Summary of Achievements (1 March 2001 - August 2002)

In March 2001, the WorldFish Center established a Project Office at its Headquarters in Penang, Malaysia. A multidisciplinary team of Coordinator, Fisheries/Agricultural Economics Specialist, Aquaculture/Marketing Expert, Fisheries Management Expert and research associates/assistants were recruited to implement the research activities of the Project. The role of the team is to provide the necessary support to the various activities of the national project teams including coordination of overall Project activities, provision of technical backstopping, methodological support and other necessary support activities. On 2 March 2001, Dr. M. Ahmed met with ADB staff, Mr. Weidong Zhou and Dr. Muhammad A. Mannan, Manager, Agriculture and Environment Division. At this meeting, the implementation plan and start-up formalities were discussed. The activities of the Project were also discussed during a brief meeting between Dr. Ahmed, Mr. Zhou, Dr. Mannan and the WorldFish team in late March in Penang, when the Bank staff attended the Regional Workshop of Sustainable Management of Coastal Fish Stocks in Asia, ADB-RETA 5766, and conducted a review of RETA projects.

Five inter-related research components were identified: 1) Profile of Key Aquaculture Technologies and Fishing Practices; 2) Analysis of Policies, Institutions and Support Services; 3) Socioeconomic Profile of Major Stakeholders (Producers, Consumers and Traders) in Fisheries and Aquaculture; 4) Analysis of Fish Supply and Demand and Projections; and 5) National Action Plan.

From April - June 2001, WorldFish staff attended two-day national planning meetings in each of the participating countries namely, Bangladesh, PR China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The purpose of the national meetings was to form national project teams, discuss the research components and activities and to make implementation arrangements including Memoranda of Agreement and other administrative matters. Nine national project teams were formed. Each national project team is composed of a national project team leader (NPTL) and a number of experts on demand/supply analysis, fisheries/aquaculture development and policy analysis. A three-month progress report was submitted to the Bank in June 2001.

An Inception Workshop was held on 21 August 2001 in Penang, to discuss and finalize the methodologies, analytical framework, survey design and implementation arrangements including a detailed workplan of the Project. The workshop was attended by at least four members of each national project team from the nine countries. A total of 60 national scientists from the partner countries, observers from Japan and WorldFish Center staff participated in the Workshop. The national project teams with guidance from the WorldFish experts reviewed all existing secondary information and available data in their respective countries required for Components 1 and 2. The methodologies to be used on the socioeconomic profiles were also presented for comments and finalization. The project webpage was inaugurated during the Workshop. The main purpose of the webpage is to provide updates on research activities to participating DMCs and to the Bank. An Inception Report was submitted to the Bank in October 2001.

The Third Semi-Annual Progress Report was submitted to the Bank in March 2002 covering project activities from September 2001 to February 2002. During that period, the national project teams submitted their draft reports on Components 1 and 2. WorldFish Center staff reviewed these reports and provided comments to strengthen the reports. The national project teams incorporated the comments and re-submitted their final country reports for these two Components in August - September 2002. It is to be noted that data gaps on Component 1 will be filled through the surveys conducted as part of Component 3. Surveys and appraisals for the socioeconomic profiling of major stakeholders (producers, consumers and traders) for Component 3 were initiated in the nine DMCs during this period. Finalization of the methodologies for fish supply-demand modeling and preliminary estimation of demand elasticities for Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand were done. There were slight delays in implementing the scheduled project activities due to the delay in signing the Memoranda of Agreement in Bangladesh and India, and transfer of the national project team leader in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the WorldFish Center team worked closely with the agencies of these countries to expedite implementation. The governments and national scientists from these countries are giving all possible support to complete the project activities as scheduled.

WorldFish Center staff have initiated discussions on the appropriate dissemination strategy of research outputs with members of the partner countries. A tentative plan was worked out as to how the results can be disseminated and incorporated into national policies, with the aim of improving capacity of the partner countries, improving productivity and income, and thus eventually reducing poverty and improving food security in Asia. Impact pathways of the output and research results that will benefit target groups such as fish farmers and fisher communities have been mapped out. The plan identified two levels of impact, at the national and international levels.

The methodology and initial results of the project were presented in two international conferences, 1) the World Aquaculture Society Conference held on 23-27 April 2002 in Beijing, China where ten papers were presented and 2) the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade held on 19-23 August 2002 in Wellington, New Zealand where nine papers were presented. Seven national scientists from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand were given one week on-the-job training during May - July 2002.

A summary progress report on the four research components by participating countries is given in Appendix 1. This summary table provides information on the general methodology used for each component, the type of data being collected in each country, data gaps and how to address these gaps, and a checklist of progress reports so far submitted to the Bank. All countries except Sri Lanka have given their final country reports for Components 1 and 2. Regional analyses of the aquaculture technologies, fishing practices, policies, institutions and support services are being drafted by the WorldFish Center team. Components 3 and 4 are in the data collection stage in all countries, although a preliminary analysis of fish supply-demand projections have been made for Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. The outputs of these four research components will be the scientific basis for conceptualizing policy recommendations, strategies and options to increase and sustain fisheries and aquaculture resources (which is Component 5 - National Action Plan).