Where governments have decided to develop their own directly-funded research institutes, research performance can often be improved by increasing co-ordination between different institutes. The various institutes and other institutions producing research output (e.g. universities) tend to work independently and as if one another did not exist. Objectives and priorities are left to Directors of Research Centres or to individual scientists themselves. As a result, work programmes tend to be somewhat haphazard, sometimes corresponding well to the needs of the sector, but often reflecting personal scientific interest or funding availability. It is not uncommon to find therefore that the knowledge base is greatest for a relatively less valuable species. For instance, pelagic stocks present particular scientific challenges because of their great variability, and as a result many scientists have developed a research interest in such species. It is comparatively rare to find, however, that .such species are the most valuable ones in a country's fishery portfolio. When the fisheries ministry comes to develop management plans, it may well find that relatively (or even absolutely) little is known about the most valuable species with the most pressing management needs.
Since both human and material research resources tend to be in short supply, a co-ordinated approach amongst the various research bodies is of the utmost importance to ensure that scarce resources are not wasted. There is a need to develop a short-to-medium term plan for research activity at the same time as the government is preparing its development/management plan for the fisheries and aquatic resource sector. Such a plan is likely to favour applied research, multi-disciplinary studies and co-ordinated inputs from different research bodies. There will be a need also to consider the long run development of research capacity.
In seeking to improve the performance of research institutes through increased collaboration and coordination, an important factor to consider is information exchange and the required infrastructural investment (especially libraries and new computer developments (e.g. internet)).
