Regional cooperation between African and Asian countries is vital to improve the fisheries sector in the respective countries,Manoj Nardeosingh, secretary general of African Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), said on Tuesday.
“Fisheries sector has high potential to change the lives of people in many African Asian countries. The sector can play a vital role in the economic development these nations,” he said. He was speaking at the valedictory of an international workshop-cum-training organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) under the auspices of the AARDO.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reports that capture fishery production is projected to increase by just 1% through the year 2025 as most of the sea are fully fished and therefore have no potential for increasing production.
Declining catch and higher cost of fishing due to increase in input cost are likely to hurt millions of fishermen in countries like India. Fisheries and aquaculture remain important sources of food, nutrition, income and livelihood’s for hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Urging the experts in the sector to seek regional collaborations for the betterment, he said that focusing on value addition would help transform the lives of coastal communities. “The member countries of AARDO can earn benefits by connecting together, transforming technologies and through exchange schemes,” he added.
The secretary general appreciated CMFRI for the smooth conduct of the training of member countries for the third consecutive years and he expressed his willingness to cooperate with the CMFRI in the coming years, too.
The workshop was aimed at imparting training on a range of topics such as marine fisheries assessment, stock estimation, marine fisheries environment, impact of climate change on fisheries, responsible fisheries and mariculture activities.
Fisheries officials from Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Morocco, Zambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Malaysia and Sri Lanka attended the 15-day workshop at the CMFRI.
The programme was part of an international collaboration between the ministry of rural development and the AARDO, which is an inter-governmental organisation in the field of agricultural and rural development with its headquarters in New Delhi.