1. Introduction

As part of the UNDP/FAO programme GLO/82/002 the R/V “Dr. Fridtjof Nansen” undertook three surveys of Pakistan waters between September 1983 and June 1984:

Survey I	5-16 September 1983
Survey II	20 January-2 February 1984
Survey III	2-12 June 1984

The research work was conducted in a cooperation between the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen and the Marine Fisheries Department, Karachi. The survey coverage was in each case about the same with transects 10-15 n.m. apart from the 15-20 m depth line out to 5-10 n.m. off the slope of the continental shelf. The distance sailed was about 2000 n.m. in each survey. Figure 1 shows cruise tracks, hydrographical profiles and fishing stations from survey I. The coverage was similar in the other surveys. In addition to fish biomass estimation by acoustic instrumentation, in each cruise between 40 and 90 trawl fishing stations were worked for sampling and bottom fish assessments. About 20 hydrographic stations were occupied in four transects each cruise. Preliminary cruise reports were issued after the completion of each survey.