Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

Report of the APFIC Regional Consultative Workshop on Implications of Climate Change on Fisheries and Aquaculture: Challenges for Adaptation and Mitigation in the Asia-Pacific Region, Kathmandu, Nepal, 24-26 May 2011. RAP Publication 2011/17.

It is now widely recognized that the effects of climate change will impact the fisheries sector, and result in increased uncertainty in the supply of fish from capture fisheries and aquaculture. The warming of the sea surface, river and lakes, changing precipitation, water salinity and ocean acidity and sea level rise will have an effect on marine, coastal and inland environments, producing changes in habitats, stocks and species distribution. Long-term and cyclical fluctuations in marine environments and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as excessive rainfall, cyclones and droughts, will certainly have an impact on the supply of fish and fisheries products. Food quality may also be threatened with the increased risk of species invasions and the spreading of vector-borne diseases. Nevertheless, there may also be positive impacts like access to new species and new markets as a result of climatic change.

Trying to understand the challenges as well as the opportunities that may arise in future scenarios, member countries of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) and regional organizations have convened this technical workshop with the purpose of reviewing their mitigation and adaptation strategies for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. As expected for a region as diverse as Asia and the Pacific, the focus and priorities of the countries vary according to the variety of issues that might affect them. The workshop nonetheless identified shared concerns such as the lack of understanding of the effects that climate change could have in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and the insufficient capacity available to deal with such effects in the region. Member countries further underlined the need for integration of the fishery and aquaculture sectors into the national climate change planning process.

This workshop report provides recommendations for member countries and partner organizations to take timely actions to address climate change issues related to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. These cover the strengthening of climate change related policies for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, the allocation of financial resources, the strengthening of governance and the use of integrated management approaches and monitoring tools. The workshop highlighted the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, especially the most vulnerable. These recommendations aim to strengthen the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the Asia and the Pacific region by promoting better preparedness for climate related change.

Sriskanthan, G. & Funge-Smith, S. J. (2011). The potential impact of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture in the Asian region. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2011/16, 41 pp.

The 31st Session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC), convened in Jeju, Republic of Korea in September 2010, emphasized that adaptation and mitigation of the impacts of climate change related to fisheries and aquaculture is an important challenge for the region. The session recommended that APFIC should review the effects of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture in the region and provide advice to member countries on strategic planning for adaptation and mitigation measures for the sector. This review was commissioned in support of the workshop Implications of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture: challenges for adaptation and mitigation in the Asia-Pacific region, which took place from 24 to 26 May 2010 in Kathmandu, Nepal organized by the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) in collaboration with the Directorate of Fisheries Development of the Government of Nepal. Support for the workshop was provided by the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) and the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Programme (BOBLME).

Fisheries and aquaculture in Asia provide considerable trade, employment and food security and some of the densest rural populations of the world are found on coastlines and floodplains of the region. Impacts from climate change such as increasing ocean acidification, shifting fish distributions and more frequent cyclones may increase the negative impacts on capture fisheries which are already at their limits through over exploitation, coastal degradation and pollution. Productivity and viability in aquaculture operations are also expected to be negatively impacted by factors including higher sea water levels, flooding, increased competition for water resources and disease occurrence patterns.

Climate change is expected to contribute to increasing disruptions to aquatic and coastal systems upon which many millions of Asian people depend and it is vital that governments in the region understand the risks, identify vulnerable systems and develop adaptive strategies. Increased policy attention and financial resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the fisheries/aquaculture sector are urgently needed; and the marine fishery and aquaculture sectors need to be closely integrated into national climate change policies. It is therefore essential that the interactions between capture fisheries and aquaculture, along with other sectors such as agriculture and disaster management are integrated into the policy planning processes.

Despite the increasing global attention on climate change and projections of their likely effects, there remain serious gaps in coverage relating to the tropical regions of Asia and particularly the fishery and aquaculture sectors. This greatly constrains dialogues and effective planning for these important sectors in the region. This regional review is intended to provide a preliminary insight into the current state of knowledge and indicate some likely implications for the region.

Women play a significant role in fisheries, yet lack of attention to gender roles and relations can result in policies or programmes failing to improve livelihoods or reduce vulnerability of fishing communities. The largely ‘invisible’ role of women in small-scale fisheries must be addressed if actions aimed at improving the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and their families are to be successful.

