Shrimp fisheries with trawls in tropical areas targeting mainly Penaeid species are known to generate a significant amount of fish bycatch that is often discarded at sea. Shrimp to fish catch ratios in these fisheries are estimated to be in the order of 1 to 6-10. In most fisheries a large quantity of the fish bycatch consists of juveniles and low-value fish that most often is discarded. In some tropical areas shrimp trawlers incidentally catch turtles, which for some species is a non-sustainable practice. Trawling in the Tropics is mostly a shallow area fishery where a possible negative impact on sensitive demersal ecosystems might occur.
With the objective of assisting developing countries to implement shrimp trawling technologies and fishing practices with reduced environmental impact this project was developed jointly by FAO and UNEP/GEF. The project format and its content have been designed to comply with guidelines for funding by GEF. As representatives from UNEP/GEF were unable to participate in the Workshop a written statement from this main funding agency is given in Appendix 2.
A first project proposal from FAO was submitted to GEF in September 1995 and the present version was approved and signed by FAO and UNEP/GEF in December 1998, and the project became operational in January 1999.
The project is anticipated to have two phases, of which the first one is the project development and preparatory phase with an estimated duration of 15 month, starting from January1999. The second phase, which depends on a successful outcome of the preparatory phase, is expected to have duration of several years.
Thirteen developing countries (Bangladesh, Bahrain, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Columbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Philippines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela) from four regions are participating in the preparatory phase of the project. Other countries from the four regions will be invited to participate in the regional workshops to be arranged at the end of the preparatory phase. These countries might be eligible to participate in the full-scale project if certain conditions are met.
The main objectives of the preparatory phase are to identify:
· shrimp fisheries where bycatch/discard problems and/or habitat impact are particularly severe
· barriers (technical, economical, human, etc.) which make the use of appropriate bycatch minimization technologies difficult
· the potential roles of different stakeholders in each country
· and finally prepare the programme of activities for the main phase project.
The national activities within the preparatory phase of the project will concentrate on the collection and analysis of information about the shrimp fisheries (resources, fishing methods, fishing fleet, fishing effort, shrimp catches, bycatch, marketing, management measures, research activities, habitat disturbance, etc). Relevant stakeholders will be consulted during this process. The national reports produced during this process will be discussed in four regional workshops and should form the basis for the formulation of activities to be undertaken in the main phase project.
The main project will most likely encompass national and regional activities, which address the removal of barriers preventing the use of appropriate bycatch minimization technologies and measures to reduce habitat degradation and destruction such as:
· Evaluation of the level of impact of shrimp trawling fisheries on the environment (habitat and biodiversity)
· Testing and demonstration of bycatch reduction devices in areas where these are currently not in use
· Facilitation and promotion of the adoption of the appropriate technology through strong industry involvement in the activities
· Consideration of economic incentives and disincentives to shrimp harvesting using alternative gear
· Consideration of legal and institutional barriers to the adoption and use of such gear
The main project document will be compiled by FAO on the basis of national inputs and taking into account other on-going relevant projects (such a FishCode, briefly summarized later in the report). It will be presented to UNEP/GEF and other potential donors by mid-2000.
