BIODATAJan Michael Vakily. Ph.D. in fisheries. More than 10 years experience infisheries research and cooperation programme in Asiaand Africa. Re-joined ICLARM in November 1996.

Rainer Froese. Ph.D. in fishery biology. FishBase Project Leader since1990.

Maria Lourdes «Deng» Palomares. Doctorat de l’Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse(1989-1991). Joined ICLARM in 1982 working with thetropical fish stock assessment group then headed byDaniel Pauly. Rejoined ICLARM in 1991 as a post docto-ral fellow with the FishBase team.

Daniel Pauly. Professor at the University of British Columbia,Vancouver, Canada. Scientific adviser to the ACP-EUproject. Has made extensive contributions to the literatureon tropical fisheries science.

ICLARM Contribution No. 1389

BackgroundNatural resources need to be managed effecti-vely to preserve their economic viability. Theeffective management of fisheries depends lar-gely on clear management policies, as well asthe political will and the means to enforcethem. Ideally, policies are made after a carefulevaluation of all the pros and cons of thevarious options. Fisheries scientists are taskedwith providing advice to policy-makers, basingthis advice on adequate knowledge of theresources in question and the consequences ofspecific measures on these resources.

However, fisheries scientists often have a nar-row view of the problem, focusing on singleaspects of a generally deteriorating situation.This approach seriously limits the usefulnessof advice to policy-makers, who usually haveto decide on measures concerning the exploita-tion of resources as a whole, usually with farreaching socioeconomic consequences for thepeople dependent on them.

Thus, the task for fisheries scientists is:

1. to find a more holistic approach to the pro-blem of sustainable fisheries management,

2. to assemble the information available andto put the pieces together to generate a com-prehensive picture of the status of theseresources, and

3. to define specific research programmes tofill the knowledge gaps identified in (2).

The ultimate goal is to assess the history of afishery, determine its present state of exploita-tion and predict the impact of different mana-gement options. This is a large task. For manydeveloping country fisheries, the resources toobtain, compile and analyse the required infor-mation are often inadequate.

There is a need to help fisheries scientists to beaware of and make efficient use of existinginformation on their respective fisheryresources. This can be achieved by (a) ensuringthat information is made available in a cost-effective way, (b) introducing fishery scientiststo effective models and tools for fisheriesmanagement, especially those based on broadecosystem management approaches, and (c)integrating scientists and their work in regio-nal and international networks, for regularexchange of information and ideas.

The ACP-EU Fisheries Research Initiative setsout to create an enabling environment forfisheries scientists in ACP countries throughvoluntary north-south, south-south collabora-tion. The Initiative is broad in scope andaccounts for the rapidly developing context ofresearch as it will be complementary ratherthan replacing other research and researchsupport mechanisms. The project describedbelow is part of this wider concept for theInitiative and is intended in this context as anenabling mechanism for ACP researchers andtheir institutions.

The ACP-EU ProjectIn response to requests from ACP countriesand their regional bodies and in line with thestrategy described above, the EuropeanCommission launched a project on“Strengthening of fisheries and biodiversitymanagement in ACP countries” in December1996. The project has a duration of four yearsand is financed by the 7th EuropeanDevelopment Fund. The implementing agencyis the International Center for Living AquaticResources Management (ICLARM) in Manila,Philippines. The project is supervised by aSteering Committee composed of representa-tives from African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP)and European member states and from theCommission.

The overall objective of the project is to contri-bute to the sustainable use of living aquaticresources in ACP countries, with emphasis onfish resources. This is to be achieved by: (a)strengthening the fishery resources manage-ment and scientific capacities of ACP institu-tions, (b) promoting research relevant to sustai-nable use of aquatic resources, and (c) distribu-ting and improving FishBase, the electronicencyclopedia on fishes, and other fisheriesmanagement tools.

The project’s main thrust is institutional capa-city building in ACP countries. Specific goalsare:

- establishment of five regional trainingnodes (one each in the Pacific and theCaribbean, three in Africa);

- training of participants from 50 ACP coun-tries through these regional training nodes;

- building of a regional and international net-work of collaborators from ACP countries,with special emphasis on synergistic lin-kages to European research institutions inthe context of the on-going ACP-EUFisheries Research Initiative;

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Fisheries and biodiversity management:How can ACP countries meet the challenge?J.M. Vakily, Training Coordinator*, R. Froese, Project Leader*, M.L.D. Palomares, Database Scientist* & D. Pauly, Scientific Adviser*

*ACP-EU Project, ICLARM, MCPO Box 2631, 0718 Makati City, PhilippinesTel. +63-2-812 86 41 Fax: +63-2-816 31 83 e-mail: fishbase@cgnet.com

keywords: fisheries management; biodiversity; conservation; training; acp-eu fisheries research initiative; north-south collaboration; fishbase; acp

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- involving ACP partners in the Network ofTropical Fisheries Scientists (NTFS) whichis coordinated by ICLARM.