As part of its efforts to promote gender equity to improve fisheries livelihoods, the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) has developed a field handbook that gives guidance on taking gender into account in all phases of small-scale fisheries development projects.

The handbook provides:
* An overview of the rationale, concepts and approaches concerning mainstreaming gender equality in development cooperation;
* An overview of the role of women in the fisheries sector, the problems they face and possible empowerment opportunities;
* Tools for gender analysis in fisheries development projects and guidance on how to integrate gender aspects at various stages in the project cycle.

Working papers of the Seventy-Third Session Session Session APFIC Executive Committee, Nha Trang, Viet Nam, 23-25 October 2011

Information papers of the Seventy-Third Session Session Session APFIC Executive Committee, Nha Trang, Viet Nam, 23-25 October 2011

Working papers of the Thirty-first Session of APFIC, Jeju, Republic of Korea, 6-8 September 2010

Information papers of the Thirty-first Session of APFIC, Jeju, Republic of Korea, 6-8 September 2010

Working papers of the Seventy-Second Session Session APFIC Executive Committee, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 23-25 September 2009

Information papers of the Seventy-Second Session Session APFIC Executive Committee, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 23-25 September 2009

Working papers of the Thirtieth Session of APFIC, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, 11-13 August 2008

Information papers of the Thirtieth Session of APFIC, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, 11-13 August 2008

Working and information papers of the Seventy-First Session APFIC Executive Committee, Jakarta, Indonesia, 20-22 August 2007

Working papers of the Twenty-ninth Session of APFIC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-23 August 2006

Information papers of the Twenty-ninth Session of APFIC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-23 August 2006

Working papers of the Seventieth Session APFIC Executive Committee, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 23-25 August 2005

Gillett, R. (2011). Fisheries of the Pacific Islands: Regional and national information. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP publication 2011/03, 279 pages.

The Pacific Island region consists of fourteen independent countries and eight territories located in the western and central Pacific Ocean. These comprise about 200 high islands and some 2 500 low islands and atolls. Coastal fishing is of fundamental importance in the Pacific Islands. Much of the region’s nutrition, welfare, culture, employment, and recreation are based on the living resources in the zone between the shoreline and the outer reefs. The continuation of current lifestyles, the opportunities for future development and food security are all highly dependent on coastal fisheries resources.

Although dwarfed in both volume and value by the offshore tuna fisheries, the Pacific Island fisheries that are based on coastal resources provide most of the non-imported fish supplies to the region. Coastal fisheries harvest a very diverse range of finfish, invertebrates and algae. Unlike the tuna fishery, virtually all the coastal catch is undertaken by Pacific Islanders themselves, with very little access by foreign fishing vessels.

In contrast to the coastal fisheries, offshore fishing is dominated by large industrial-scale fishing vessels. Approximately 1 500 of these vessels operate in the EEZs of Pacific Island countries, mainly using purse seine, longline, and pole-and-line gear to catch tuna. There are about 327 vessels operated by national operations and approximately 1 200 foreign-based vessels operating in the waters of Pacific Island countries. It is important to note that the license fees paid to Pacific Island countries by these foreignbased vessels is substantial, and in some countries represents the major source of government revenue.

Statistics and information are of variable quality in the region. This publication attempts a significant effort to consolidate a variety of sources into a single coherent review. As such it is a timely contribution to our general understanding of the status of the fisheries in the Pacific Islands. The region’s fishery resources can be broadly split into two main categories: oceanic, and coastal or inshore. Oceanic resources include tunas, billfish and allied species. They are characterized by an open-water pelagic habitat, potentially extensive individual movements. Coastal or inshore resources include a wide range of finfish and invertebrates. They are characterized by their shallow water habitats or demersal life-styles, and restriction of individual movements to coastal areas. This paper discusses these resource categories. Information is provided on the major types of fishing, the important species, the status of those resources, and the fisheries management that occurs. The report also provides information on the fisheries in the 14 independent Pacific Island countries in following categories:
– General geographic and economic data
– Fisheries data
– Fishery sector structure
– Post-harvest use
– Fishery sector performance
– Fishery sector development
– Fishery sector institutions
– General legal framework

This ad hoc publication contains the country case studies on supporting livelihoods diversification, increasing resilience , conflict reduction and alternative forms of income generation, presented at the APFIC/FAO Regional consultative workshop “Best practices for supporting and improving livelihoods of small scale fisheries and aquaculture households”, 13 - 15 October, 2009, Manila, Philippines.

