The Fifth Meeting of the Governing Council of the BOBP-IGO was held in Chennai, India on 15 - 16 June 2009. Representatives of member-countries Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka took part, along with an observer from the FAO and secretariat staff of the BOBP-IGO.
The GCM reviewed the BOBP-IGO's activities during the period April 2008- March 2009, the Work plan for April 2009- March 2010 and a Strategic Action Plan for 2010-14.
Activities during the period 2008-09 included successful completion of the South Asia Component of the Global Project on ‘Safety at Sea for Small-scale Fisheries' implemented by the FAO (Fisheries Industries Division); publication of a comprehensive Safety Guide for Small-scale Fishers; preparation of audio-visual guides for maintenance of long-tail engines and engines in fishing boats of Bangladesh; transfer of indigenously developed cost-effective technologies; organization of resource management services; and information dissemination.