Mekong River Commission

The period April 2004 to March 2005 has seen very positive developments in the ongoing work of the Fisheries Programme.

Phase 2 of the Fisheries Programme, covering the years 2006-2010, was developed in consultation with National Mekong Committees and national fisheries agencies, as well as the core programmes of MRC. In December 2004, the Joint Committee reviewed the programme; it was then forwarded to the Danish and Swedish development agencies, Danida and Sida, for their joint appraisal. The appraisal, scheduled to take place in April 2005, will determine if these agencies will support funding the Programme in 2006 and beyond. Initial indications are that the donors are pleased with the technical direction of the Programme, and impressed by the commitment of the national fisheries agencies and National Mekong Committees (NMCs) to the work of the Programme.

The Technical Advisory Body for Fisheries Management (TAB) adopted a three-year work programme, covering the period 2004-2006. Funding, provided by Danida and Sida, haspenabled the TAB to take a more pro-active role in the regional management of fisheries resources.

The scientific and technical work of the Programme continues to cover the many areas related to fisheries. The development of co-management arrangements between fishing communities and government has become a priority issue for governments in the region. The Programme maintains its important work on assessing the status of fisheries through surveys of fishers' catches, markets, larval densities and consumption patterns throughout the basin. In addition, development of techniques for farming of indigenous species is making a valuable contribution to diversified aquaculture production as well as better management practices for stocking natural waterways.

The Programme has also contributed to the work outputs of other MRC programmes over the past 12 months. The Basin Development Programme (BDP) has incorporated fisheries information into models of basin development scenarios. This has shown unequivocally that fisheries are one of the most crucial factors for consideration in the assessment of development options. The Programme has allocated staff to work with a multi-disciplinary integrated basin-flow management team (under the Water Utilisation Programme and the Environment Programme); thereby ensuring other disciplines in MRC incorporate fisheries information into their projects.

Communicating information from the Programme to fisheries agencies, planners and governments remains a priority for the Fisheries Programme. The Programme issued a CD containing all Fisheries publications, as well as maps, databases, photos and other information, so providing a 'one-stop shop' for a wealth of information on fisheries in the Mekong. It also published other reports and documents during the year, adding to the impressive list of products that have come out of the Programme during the last few years.