Miao W., Silva S.D., Davy B. (eds.) (2010) Inland Fisheries Enhancement and conservation in Asia. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2010/22, 189 pp.

Inland capture fisheries provide an important source of food and livelihoods for many people in rural areas. In 2008, inland capture fisheries provided 10.2 million tonnes of fish worldwide (FAO, 2010), which was largely used for direct human consumption. Asia has overwhelmingly contributed to the world’s inland capture fisheries production with a reported total production of 6.8 million tonnes in 2008 (FAO, 2010). The actual contribution of inland capture fisheries, however, is far higher than what is reflected in the above official data. Because of the difficulties involved in collecting data from large numbers of small-scale, scattered and often unregistered fishers, official figures for fish catches tend to be vastly underestimated.

Inland fisheries resources provide not only the material basis for maintaining capture fisheries production, but also serve as a reservoir of aquatic biodiversity. However, over the past few decades inland fisheries resources have come under increasing pressure from overfishing, use of destructive fishing gear/methodologies, water engineering projects, pollution and environment changes and have shown a clear declining trend. This has been well demonstrated by the disappearance of some traditionally important fish species and a general reduction in the catch of high valued species.

Fisheries resource enhancement and conservation measures have long been adopted in many Asian countries for sustaining capture fish production, conserving aquatic biodiversity, rescuing endangered species, improving environmental conditions and upgrading recreational fisheries by offsetting the adverse impacts of human activities on inland fisheries resources. The contribution of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation to sustained inland capture fisheries and conservation of aquatic biodiversity as well as to nutritional security and improved rural livelihoods has been commonly recognized. On the other hand, external interventions to the aquatic ecosystem from fisheries resource enhancement and conservation activities may have had adverse impacts on the ecosystem and wild fish community, especially when such activities are carried out without a strong scientific basis or adequate evaluation and monitoring mechanisms. There is a general lack of comprehensive understanding as to the effectiveness and impacts of current enhancement and conservation activities in the region.

This publication is the product of a regional review study on inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation conducted during 2009-2010. It includes ten country review papers and one regional synthesis report generated from a regional expert workshop. The publication provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive information on inland fisheries resources enhancement and conservation in the region, covering practices, methodologies, operational modalities, impacts, constraints and recommendations for the way forward. The synthesis report provides a regional perspective on inland fisheries resources enhancement and conservation practices in Asia, with special focus on identifying common issues and problems, and recommends actions on improved practices for maximizing benefits to the region.
This publication can serve as an important reference for people working in inland fisheries resources management. More importantly, it provides a starting point for anticipated thrusts in promoting better practices of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation.

APFIC (2010). Best practices to support and improve livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture households. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2010/21,140 pp.

At its 30th Session in Manado (2008), the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) committed itself to identify areas of best practice and policies to support coastal community livelihood and also review those aspects that are to be avoided or which negatively impact coastal livelihoods. As part of this commitment, APFIC convened a Regional Consultative workshop “Best practices to support and improve the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture households”, 13–15 October 2009, Manila, Philippines, to develop guidance applicable to the local context of the region, to bring to the attention of policy-makers, government, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations. This guidance covered approaches and practices which offer the best opportunity for really improving livelihoods and building resilience in communities. This document contains three reviews covering some key aspects related to policy support to livelihoods resilience and diversification.

“The impact of sectoral and non-sectoral policies on fisheries and aquaculture dependent livelihoods in Asia” by Gayathri Sriskanthan

“Facilitating access to rural finance/microfinance services for small-scale fisheries & aquaculture in Southeast Asian countries” by Jocelyn Badiola

“Microfinance services for coastal small scale fisheries and aquaculture for South Asia countries with special attention to women” by K.G. Karmakar, G.S. Mehta, S.K. Ghosh and P. Selvaraj

Building 18 ft Wooden Multi Purpose Boats for the Ayeyarwady Delta in Myanmar: A Step by Step Guide to Quality Boats (2010 UPDATED)

This step by step guide describes the construction of 18 ft wooden boats suitable for use in the Ayeyarwady Delta for fishing and transportation and possibly other purposes. The design is similar to that of traditional boats commonly used in the Delta and the guide emphasizes the quality of construction. The design and construction are based on the prototype developed by FAO under its emergency and rehabilitation programme following cyclone Nargis, Building small wooden boats in Myanmar – 12 ft & 18 ft Multi-purpose boats.

