International Waters learning Exchange & Resource Network

Reduction of Environmental Impact from Tropical Shrimp Trawling Through the Introduction of By-Catch Reduction Technologies and Change of Management

The project is implemented in the context of GEF Operational Program 9. Shrimp exploitation by tropical trawl fisheries generates significant amounts of non-shrimp by-catch. In some countries, by-catch has become an important source of income and contributes to food supply. In others, by-catch of fish, particularly small-sized, is discarded at sea. The capture of juveniles of valuable food fish constitutes a threat to the sustainable production of fish from an area. Extensive removal of non-target fish is also a threat to the biodiversity in a fishing area. If the introduction of fishing technologies and practices that reduce the capture of juveniles is successful in a few selected countries in various regions, it can be assumed that such technology and practices would be adopted by other shrimp fishing countries also experiencing problems with by-catch. In addition to the expected increased fish production and conservation of biodiversity as a result of project intervention, shrimp trawling will earn an improved reputation and so continue to produce needed export income for several poor developing countries. The project is designed to firstly carry out a demonstration activity in at least one developing country in each GEF development region. The objective of this strategy is that a consolidated effort undertaken these initial few countries will generate lessons that can be rapidly transferred to other shrimp-fishing countries in the same region. Active participation in the implementation of selected activities by another group of adjacent countries (not involved in all project activities) will facilitate this process. The project will be implemented at three levels: national, in an initial small group of selected countries that have a problem with their present shrimp exploitation and have committed themselves to changing their fishery by introducing more environmentally-sound fishing technologies and practices; regional, where the successful results from project activities in the initial group of individual countries will be disseminated and tested in neighbouring countries, together with co-ordination of action between all the participating countries and the sub-regional institutions concerned; global, at which FAO collects, quality-controls, collates, analyses and disseminates widely essential information that can be used in reducing environmental stress from shrimp trawling in all marine waters. A number of inter-governmental institutions are ready to collaborate with the project. Several other national governments (both developing and developed) with significant interest and experience in tropical shrimp-trawling fisheries are also ready to collaborate with the project. The first of these is Bahrain, ready to undertake basic studies and experimental fishing using BRDs on its own account. A range of stakeholders representing different groups, such as fishers (shrimp-fishers, coastal-fishers and others), researchers (gear technologists, biologists, environmentalists), fishery managers, coastal-zone managers, fish traders, fish processors and various NGOs, all have an interest in the issues to be addressed by this main-phase project.

Other (not set)

http://www.fao.org/fishery/gefshrimp


TDA/SAP
No items found...

Documents & Resources
report
General information
GEF ID 884
Project type Full-Size Project
Status closed (Project Completion)
Start Date 26 jun. 2002
End Date 01 sep. 2008
GEF characteristic:
Focal Area International Waters
GEF Allocation to project USD 4,450,000
Total Cost of the project: USD 8,890,000
Partners
Cameroon , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Indonesia , Iran Islamic Republic of , Mexico , Nigeria , Philippines , Trinidad and Tobago , Venezuela , Global

UN Environment (UNEP)

Project contacts
Marie Prchalova Programme Officer
Janne Fogelgren Project Manager
John Valdemarsen [Former]
Wilfried Thiele [Former]
Francis Chopin [Former]