Prawn Project

Project Title: The Development of Monitoring and Managemet Systems for the Shallow Water Penaeid Prawn Resource in the Indian Ocean Integration of the Effects of Human Impacts and Climate Change On A Natural Resouce in the CoastalZone
Proponent: Prof.A.T.Forbes, University of Natal, South Africa

• About
• Goals
• Methodology
• Progress
• Future Plans
• Countries

About

This project was conceived at the inaugural meeting of the IOGOOS programme in Mauritius with the intention of meeting the goals of GOOS in the Indian Ocean. The shrimps were seen as a unifying attraction which would draw in scientists engaged in research on this biologically interesting and commercially significant group of organisms as well as people involved in research on physical and chemical processes and the significance of climate change in the coastal zone, i.e.at the interface between oceanic and catchment processes and finally the users of this natural resource.

The Penaeid Prawn Pilot Project is consistent with the Marine Impacts on Lowland Agriculture and Coastal Resources project of the COOP Implementation Strategy for the Coastal Module of GOOS. The foundation of the web site for this project has been constructed with an emphasis on graphics and user friendliness as it is intended to be accessed as a general source of information and used not only by researchers in the field.

Goals

In summary the short term goals for the various implementation modules of the project are:

• Generate the report of the perth workshop;
• Circulsation of a letter to the Indian ocean rim countries and islands with prawn resources and establishment of a network of participants
• Development of website;
• A capacity building workshop in remote sensing techniques with a directed focus for prawn fisheries to be arranged in collaboration with Dr.Merv Lynch ;

THe medium term goals would be primarily the development of a detailed project proposal which couldbe circulated to various national funding agencies as well as organisations such as IOC, ONR and world Bank.

The long term goals would be the implementation of this poject with the collection of appropriate parameters in various countries around the Indian Ocean rim to improve management and predictions of changewith regard to prawn fisheries in the region.

Methodology and Output

The content and design of the website is intended to meet GOOS objectives such as network facilitation, data exchange and capacity building amongst researchers and students and also to allow for use by a wider range of people who might share a common interest in the shrimps/prawns of the Indian Ocean or in the mechanics and processes that are features of the different types of coastal zones around the Indian Ocean and which influence these organisms .

Possible users are anticipated to include managers, government and non-governmental institutions, research centres, Universities, research students and aquaculturists as well as climatologists and oceanographers interested in the implications of global climate change and human impacts on coastal resources. The intention was to make the website as user friendly as possible as it was assumed that not all users would necessarily speak English as a first language.The website will incorporate the following information :

• Map of Region- Institutions and people with interests, links and expertise relating to penaeid prawns;
• Species Involved;
• Type of fisherie-techniques,fleets;
• Summary fact sheet for each area;
• Institutional arrangements;
• Bibilography-information &literature pertaining to penaeids on a region specific basis;
• Ocean events influencing prawn resources;
• Upcoming events and recent publications

Progress

Progress since IO-GOOS II at Colombo, Sri Lanka:

In June 2003, the existence of the proposal at a meeting of the IGBP in Banff, Canada was made. A workshop was subsequently held in Perth at the end of 2003 attended by delegates from Australia, Bangladesh, India, Kenya and South Africa each of whom presented an account of the major features of the prawn fisheries in their home countries. Word of the workshop spread and contact was established with researchers in Tanzania, Mozambique, Iran and Malaysia. These aspects were reported at IOGOOS II in Sri Lanka in 2004.

In January 2005 , the proposal to the attention of LOICZ (Land Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone), a programme of IGBP was brought. Support was expressed for the further involvement in the pilot project and was requested to give consideration to the possible extension of the programme.

Future Plans

It is expected, pending adequate funding, that the bulk of the website details will be completed by the end of 2005 and the site hosted by the IOGOOS secretariat on the website by mid-2006 in advance of the IOGOOS IV meeting.

• Hold preliminary discussions at WIOMSA Symposium- early Sept 2005.
• Hold project planning workshop on 16 -20 February, University of Dar es Salaam (re-evaluate venue). The overall objective of this workshop will be to finalize the project proposal for submission to donors and discuss details of how to implement the project.
• Country Implementation Plans (Lead Implementing
• Institutions/individuals responsible, collaborating institutions)
• Identify funding sources for the project - CoML, IOC, POGO.
• Establish links to other projects.
• Seek support from IOGOOS to promote projects for funding by member countries (they should need to nominate relevant agency, funding source) important to do this before committing funding to that countries participation in workshop.

By IOGOOS IV it is planned to report that the project proposal, including all country plans, is finalised and approaches made to international and national donors

Countries

At this stage website is populated by data describing the South African situation but will be extended in the near future to include those countries where contacts have already been established:

• Mozambique
• Tanzania
• Kenya
• India
• Iran
• Sri Lanka
• Bangladesh
• Malaysia
• Australia

Additional contacts in Indonesia and Thailand were established at the IOGOOS III meeting.