Third Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the BOBP-IGO

The third meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the BOBP-IGO was held in Beruwala, Sri Lanka on March 28 and 29, 2008. Representatives of member-countries (Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka) and observers from the FAO took part. The Hon Neomal Perera, Deputy Minister of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources, Government of Sri Lanka, delivered the inaugural address.

The meeting discussed the report of the activities of the BOBP-IGO for the period April 2007 to March 2008 – mainly capacity-building, regional workshops and publications – and the work plan for 2008-2009. Proposals and priorities of member-countries were also heard and discussed. The progress of the South Asia component of the Global Project on 'Safety at Sea for Small-scale Fisheries’, initiated in May 2007 and implemented by the FAO through the BOBP-IGO, was presented and discussed.

Regional consultation on shark fisheries in Sri Lanka

The Regional Consultation on Preparation of a Management Plan for Shark Fisheries (RC-SF) was held in Beruwala, Sri Lanka, on 24-26 March 2008. Fifteen delegates representing India, Maldives and Sri Lanka took part. Mr G Piyasena, Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MoFAR), Government of Sri Lanka, chaired the meeting.

The meeting heard and discussed technical presentations on the status of shark fisheries in the three countries, and agreed on the following set of activities: Comprehensive status paper on shark fisheries resources
 

	Stakeholder consultation on management aspects of shark fisheries in each of the three countries at selected locations.
	Setting up of a data collection, collation and compilation mechanism on shark fisheries, especially species-wise data.
	Setting up of a National Task Force on Shark Fisheries management.
	Setting up of a ‘Shark Portal / Website’ to post all information on the shark fisheries of the Bay of Bengal region.
	Documentation of indigenous traditional knowledge for management of shark fisheries.
	Preparation of ‘awareness material’ on conservation and sustainable exploitation of shark fisheries.