Fisheries International Cooperation Projects

West & East Africa

West Africa Task Force - Fisheries Intelligence and Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Support in West Africa

(Trygg Mat Tracking / NA16NMF4630339/ $100,000)

Funding will support the West Africa Task Force (WATF) as an initiative to address illegal fishing and improve compliance in the industrial fishing sector in West Africa. The WATF began in 2014 and brings together the six member states of the Fishery Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea – Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo – to strengthen regional cooperation in the fight against illegal fishing. The objectives of the WATF are to increase communication and cooperation on a national (multi-agency) and regional level; capacity building, including through provision of training, practical tools, legal and technical support; and provision of intelligence and analysis to support detection and prosecution of illegal fishing.

Enhancing the Management and Conservation of Sharks, Skates, Rays and Billfishes Through Improved Fisheries Data Collection 

(Hen Mpoano / NA16NMF4630340 / $46,305) Billfishes, sharks and other elasmobranch catches are a traditional and important source of employment for artisanal fishers in Ghana. Although a shark market exists within Ghana and significant exports occur, data and information on this market is not readily available. The shark harvest in Ghana has been identified as an area where IUU practices are taking place in its EEZ, in particular among the canoe and semi-industrial fleet. This project will address and characterize the fisheries for elasmobranchs and billfishes and the data and information gaps in Ghana’s shark fishery and thereby support regulatory and management measures for the fishery in Ghana. The project will use participatory and innovative approaches where fishermen will be involved in collecting catch data and other socio-economic information on the shark and billfish species, as well as document the social and economic aspects particularly in the shark fin trade. It will also work with national fish data managers to raise awareness on landings of such large pelagic species.

Coastal Senegal Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Surveys to Assess Mortality and Fisheries
Interactions

(African Aquatic Conservation Fund / NA15NMF4630358 / $38,000) The grant provides for coastal Senegal marine mammal and sea turtle stranding surveys to assess mortality and fisheries interactions. Strandings data will be analyzed and a database of all marine mammal and sea turtle strandings developed. Concurrently, ten educational programs will be conducted in local communities to raise awareness of the protected status and threats to marine mammals and sea turtles.

Strengthening Capacity of National CITES Authorities, Customs, and Enforcement Authorities to Identify Listed and Protected Species in West Africa 

(Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute / NA15NMF4630354 / $99,100) This grant provides funds for the development of a CITES manual, identification guides for species that are listed in CITES, and the provision of training on use of the identification guides for countries in the region of West Africa. This project will help address several priority needs that were identified by a coalition of West African countries. The CITES identification guides will provide key information to CITES, fisheries, and Customs authorities in West Africa for implementation and enforcement of CITES listings in a format that can be accessed and disseminated.

Sustainable Use of Marine Resources in Gabon Through Better Management of Fish Stocks and Artisanal Fishing Zones

(Wildlife Conservation Society / NA15NMF4630359 / $60,000) This grant will assist with improving Gabon’s national capacity to reduce fishing infractions by supporting surveillance, centralizing surveillance and threat data, and increasing stakeholder engagement with artisanal fishing communities, improving governance in artisanal fishing zones by working with fishing communities and government institutions to prepare fishing regulations and management plans for each zone, and improving Gabon’s national capacity to develop sustainable fisheries and maintain governance by monitoring fisheries, including gear use, use of maritime space, fishing effort, and catches.

Sawfish Conservation Planning in East Africa

(Simon Fraser University / NA15NMF4690193 / $115,000) This grant would contribute to the development  of a national sawfish conservation strategy for Mozambique (Phase I) with the development of a regional conservation strategy for East Africa centered on Kenya but potentially including other pertinent East African countries (e.g. Tanzania, Madagascar).

Latin America

CHILE ES MAR Application: Transferring Scientific and Regulatory Knowledge to the Chilean Society as a Way to Reach Marine Resource Sustainability

(Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile / NA16NMF4630346 / $70,000) This projects aims to develop a mobile software application (Chile es Mar App). The Chile es Mar App will bridge the information gap observed among science, fishermen and final consumers in relation to the biology, natural availability, fishing regulations, market opportunities and traceability of marine resources provided by small-scale fisheries in Chile. The App will serve as a communication platform between fishermen and final consumers, aiming for bottom-up enforcement through empowering a society increasingly concerned with environmental sustainability. The app in turn will deliver first class scientific information, create a social network empowering fishers and consumers, provide an educational tool for marine conservation and sustainable management, provide a foundation for traceability programs, and promote a fair and transparent trade system by directly linking fishers and consumers.