The reason for producing a revised guide was that the feedback from fishermen and other users of the boats would prefer a slightly wider boat for increased stability. A second reason was that the preferred species of wood, Thin Gan is becoming increasingly rare and expensive necessitating the use of other species. This also necessitates greater care in the selection and treatment of the wood, which is covered in the guide.

The guide was used and elaborated during the conduct of seven training workshops in which a total of 164 boat builders/carpenters were trained.

Project: “Support to the immediate rehabilitation of farming, coastal fisheries and aquaculture livelihoods in the Cyclone Nargis-affected areas of Myanmar (GCP/MYA/012/ITA)” funded by the Government of Italy.

This review is part of a process by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to refine the minimum substantive requirements of the FAO guidelines for ecolabelling of marine capture fisheries, and also to consider whether a single set of requirements could be developed that was adequate to assess both marine capture fisheries and inland fisheries. Ecolabels in this context are the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Type I environmental labels, and so are voluntary with certification based on third party assessment of the environmental effects of the product. The minimum substantive requirements are the measurable or operational requirements for assessing whether a fishery can be certified and an ecolabel awarded, and they relate to the management system, the stocks under consideration and the relevant ecosystem. This review summarizes the standards, requirements and practices for well-managed fisheries as applied through internationally-managed fisheries and through national management of fisheries. The standards, requirements and practices of existing fishery ecolabels are reviewed, including government-linked ecolabels, non-governmental ecolabels and seafood guides. Seafood guides are mostly ISO Type II or Type III ecolabels that provide self-declared claims or product descriptions against preset indices, and so are not strictly comparable to the ecolabels covered by the FAO guidelines. However, these guides are reviewed here because they are increasingly widespread, sometimes used in business procurement policies, a source of information on public expectations about sustainable fisheries and some use the results of third party assessments.

The special requirements of the assessment of small-scale fisheries and developing countries fisheries are considered. The primary difficulty in relation to ecolabelling of these fisheries is also the primary difficulty with their management, generally that the cost of monitoring, assessment and management can be out of proportion to the value of the fishery and/or beyond the human and infrastructure capacity that is available. However, ecolabelling requires evidence that is verifiable and auditable through third party assessment. Methods to develop, test and apply proxies, empirical indicators and risk-based assessments are available and have been applied in both small-scale and developing state fisheries. While these assessment and management approaches have not been widely applied, and they require further development, they provide promising methods to manage fishery performance in circumstances where formal (statistical) estimation of stock condition is not possible.

Inland fisheries often involve significant artificial enhancements and practices that are characteristic of aquaculture, such as species introductions and translocations, artificial breeding or feeding, disease control and animal husbandry, nutrient fertilization and intentional habitat modification. These practices are counter to the current norms and requirements of wild capture fisheries, which emphasize use of naturally occurring species and the maintenance of natural biodiversity, productivity and ecosystem processes. The importance of distinguishing between wild capture fisheries, enhanced fisheries and aquaculture in ecolabelling schemes is emphasized, because otherwise products with very different ecological impacts and performance standards could appear in the marketplace with the same ecolabel. Presently, the extent of aquaculture like enhancements that would be acceptable in a capture fishery ecolabel is unclear, and this requires further development. But suggested interim criteria are provided for enhancements that are consistent with modern capture fisheries management and that could be acceptable in a capture fishery ecolabel.

Based on this review, minimum substantive requirements are suggested for the FAO guidelines on ecolabelling of marine capture fisheries.

Training manual on the construction of FRP beach landing boats
John McVeagh, Thomas Anmarkrud, Øyvind Gulbrandsen, Revanoor Ravikumar, Per Danielsson & Ari Gudmundsson

This manual on construction of fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP) beach landing boats has been prepared primarily to assist small boatyards in Tamil Nadu, India that build beach landing fishing boats, but may also be used as a guide for making good quality FRP boats as well as for FRP training in the region.

