International cooperation and information exchange have proven vital to the improvement of fishing technology in virtually every country in the world. Indeed, in any given country in any part of the world, most of the fishing methods in use were developed elsewhere, imported and adapted for local conditions. Such technologies often led to increases in production and/or profits. Now many countries, including some in Latin America, face new challenges in fisheries conservation and management. As traditional coastal species become more heavily fished and sometimes overexploited, there is a need to develop more selective fishing technology, avoid harm to marine resources and environment of special concern, develop effective Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) and control the fishing capacity of their fleets, and explore the potential for careful harvest of other resources such as those found in deeper waters. In general, countries have now to take action for implementing the agreed principles of responsible fisheries and the relevant Code of Conduct and, at the same time, have to comply with international agreements/conventions.The improvement of small scale fishing technology was also a consistent area of interest for the countries that provided information for this document. The sharing of information, cooperation in research and training, and technology transfer can help countries meet these new challenges. It is hoped that this document will contribute to this process.

This document should not be considered a complete inventory of current research and development activities in fishing technology in Latin America. FAO’s inquiries (in 1996 and 1997) to Latin American countries about such activities yielded responses from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Peru and Venezuela. There is a great deal more work being done in fishing technology research in the region, but detailed information on much of the work is not available. It is hoped that the information presented in this document (which also includes some information concerning fields of research and development related/associated to fishing technology, such as fish utilization) will be of value for facilitating international cooperation and perhaps constitute a first step toward compiling more complete data on the subject.

Table 1: Overview of Research and Development in Fishing Technology in Latin America