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The Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) is a regional fishery body established in 2003 under the BOBP-IGO Agreement to enhance co-operation among member-countries, other countries and organizations in the Bay of Bengal region and provide technical and management advisory services for sustainable marine fisheries development and management to its member-countries. The contracting parties of the organization are Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The major programmes of the BOBP-IGO are improving monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) of fishery resources in the member-countries; improving safety and health of fishing communities; taking the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries to the grassroots level; improving health and hygiene in fisheries including reduction of post-harvest losses; and adapting to climate change and livelihood enhancement programmes for small-scale and artisanal fisheries in the Bay of Bengal. The headquarters of the Organization is in Chennai, India.

Official website: [http://www.bobpigo.org www. bobpigo.org]

History
The BOBP-IGO evolved from the former Bay of Bengal Programme for Sustainable Fisheries (BOBP), a long-term field programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), implemented in the region during 1979-2003 [1]. The establishment of the BOBP-IGO was conceived during the early stages of the Third Phase of the BOBP (1994 - 2000) and finally endorsed through a resolution at the 24th Meeting of the Advisory Committee of the BOBP, held in Phuket, Thailand in October 1999. The BOBP-IGO Agreement was formally signed by the Governments of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka on 26 April 2003 and by the Government of Maldives on 21 May 2003.

Membership
According to Article 6 of the BOBP-IGO Agreement, the original Members of the Organisation shall be the Governments in the Bay of Bengal region invited to the meeting of the Plenipotentiaries at which this Agreement was adopted, which have ratified the Agreement or have acceded thereto. Presently, the members of the Organisation are Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Organizational structure
The BOBP-IGO is a tri-layered organisation headed by the Governing Council. The Governing Council comprises senior functionaries from the Ministry of Fisheries of the member-countries. The constituents of the Governing Council are the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Government of Bangladesh; Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India; Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, Government of Maldives and Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, Government of Sri Lanka. The Governing Council appoints the Director who heads the BOBP-IGO Secretariat located in Chennai, India. A Technical Advisory Committee comprising government nominated fisheries research institutes from the member-countries provide scientific and technical inputs to the Secretariat. The current Technical Advisory Committee of the BOBP-IGO comprises Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Bangladesh; Fishery Survey of India, India; Marine Research Centre, Maldives; and National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, Sri Lanka.

Mandate
The mandate of the BOBP-IGO is to promote and establish responsible fisheries in a time bound manner to ensure socio-economic well-being of the marine fishers and ecological security of fisheries resources in the Bay of Bengal while catalyzing the growth of the sector to substantiate economic development of the member-countries.

Functions
As per Article 4 of the BOBP-IGO Agreement, the functions of the organisation are to:


 * Implement programmes and activities which are of immediate requirement for the sustainable development and management of coastal fisheries;
 * Consolidate the establishment of an expanded network to share the responsibility of fisheries management, training and information exchange essential to coastal fisheries development in the region;
 * Assist the Members in increasing the livelihood opportunities and improving the quality of life of the small-scale fishers in the region;
 * Increase awareness and knowledge of the needs, benefits and practices of coastal fisheries management;
 * Assist the Members in harmonization of policy and legal framework necessary for sustainable development and management of coastal fisheries resources of the region;
 * Train and upgrade core personnel needed for coastal fisheries planning, research, training, extension and development;
 * Establish a regional information system to provide appropriate information for development, planning, research and training;
 * Assist the Members in strengthening their national capabilities in development and management of coastal fisheries;
 * Transfer to the Members appropriate technologies and techniques for development of small-scale fisheries;
 * Promote regional self-reliance in small- scale fisheries development through Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries (TCDC) and facilitate the exchange of national experts, technical know-how and information within the framework of TCDC;
 * Develop programmes for the promotion of women’s participation in coastal fisheries development at all levels;
 * Assist the Members in feasibility studies and project formulation; and
 * Undertake such other activities related to the objectives of the Organisation as may be approved by the Governing Council.

Programmes
The major programmes of the BOBP-IGO are:

(i)	Research, capacity-building and policy harmonization at national and regional level for improving Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) of fishery resources in the member-countries and formulation of management plans for commercially, and, or, biologically important fish stocks in the region.

(ii)	Research, policy advocacy, training and awareness building for improving safety at sea for artisanal and small-scale fishers.

(iii)	Training programmes and information dissemination for taking the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization to the grassroots level;

(iv)	Technology transfer and capacity building programmes for improving food safety of seafood products from the region and reduction of post-harvest losses.

(v)	Technology transfer, training and information dissemination for adapting to climate change; and

(vi)	Implementation of programmes for livelihood enhancement of small-scale and artisanal fishers.

Collaborative programmes
Global Project on ‘Safety at Sea for Small-scale Fisheries in Developing Countries This project was initiated in response to the December 2004 Asian Tsunami to assist the countries in rebuilding their marine capture fisheries sector in a safer manner. The project was funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization. The South Asia component of the project was implemented by the BOBP-IGO As a supplementary programme to this project, the BOBP-IGO and the Alaska-Pacific Regional Center of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health of the United States of America (APRO/NIOSH), developed an accident reporting format for each project-country (Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka). The FAO, BOBP-IGO and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) also reviewed the design and construction quality of the fishing vessels, especially those commissioned during the post-2004 tsunami and developed guidelines for maintenance, repair and improved designs of fishing boats.

Training Project for Promotion of Community-based Fishery Resource Management by Coastal Small-scale Fishers: BOBP-IGO is providing technical assistance to the International Co-operative Fisheries Organisation (ICFO) under the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) to promote community-based fisheries resource management by small-scale fishers engaged in coastal fisheries and by their organizations (in most cases fisheries cooperatives), strengthen their activities and help contribute to ensuring sustainable production, creation of employment opportunities and poverty alleviation in four south-east Asian countries: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Establishing a Cooperative Mechanism for Protection of Met-Ocean Data and Tsunami Buoys in the Northern Indian Ocean Region: The BOBP-IGO is working with the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Government of India and the World Meteorological Organization to develop information sharing mechanism and capacity building among the concerned governmental agencies of the Bay of Bengal rim countries and creating awareness among the fishers to minimize the damages to data buoys during fishing operations.

Publication and Awareness Material The Bay of Bengal News is a quarterly newsletter published by the BOBP-IGO. The Newsletter contains information on activities of the BOBP-IGO, fisheries-related development in the region and commentary on policies and programmes of the member-countries and other countries.

The Organisation also regularly publishes video films, reports and awareness material on fisheries management related issues in the region.