The manual should be seen as a supplement to FRP boatbuilding manuals available in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other international publications. It assumes prior knowledge of FRP hand lay-up processes and terms generally used in the industry.

Recommendations on working conditions, materials and quality control are based on tropical ambient conditions and the type of boatyards likely to build such boats.

Part I of the manual contains general information on FRP materials, handling and working conditions. Part II describes the building of a hull plug and a mould and Part III describes the building of a beach landing boat. Finally, Part IV contains information on manufacturing defects and repairs.

The manual has four annexes that provide further information related to FRP boatbuilding. Annexes 1 and 2 contain a bibliography and a glossary, respectively. All drawings for the FAO IND-30 boat design are provided in Annex 3. Finally, Annex 4 contains the draft recommended construction standards for FRP fishing vessels. These standards are a part of the FAO/ILO/IMO Safety recommendations for decked fishing vessels of less than 12 m in length and undecked fishing vessels, which are currently under development.

Guide to simple repairs of FRP boats in a tropical climate
by Thomas Anmarkrud, Per Danielsson & Ari Gudmundsson

This guide to simple repairs of FRP boats was developed to address simple repairs that can be carried out by fishing boat owners or others who do not have the necessary expertise. A great deal of repair work is done by boat owners, including work that should have been carried out by FRP experts, because the owners might have difficulties in finding a skilled FRP boatbuilder or taking the boat to a boatyard for proper repair work. This booklet gives simple guidance to owners or laminators on how to carry out good simple FRP repair on the beach, the pitfalls and the do’s and don’ts. It also advises when a skilled FRP expert should be contacted because of the complexity of the repair work.

Maine, R.A.; Cam, B.; Davis-Case, D. Participatory analysis, monitoring and evaluation for fishing communities: a manual.
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 364. Rome, FAO. 1996. 142p.

While there are many manuals available on participatory rapid appraisal approaches to monitoring and evaluation, there were none easily used by field officers attempting to aid and encourage fishing community level participation in monitoring and evaluating activities of projects and programmes in rural fishing communities.

This manual is prepared in cook book fashion with easily followed instructions for 26 participatory monitoring tools to allow use by both local field staff acting as facilitators and directly by community members engaged in the evaluation process.

Townsley, P. Rapid rural appraisal, participatory rural appraisal and aquaculture. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 358. Rome, FAO. 1996. 109p.

This document is intended for aquaculture development specialists, aquaculture project managers, and officials and specialists involved in the planning and management of aquaculture activities. It is intended to provide an introduction to Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) for people working in these fields. The principal components of these two approaches to information collection and planning are described along with the various tools used with a case study to illustrate their use and some of the issues they raise. Possible applications of the approaches for those involved in aquaculture development are given and an outline provided of the sorts of planning and institutional context where they can best be applied. The problems and shortcomings of the approaches are also discussed and guidelines given for the use of alternative approaches to information gathering and planning.

AO. Report of the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing − South Asian Subregion. Bangkok, Thailand, 19–23 June 2006. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 809. Rome, FAO. 2006. 68p.

This document contains the report of, and the papers presented at, the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing − South Asian Subregion, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 19 to 23 June 2006. The purpose of the Workshop was to assist countries in the subregion to develop capacity to elaborate national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOAs–IUU). The Workshop addressed issues relating to the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA–IUU) and the FAO Fisheries Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries No. 9 that have been developed to support the implementation of the IPOA–IUU; decision-making about IUU fishing and skills enhancement through the identification of key issues relating to the elaboration of NPOAs–IUU, the primary vehicle by which the IPOA–IUU will be implemented by countries. Working groups were formed to encourage maximum participation in the Workshop. A review of the major IUU fishing problems in the region and their possible solutions were discussed.

