With a series of issues, including climate change, posing problems for the fisheries sector globally, a panel of experts has proposed stronger research collaboration among the Rim countries of the Bay of Bengal

Speaking at a dialogue on development of a regional marine fisheries platform for the Bay of Bengal region, they stressed the need for a long-term institutional platform to deal with issues in the sector. They were speaking on the sidelines of an global symposium on innovations in fishing technologies. The meet called for linkages for research and development in stock assessment; deep sea fishing; ecosystem-based management; climate change, vulnerability and resilience; marine spatial planning; the Blue Economy; seafood trade and quality assurance; and academic collaboration.

The region contributes about 21 per cent of global seafood production and is home to the largest conglomeration of the small-scale fisheries sector. But a range of issues such as climate change, marine pollution, overfishing, and oil spills plague the fisheries sector of the Bay of Bengal rim countries.

“Lack of adequate scientific knowledge on the region is a concern, and India’s intention is to support networking of scientific institutions between the member countries,” said Rudrendra Tandon, Additional Secretary (BIMSTEC), External Affairs. According to him, the trans-boundary nature of issues in the region requires all the countries to come together and plan collaborative programmes, including knowledge sharing and student exchange.

Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Fisheries, said the country is committed to protecting the interest of small-scale fishers in India. “The Bay of Bengal region is rich with highly prospective marine wealth and offers livelihood to a large small-scale fishermen community. Collaboration among the littoral countries is vital to managing resources and protecting the income of this community,” he said.

G Sugumar, Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, has proposed a virtual marine fisheries academy for the Bay of Bengal region. Doctoral and post-doctoral programmes, multi-country research project, and increased student exchange programmes were also mooted by him for the betterment of the fisheries sector of the region.

The dialogue was organised by the Bay of Bengal Programme - Inter Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), an international non-profit organisation.

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