Following the presentations of the participants, there were thorough discussions on the three thematic topics, namely fishery statistics, stock assessment and fisheries management. The highlights of the discussions as well as possible actions to be undertaken in the future are hereby summarized:
Fishery statistics
The presentation of a regional review of fishery statistics in Asia by L. Garibaldi of FAO/FIDI served as an eye opener on how varied the status of fishery statistics in South and Southeast Asia is with respect to the species group breakdown as reported to FAO by individual member countries. This condition will obviously demand precaution when one wishes to conduct regional analysis such as status and trends according to species group breakdown.
The need for training on fishery statistics, for a limited number of countries, was mentioned by some participants. It was noted that FAO has published two important documents: Guidelines on Collection of Data for Capture Fisheries (FAO Tech. Paper No. 382) and Sample based Fishery (FAO Tech. Paper No. 425) which offers good reference material for countries in the context of improving their statistics. Large numbers of fishers who live in disaggregated coastal areas was frequently mentioned as one of the constraints in the collection of coastal fishery statistics. Some participants expressed their wish to learn more on the application of ARTFISH to the artisanal fishery in Africa, which could be useful for the Asian condition.
In its effort to collate fishery statistics in the region, SEAFDEC has initiated the compilation of statistics in the South China Sea area. However, these statistics are still limited to production or landed statistics as is also the case for the FAO statistics. SEAFDEC, as well as FAO, has not been able to obtain statistics on catch and fishing effort from its member countries, an issue that could be put on the agenda for any future regional meeting.
Stock assessment
The FAO/DANIDA training on the Fish Stock Assessment Project had been useful for the region. Quite a number of current top positions in the Fisheries Departments in the region have been occupied by those people who participated in the training. The project has also stimulated some universities in the region to offer courses on stock assessment, though rather limited in scope. Some participants still consider it as a big impediment owing to lack of manpower, as in the case for Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Some participants mentioned unavailability of research vessels as one of the impediments, while others particularly mentioned the difficulty in obtaining data in the landing places due to lack of co-operation from fishers, especially when dealing with high valued species.
Stock assessment in India and Thailand seems to be in a relatively better position than that of other countries. Time series of survey data are available from the routine work of research vessels. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) of India has a core group of scientists who are qualified and able to offer training on stock assessment, an opportunity that could be tapped for any regional initiative.
A special session was devoted to the presentation of the stock assessment models which are ecosystem based, commonly called Ecopath. The experiences presented by the scientists from India and Thailand in applying the model to the tropical situation were useful, and interested participants were encouraged to discover more on the current development of the models through its website (www.ecopath.org). Furthermore, another special session was devoted to the introduction and application of the Thompson and Bell's yield analysis using Excel spreadsheets under the guidance of an FAO consultant. Participants from some countries who brought data from their selected fisheries were able to apply the method during the workshop. Other participants were encouraged to apply their data upon return to their country, as examples were already given in the FAO Fisheries Circular No. 895 which was dedicated to the application of the technique.
Fisheries management
Fisheries management is a complex subject. No one denies that implementation of fisheries management in South and Southeast Asia is still limited. The experience gained in applying the method is lacking. Although management measures are common in the region, the present situation in the region indicates that overfishing is common in various coastal fisheries. Conflicts among operators of fishing gears are common although some regulations on zoning allocation for different gears are in place. The weakness of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) has been reported by a number of participants, especially with regard to fishing in the exclusive economic zone.
The result of stock assessment work should support the need for management. However, due to weak links between research and management, such notions do not commonly meet the expectation. Productive research initiatives that have been shown by some countries do not guarantee for good management of the fisheries. Through the concept of fisheries management plan, where opportunity for dialogue between manager and other stakeholders including research scientists exist, it should help reduce this gap. This issue of weak link between research and management should form a good basis for initiatives in the future.