This document contains the report of the FAO/APFIC/SEAFDEC Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated [IUU] Fishing, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 31 March to 4 April 2008. The objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, subregional and/or regional coordination so that countries would be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement further the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and contribute to the development of a legallybinding instrument on port State measures. The Workshop addressed: the background and framework for port State measures; the FAO Model Scheme including national plans of action to combat IUU fishing and IUU fishing activities in Southeast Asia; the FAO Model Scheme and regional approaches and the 2007 draft Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing; key elements of national laws, and the role of the Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center; national coordination and implementation of port State measures; industry perspectives on port State measures, and responses to the questionnaire on port State measures. Working groups were formed to enhance the participatory nature of the Workshop and as a means of engendering broader and deeper discussion on concepts and issues relating to port State measures. In the first exercise, participants addressed multidisciplinary aspects of port State measures, and in the second exercise, thematic issues were considered. A fictitious case study exercise was also undertaken. It was intended to demonstrate how a port State might deal with a realistic IUU fishing problem. The final session of the Workshop sought to identify key issues to be addressed on a regional basis as followup to the Workshop.

The world’s dependence on the capture fisheries and aquaculture sector is threatened not only by misuse of these aquatic resources but also by factors external to the sector, such as pollution runoff, land use transformation, other aquatic resources uses and climatic changes. As significant coastal inhabitants (whether riparian, lacustrine or marine), fishers and fish-farmers are particularly vulnerable to the direct and indirect impacts of predicted climatic changes including changes in physical environments and ecosystems, fish stocks, infrastructure and fishing operations, and livelihoods.

FAO, in recognizing the likely changes to come and the interactions between fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture, and forestry and these changes, held a High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy at FAO headquarters in Rome, from 3 to 5 June 2008.1 This Conference addressed food security and poverty reduction issues in the face of climate change and energy security. The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (FI) held an Expert Workshop on Climate Change Implications for Fisheries and Aquaculture, from 7 to 9 April 2008, in order to provide the FAO Conference with a coherent and high quality understanding of the fisheries and aquaculture climate change issues. This Workshop provided inputs into the High-Level Conference and also constitutes a response to the request from the twenty-seventh session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) that “FAO should undertake a scoping study to identify the key issues on climate change and fisheries, initiate a discussion on how the fishing industry can adapt to climate change, and for FAO to take a lead in informing fishers and policy-makers about the likely consequences of climate change for fisheries".

The Expert Workshop identified and reviewed the key issues of climate change in relation to fisheries and aquaculture, from the physical changes, the impacts of those on aquatic resources and ecosystems and how these ecological impacts translate into human dimensions of coping and adapting within fisheries and aquaculture. The Workshop also evaluated policy options and activities at the international, regional and national levels that can help minimize negative impacts of climate change, improve on mitigation and prevention, and maintain and build adaptive capacity to climate change. This report includes an overview of the presentations and discussions held during the Expert Workshop and presents the conclusions and recommendations agreed upon by participants. Three background documents commissioned by FAO formed the basis for the technical discussions.

FAO. Report of the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing – Southeast Asia Subregion. Penang, Malaysia, 10–14 October 2004. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 757. Rome, FAO. 2005. 88p.

This document contains the report of, and some of the papers presented at, the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing – Southeast Asia Subregion which was held in Penang, Malaysia, from 10 to 14 October 2004. The purpose of the Workshop was to assist countries in Southeast Asia, People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to develop capacity so that they would be better placed to elaborate National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (NPOAs–IUU). The Workshop addressed the 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA–IUU) in detail and the Technical Guidelines that have been developed to support the implementation of the IPOA–IUU; concepts of planning and the elaboration of action plans; a case study for the development of a NPOA–IUU; and decision-making about IUU fishing and skills enhancement through the identification of key issues relating to NPOAs–IUU, the primary vehicle by which the IPOA–IUU will be implemented by countries. Working groups were formed to encourage maximum participation in the Workshop. A review of the major IUU fishing problems in the region and their possible solutions were discussed.

Safety Guide for Small Fishing Boats FAO/SIDA/IMO/BOBP-IGO, 2009, Pages 52.

A safety guide for small offshore fishing boats was orginally produced by the Bay of Bengal Programme in 1993 was very popular and received tremendous response not only from the Bay of Bengal region, but worldwide. Explaining safety standards using sketches and diagrams and presenting technical data in an easy-to-understand format was the key to its success. The present publication is an updated version of the 1993 Safety Guide taking into account work done in this field internationally in the past decade.We are sure that it is a very important step to emerging fishery management regimes that treat safety-at-sea as an integral part, in developing countries in general and southAsia in particular