Kochi, Nov 5 — India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives have joined hands to study how changing weather and sea conditions are affecting fish stocks in the Bay of Bengal.
The network was launched at an international meeting held at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Kochi.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of an international symposium on fisheries and remote sensing.
Union Fisheries Joint Secretary Surabhi Rai said the initiative could become a model for science-based fisheries management in other parts of the world.
The four countries have launched a regional research network to bring together ocean scientists and fisheries experts.
The aim is to understand why fish populations are changing and how these changes affect fishing communities.
The new network is called the Bay of Bengal Network of Ocean Researchers for Fisheries (BOB-NOR).
It will link ocean studies, climate data and information from the fishing sector.
This will help scientists get a clearer picture of changes taking place in the sea.
The network will study how rising sea temperatures, changes in monsoon patterns, salt levels, ocean currents and marine life affect fish.
It will look at changes in fish movement, breeding, growth and numbers in different parts of the Bay of Bengal.
Officials and experts from the four countries took part in the meeting.
Ocean scientists and marine researchers from the US, Brazil, Chile, Portugal, the UK and Greece also attended.
The network will bring together information from satellites, sea surveys and climate studies.
It will also use data from fisheries research.
By studying these details together, scientists hope to better understand where fish are moving and what is causing changes in their numbers.
The larger aim is to help countries plan their fishing activities based on scientific findings.
So far, fisheries management has often depended on the amount of fish caught.
The new network seeks to go beyond this approach and study the changes taking place in the ocean before they affect fish stocks.
Unveiling the initiative, BOBP-IGO Director P. Krishnan said the network would bring ocean researchers and fisheries experts closer.
It would help bridge the gap between ocean research and fisheries management.
Former ICAR Deputy Director General B. Meenakumari stressed the need for timely and reliable data.
She said regular advisories based on sea conditions, including sea surface temperature, would help fishermen make better decisions.
The network is coordinated by the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO).
The Union Fisheries Department hosted the meeting with support from GEO Blue Planet and the Trevor Platt Science Foundation.