Fisheries Management

Indian Ocean coastal states share a keen interest in the management and conservation of the region's vital resources whereby fisheries is a key aspect.  Fisheries and related industries are critical in ensuring food security and the impact of overfishing and climate change has accelerated the reduction of major fish stocks within the Indian Ocean region.

The established Fisheries Support Unit (FSU), hosted by the Sultanate of Oman, manages and spearheads IORA efforts to identify and discuss key fisheries-related issues mentioned in the action plan. It also serves to study proposals and facilitate research in areas that are of practical use to Member States.

The FSU acts as a regional centre for knowledge sharing, capacity building and addressing strategic issues in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. In order to tackle the challenges facing regional fisheries management, Member States should expand on this cooperative mechanism. In addition, it might be appropriate to find ways to remove barriers and boundaries between separate parts of the fisheries management process including science, policy and decision-making, and stakeholder engagement, so as to bring them together into regional management forums.

The role of the FSU as an Advisory Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture may be further explored. It has been reported that the future global demand for fish consumption will have to be met by aquaculture and, therefore, there is a need for further research, capacity building initiatives and development in this sector.

IORA may also consider developing regional/international networking to interact with other institutions sharing common interests in fisheries management.

Fisheries management should be at the core of the new maritime policy which IORA should strengthen and develop to build mutual understanding among all decision-makers and players of the maritime industry. Effective decision-making must also integrate environmental concerns into maritime policies as maritime pollution and plastic debris which plays a major role in the decline of fish stocks.