Ideally, a regional training node should be anintegral part of an existing fisheries researchorganisation with a broad regional mandateand the capability to provide the necessary ins-titutional support. Each node will be staffed bya training coordinator and an assistant, prefe-rably nationals of ACP countries. For threeyears they will be provided with travel bud-gets, computer hardware, Internet access, andother means to fulfill their role in coordinatingtraining for - and support to - the fisheriesscientists and managers in the ACP countriesof their respective regions (see Fig. 1 for anorganisational chart of the project). TheProject’s Steering Committee has, among otherthings, the responsibility to decide on wherethese training nodes will be located.

The training programme anticipates the initialpresentation of two-week courses organised atthe regional nodes. Two participants from eachACP country in the region will be invited. Thetraining courses will focus on:

- biodiversity and its role in the sustainableuse of aquatic resources,

- suitable approaches to the assessment ofaquatic biodiversity through modern infor-mation systems and collaborative research,and

- application of the acquired knowledge to abroader, ecosystem based approach tofisheries management.

As a follow-up the regional training coordina-tors will provide further assistance to the coun-tries in their region, including in-country trai-ning for a large number of national partici-pants.

National biodiversity databasesProper resource management implies a betterunderstanding of ecosystems and the conser-vation of biodiversity. These are subjects thatneed to be further researched if fisheries mana-gement in developing countries is to moveaway from approaches centered around singlespecies concepts to a more holistic approachbased on ecosystems.

Mapping the biodiversity of living aquaticresources is the starting point for understan-ding ecosystems. It establishes what species are(or were) present and assesses this baselineinformation in relation to past or projectedchanges. The result of such research, togetherwith similar approaches to resource utilisationin the coastal area (agriculture, industry, tou-rism, transport, to name a few) are essential forthe formulation of intersectoral resource mana-gement plans, the baseline for any form of inte-grated aquatic and coastal area management.

The collection of information on biodiversityhas to be approached in a structured manner ifthe information is to be used efficiently. To thisend, the training courses will make extensiveuse of FishBase, an electronic encyclopedia onfish (Froese and Pauly, 1997).

FishBase was developed by ICLARM in colla-boration with FAO and other partners, and hasbeen funded mainly by the EuropeanCommission. FishBase contains referenced keyinformation (e.g. nomenclature, morphology,trophic ecology, population dynamics, physio-logy, pictures, maps, etc.) for over 17,000 of theestimated 25,000 recent species of finfish. Itacts as a repository for important databasesthat are developed by collaborators, such asEschmeyer’s Genera of Recent Fishes, FAOCatches 1950-1994, FAO AquacultureProduction 1984-1994, Houde’s database ondynamics of fish larvae, IUCN Red List ofEndangered Animals, Myers’ database ofrecruitment time series, Welcomme’s databaseon fish introductions, and many others.Numerous graphs, procedures and reports canbe produced which utilise and integrate thedata contained in FishBase.

During the training courses, FishBase willserve both as a source of already existing infor-mation and as a tool to be used for structuringthe collection of fish biodiversity data. Specialemphasis will be given to the analysis of datawith respect to trends and patterns of biodiver-sity to provide a scientific basis for nationalpolicies.

The project also has signed contracts withmuseums to repatriate data from their fish col-lections, which are of relevance to the assess-ment of the present and past status of fishresources. These museums include:

- Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle(MNHN), Paris;

- British Museum (Natural History, BMNH),London;

- Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale(MRAC), Tervuren.

Their data will be made available throughFishBase and, thus, will serve not only the ACPcountries but also the scientific community atlarge. To improve further the dissemination ofthe information, FishBase will also be madeavailable in languages other than English (i.e.in French, Spanish, and Portuguese). APortuguese translation of the FishBase 96manual is already available.

Scientific networkingBringing together fisheries scientists andmanagers from different countries provides animportant opportunity to foster national andregional cooperation. To achieve this goal, twopreconditions need to be met:

(i) scientists should have information to sharewith their colleagues and feel confidentabout the usefulness of sharing it.

(ii) the means of sharing information must beavailable and easily accessible.

The first condition can easily be met. Examplesare: growth studies on a certain species, catchcomposition in a given type of net, or the suc-cess of some enforcement measures. The majortask here is to convince hesitant colleagues towrite up their research in a form suitable forsharing. The project will make it one of its fore-most tasks to encourage and assist scientists inACP countries to publish their work in theappropriate outlets of fishery science.

