SAARC Agriculture Centre organized an expert consultation meeting on “Resilient strategies for aquaculture and fisheries to face extreme weather shocks in the SAARC Member States” in virtual mode during 17-19 December 2024. The consultation program aimed to know the updated information about the present status of development of climate smart innovative technologies and practices in the SAARC Member States. This meeting was attended by the Country Focal person from the SAARC Members States i.e., Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who presented the country papers on Resilient strategies for aquaculture and fisheries to face extreme weather shocks in the SAARC Member States”. In addition, some international and national speakers also joined as presenter on the specific issues in the technical session. About 45 Participants from different organizations attended the meeting.
Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid welcomed to the participants on three days consultation meeting. Dr. Md. Younus Ali, Senior Program Specialist (Livestock) briefed out he objectives of the expert consultation meeting. In the inaugural session, Dr. Grinson George, Director, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), India presented the Keynote Paper on adaptation strategies for sustainable aquaculture and fisheries under climate change scenario in the south Asia. This was followed of Address Mr. Jamal Uddin Ahmad, Director ARD & SDF, SAARC Secretariat, Nepal as a Guest of Honor. Dr. Benoy Kumar Barman, County Representative, WorldFish, Bangladesh attended the meeting as a Special guest. Dr. Anuradha Bhadra, Director General, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), Mymensingh graced the occasion as the Chief guest and conveyed her greetings to SAARC Agriculture Centre for undertaking the important expert consultation meeting like climate change impact and adaptation on aquaculture and fisheries.
Dr. Md. Younus Ali, Senior Program Specialist (Livestock), SAC drafted the major recommendations of the consultation meeting with inputs from focal experts of the SAARC Member States along with remarks from the guest speakers.
Recommendations:
- Promote public-private partnerships (PPPs) in aquaculture development.
- Establish robust monitoring and data systems to support evidence-based decision-making.
- Government Policy for Post harvesting management and value-added products.
- Promoting community-based aquaculture systems to share resources and risks.
- promote locally sourced, climate-resilient fish feed to reduce dependency on imported feed.
- Implement recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to ensure sustainable production with minimal water usage.
- Climate change impact & adaptive measures for aquaculture.
- Introduce and farm climate-resilient fish species, such as warm-water tolerant species.
- Develop training programs for policymakers, fishers, and aquaculture farmers.
- Strengthening networking and exchange expertise & information among SAARC member countries.