19. In introducing his presentation on planning, Mr Doulman noted that there were many different types of plans and that they were developed for different reasons and with different levels of complexity. He added that planning was undertaken to:
assemble ideas in a coherent manner;
attempt to take account of future uncertainties when operating in a dynamic environment;
ensure proper budgetary control and scheduling of funds;
avoid haphazard implementation of activities;
ensure that activities had a greater chance of success;
provide clarity and transparency;
provide continuity in the event of personnel changes; and
improve management.
20. Mr Doulman further noted that a good plan should provide:
an assessment of the situation "on the ground";
goals/objectives;
a set of actions to be undertaken;
clear statement of priorities;
an indication of the human and financial resources required and how they would be sourced;
assignment of roles and responsibilities for key persons and/or institutions;
responsibility for coordination, communication and decision-making;
establishment of timelines for major activities;
specification of expected outcomes including "indicators" for each outcome;
monitoring of implementation; and
provision for review and revision.
21. Mr Doulman expressed the view that an action plan could be considered a method or approach for implementing a suite of activities to address a certain situation or a particular problem such as IUU fishing, reducing fleet sizes, management of shark populations and reducing the incidental catches of seabirds in certain longline fisheries either individually or as a combined plan. In developing an action plan, he added that it would be important to:
specify clearly the nature and extent of the problem to be addressed and its environment;
what actions should be taken to prevent or avert the problem;
what resources would be needed;
responsibility for initiating and undertaking actions;
where and when the actions would be undertaken;
the need to ensure that actions were consistent with prevailing policy and legislation;
international cooperation when addressing extraterritorial issues; and
periodic review to assess progress to determine whether the action plan had achieved its goals.
22. In the discussions following the presentation, the Workshop noted that there was a need for plans to be flexible if they were to be implemented successfully. It was also pointed out that fishery administrations were often significantly disadvantaged in the planning/budgetary process. The Workshop agreed that efforts should be made to increase the profile of the fisheries sector, emphasizing the importance of its social and economic dimensions. Some participants stated that despite the important contribution made by fisheries to food security, there remained a lack of understanding about the role and importance of the fisheries sector. The Workshop noted that fisheries and related issues generally became more visible when fisheries were affected adversely by particular circumstances and complaints were made to politicians.
23. Some participants expressed the view that a more proactive stance in promoting the interest of the fisheries sector could lead to the allocation of additional national resources. Creative ways to securing additional resources should be considered and the development of partnerships for funding and technical expertise was proposed as a possibility.
