Proposal for virtual fisheries academy

Kochi: A virtual marine fisheries academy which will cater to promoting doctoral and post-doctoral programmes among the Bay of Bengal rim countries could help in the betterment of the fisheries sector in the region.This was one of the suggestions that came forth when experts from India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand presented their views at a dialogue organized by the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) during the global fisheries conference held in Kochi on Tuesday. The view was put forth by Tamil Nadu Fisheries University VC G Sugumar. He said that the varsity could be a multi-country research project, and increased student exchange programmes could help fisheries in the region. The region contributes about 21% of global seafood production and is home to the largest conglomeration of small-scale fisheries. But a range of issues such as climate change, marine pollution, overfishing and oil spill are plaguing the fisheries sector of the Bay of Bengal rim countries, the dialogue observed.“Lack of adequate scientific knowledge on the region is a concern, and India’s intention is to support networking of scientific institutions between the member countries,” said additional secretary, ministry of external affairs, Rudrendra Tandon.Union fisheries secretary Jatindra Nath Swain said collaboration among littoral countries is vital for managing marine wealth and protecting the income of small-scale fishermen, he said.