Disaster Management in Fisheries

 Short-term assistance

With immediate effect, the FAO Fisheries Department is providing fisheries advisers to affected countries, i.e. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives to assist the fisheries administrations in representing the concerns of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the assessment of tsunami damages and the formulation of rehabilitation measures in close consultation with the national and local governmental disaster relief units. The advisers will participate in donor and technical meetings and initiatives in UN agencies, NGOs and civil society and in the establishment of emergency structures at the national level. The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific has started to issue daily bulletins of the impact on the tsunami on fisheries and aquaculture, in close cooperation with regional partners such as the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia -Pacific (NACA), the South East Asia Fisheries Development Centres (SEAFDEC), the Bay of Bengal - Intergovernmental Organization (BOBP-IGO) and the WorldFish Centre (WFC). This information has been already posted in the FI web site.

The FAO Fisheries Department is developing a web-site on fisheries and aquaculture interventions in tsunami affected areas to provide up-to-date and site specific information on relief and rehabilitation measures and needs in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and to serve as a focal point for all stakeholders and donors. This web site will be part of the overall FAO tsunami web site and connected to the UN Atlas of the Oceans web site maintained by FAO on behalf of UN Agencies to coordinate their information on ocean-related activities and on which intense activity is developing around the tsunami issue.

The FAO Fisheries Department is fielding FAO staff, international and national consultants to assist the Governments of the affected countries in the assessment specific damages to fishing craft and gear, landing sites, fish farming facilitie s, fish distribution arrangements and supporting logistics. This will be followed by the procurement and distribution of fishing, fish farming and fish distribution and other inputs.