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Figure 1 Organisational setup of the ACP-EU Project - Organigramme du projet ACP-UE

Regional NodePacific

Noeud régionalPacifique

Regional NodeCaribbean

Noeud régionalCaraïbes

Regional NodeAfrica, South

Noeud régionalAfrique, Sud

Institutional Collaborators (Museum etc...)

Collaborateurs institutionnels(musées, etc...)

Individual Collaborators Collaborateurs individuels

Scientific AdviserConseiller scientifique

ICLARMManilaManille

Steering CommitteeACP-EU

Comité permanentACP-UE

Regional NodeAfrica, East

Noeud régionalAfrique, Est

Regional NodeAfrica, West

Noeud régionalAfrique, Ouest

ACP CountriesPacific

Pays ACPPacifique

ACP CountriesCaribbeanPays ACPCaraïbes

ACP CountriesAfrica, South

Pays ACPAfrique, Sud

ACP CountriesAfrica, EastPays ACP

Afrique, Est

ACP CountriesAfrica, West

Pays ACPAfrique, Ouest

The second condition is more difficult to achie-ve. Traditional means of direct informationexchange (conferences, workshops, exchangeprogrammes) are less frequent than in the1980s, when international organisations hadmore financial resources to support suchmechanisms. Using conventional mail as ameans of information exchange is a poor alter-native. Long delays between the time an idea issubmitted and the receipt of a response takethe momentum out of correspondences or dis-cussions and impede the formulation andimplementation of projects. To overcome thisproblem, the ACP-EU project will advocateand actively support electronic networking asa tool to facilitate scientific cooperation.

To this end, one institution in each of the ACPcountries taking part in the training will beprovided with appropriate computer hardwareand software, CD-ROM databases and fullaccess to international networking for theduration of the project. Training, thus, will alsoinclude:

(iii) information exchange via e-mail,

(iv) develop strategies and proper approachesto the effective presentation of country-related fishery information on the Internetand

(v) assess feedback obtained from the public atlarge.

Special emphasis will be given to forgingstronger links between ACP and EU institu-

tions in the context of the ongoing ACP-EUFisheries Research Initiative (Anon, 1995,1996). This is in line with the recommendationsof the Second Meeting of the ACP States ofWest and Central Africa and the EuropeanUnion, held in Dakar, Senegal, in April 1996(Dedah, 1996). Such links will be of mutualbenefit as it will help to expand the understan-ding of complex aquatic ecosystems which arenot limited to the tropical regions alone.

ConclusionThe project rests on two pillars: (a) the repa-triation of accumulated aquatic biodiversityinformation to the ACP countries through theFishBase, and (b) the establishment of a scienti-fic network for research cooperation at variouslevels as promoted under the ACP-EUFisheries Research Initiative, leading to effecti-ve resource management.

The distribution of FishBase, together with theappropriate computer hardware, to 50 researchinstitutions in ACP countries will provideaccess to this tool for a wide range of interestedusers in these countries. The depth of informa-tion in FishBase and its in-built analytical toolsare well suited to broaden the scope of manyon-going research projects and to help generateideas for new projects.

Participation in a broad regional and interna-tional exchange of information will, in the lon-ger term, have a positive impact on the resear-ch efforts in ACP countries and ensure recogni-

tion of their results as a valuable contributionto fisheries science. This will encourage scien-tists and fisheries managers in ACP countriesto contribute actively to the discussion of (andto search for solutions to) common problemsoriginating from the endangering of the ecolo-gical basis of their fisheries. Ultimately, theproject is expected to contribute to an increa-sed awareness in ACP countries of the impor-tance of conserving and managing biodiversityfor the sustainable use of living aquaticresources.

ReferencesAnon, 1995. ACP-EU Fisheries ResearchInitiative. Proceedings of the first DialogueMeeting, Eastern and Southern Africa, IndianOcean and the European Union. Swakopmund,Namibia, 5-8 July 1995. Brussels, ACP-EUFish.Res.Rep., (1):144 p.

Anon, 1996. ACP-EU Fisheries ResearchInitiative. Proceedings of the second DialogueMeeting, West and Central Africa and theEuropean Union. Dakar, Senegal, 22-26 April1996. Brussels, ACP-EU Fish.Res.Rep., (2):176 p.

Dedah, S.O. 1996. The Dakar Dialogue: movesto strengthen fisheries research in the countriesof West and Central Africa. EC Fish.Coop.Bull.,9(2):12-13

Froese, R. and D. Pauly (eds.), 1997. FishBase97: concepts, design and data sources.ICLARM, Manila, Philippines. ■

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