The Meeting unanimously elected the following office bearers: the representative of Mauritius was elected chairperson, the representative of Madagascar as Vice-Chairperson, and the representative of Seychelles as Rapporteur. (para. 8 of the report)
Non-tuna resources were the main source of employment and subsistence in the region although these same resources were difficult to manage by conventional management techniques. (para 12 of the report)
Species observed in national catches are similar across the region. It was agreed that, in this region, the concept of a `stock' was unclear as there was little scientific information on the genetics or movements of fish upon which it could be based. Nevertheless, likely transboundary fish species include among others: trevallies, mackerel, sharks, small pelagic fish, lobsters and shrimps. The Meeting identified possible transboundary fisheries issues in the region:
The Meeting made the following conclusions:
The Meeting recommended, that regional collaboration should be encouraged and strengthened to facilitate the collection, analysis and dissemination of fishery information at national and regional levels and to enable unified management measures for similar and transboundary fisheries. (para. 21 of the report)
The Meeting expressed its appreciation of efforts employed by SADC, COI and COMESA in the area of fisheries. The Meeting noted, however, that none of these economic groupings had all the nations of the SWIO area as members. (para. 26 of the report).
Pointing to the need for strengthened regional collaboration on fisheries and marine environment issues, the Meeting stressed the need to re-establish a specialized fisheries body to which all countries of the SWIO region could participate. (para. 26 of the report)
The Meeting agreed that the area covered by the countries comprises of similar ecosystems, that the countries were a homogeneous group with similar problems and issues and that emphasis was on fisheries targeted at non-tuna species. (Para 30 of the report)
The Meeting expressed strong reservations concerning the possible financial implications of a new regional fishery body on the participating countries and was of the opinion that the countries were not in a position to immediately make financial contributions to the body. However, the Meeting considered that the countries should be able to cover the costs of members' participation at meetings, to undertake cooperative activities in their respective countries, to host sessions of the body, to actively participate in the preparation and organization of sessions of the body and to seek external funding. (para. 34 of the report)
On the basis of the above considerations, the Meeting unanimously agreed to recommend to their respective Governments the establishment of a regional fishery body under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution. (para. 35 of the report)
The Meeting made a number of observations which will be taken into account by the Secretariat in the preparation of a draft. This draft will be sent to all participants by the end of February 2000. (para. 36 of the report)
The Meeting recommended that each potential member of the future body should be represented at the next ad hoc meeting by legal and technical experts. (para. 37 of the report)
The Meeting suggested that the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Harare, host the second Ad hoc meeting in the first week of June 2000. (para. 39 of the report)
