ICES/FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB23) and Symposium on Innovations in Fishing Technologies for Sustainable and Resilient Fisheries
South and Southeast Asia are home to global small- scale fisheries. The fishers are marginal and vulnerable and their choice of technology is limited by access and knowledge leading them to rely on harmful and less efficient fishing gear. The sector seems to be trapped in a self-destructive loop where depleted stock and low catch per unit of effort are leading to the use of harmful fishing gear further deteriorating the condition of the fish stocks.
The major crisis in the marine fisheries sector is evident from depleted fish stocks, habitat destruction coupled with pollution and global warming emphasizes the need for adopting sustainable fishing practices through improved fishing technologies.
The symposium brought together scientists, technical experts and scholars with global experience creating a scope for exchange of learning and cross- fertilization of ideas. It has contributed to networking and updating the research and development agenda. In addition, the issues faced by the region from a global perspective were discussed.