampling etc.

The assessment was funded by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA), and executed by the Swedish Centre for Coastal Development and Management of Aquatic Resources (SWEDMAR), a unit within the National Swedish Board of Fisheries, and carried out under the umbrella of the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP).

The objective was to assess the problems of environmental degradation in the coastal ecosystems in the Bay of Bengal by reviewing the existing information, analyzing available data and collating it all as a fundamental information base. In the long-term, the project could result in recommendations for coordinated activities in the countries as well as the region to achieve sustainable productivity from the coastal ecosystems and reduce the negative effects on the fisheries resources.