The Fourth Meeting of the Governing Council of the BOBP-IGO was held at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council, Dhaka, on 6 - 7 May 2008. Representatives of the four member-countries (Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka) and of the BOBP-IGO attended the GCM, along with an observer from the WorldFish Center.
The GCM-4 reviewed the activities carried out by the secretariat during the period April 2007 to March 2008. These activities included
- The Global Project on Safety at Sea for Small-scale Fisheries implemented by the FAO's Fisheries Industries Division through the BOBP-IGO;
- She Fisheries Resource Management Programmes, which include organization of the Regional Workshop on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance for Marine Fisheries in the Bay of Bengal; and two Regional Consultations for Preparation of Management Plans for Hilsa and Shark Fisheries;
- Capacity-Building and Information Services, which include translation of the Technical Guidelines on Marine Fisheries of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) into Bangla, Dhivehi, Sinhala, Telugu and Oriya;
- Publication of theme-based annual calendars, laminated placards on safety at sea, the quarterly newsletter Bay of Bengal News, and digitization of the visual archives of the Organisation, etc.
The GCM complimented the secretariat on these activities and suggested that the Secretariat prepare a mission and vision statement for the next five years for the BOBP-IGO and place it for approval at the next meeting of the Governing Council. This should include a strategic action plan for implementation of the Organization's activities.