Improved Research, Policy, and Advocacy in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia to Deter Seafood Fraud and Illegal International Trade of Shark Products

(Fundacion MarViva / NA16NMF4630345 / $46,000) The goals of this project are to improve knowledge on the international trade of sharks, skates, and rays originating in the three target supplier countries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, (Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia) by analyzing the international trade routes of these species out of the three countries and raising awareness among relevant regional and international stakeholders. The project also aims to  analyze fishery product export codes utilized in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia to monitor the international trade in shark and ray products and  assist in the development of  proposals for the adoption of harmonized codes in these countries. Finally, the project will improve awareness on the international trade of sharks, skates, and rays originating in the three target supplier countries by synthesizing and publishing the information and disseminating results among relevant stakeholders in regional and international fora.

Improving Governance to Advance Marine Spatial Planning in the Region of Ica, Peru.

(ProDelphinus / NA16NMF0080362 /  $50,000) The goal of this proposed project is to advance the process of Marine Spatial Planning in the pilot project of the Region of Ica (Peru), by building on advances achieved under the GEF-UNDP Humboldt project. To achieve this goal, focus will be on strengthening the governance structure, implement the existing communication plan and strategy, and facilitating coordination between the main stakeholders: the Ministry of Environment, the Regional Government of Ica and the local community through a number of workshops.

Advance Implementation of the CITES Shark and Ray Listings in Peru

(The Humane Society / NA15NMF4690250 / $49,991) Funds have been provided for a workshop that will help further advance the Government of Peru’s implementation and compliance with the 2013 listings of shark and ray species on Appendix II of CITES. The Government of Peru has made strides towards effective implementation of the CITES shark and ray listings.

Deploying Novel Technology to Support the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of Small Scale Fisheries in Honduras

(Smithsonian Institution / NA15NMF4690391 / $99,658) This grant will provide assistance to a project which aims to provide a cost effective mechanism to develop high resolution data on small scale fisheries and prove that it is economically viable and technically feasible to do this across a wide geographic area incorporating hundreds of fishers and multiple fisheries types in developing effective management strategies and a network of marine reserves. 

Caribbean

Conservation and Management of Sharks and Rays in the Wider Caribbean Region

(Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission / NA16NMF4630344 / $50,000) This funding will provide for a regional workshop of the Western and Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC)/OSPESCA Working Group on Sharks, in which countries will examine current knowledge of elasmobranchs in the Wider Caribbean Region and make recommendations for their management and conservation in the form of a Regional Plan of Action for endorsement at the next WECAFC meeting. Objective of the funded project will be to collect and share appropriate catch and effort data for use in a population assessment of shark and ray populations in the Wider Caribbean Region, including fishery-dependent data (e.g. landings, fishing effort, regulatory discards, bycatch) and fishery-independent data (e.g. indices of abundance, biological information, length frequency). The workshop will also aim to increase awareness and understanding of shark status, conservation and management among fisheries sector stakeholders of the WECAFC member States.

Support to the Interim Coordination Mechanism for Sustainable Fisheries

(Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem / NA16NMF0080363 / $50,000) The award will be used to support the implementation of the Interim Fisheries Coordination Mechanism for Sustainable Fisheries by providing support for the improved management of the queen conch and spiny lobster fisheries and strengthening catch and traceability schemes. It is anticipated that the activities will support in the improved management of fisheries within the Caribbean Region, the building of sustainable fisheries and the enhancement of livelihoods, security and resilience of the Caribbean socio-ecological system to climate change.

Support to the Caribbean Regional Working Group on Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing

(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / NA15NMF4630365 / 40,000) Funding will support the inaugural meeting of the Regional Working Group on IUU fishing. The meeting will focus on accepting the Terms of Reference proposed, agreeing on the working groups modus operandi, initiate discussion and preparing the contents for a study to propose an appropriate suite of cost effective, short-term measures, and agreeing to priority actions for 2016/17.

Asia

Making Progress on Trawl Management in SE Asia: Immediate Opportunities Arising from Current Workshop Program

(IFFO / NA16NMF0080374 / $24,000) This project will complement existing work by providing scientific advice on defensible measures of Multispecies MSY and precautionary reference points that meet international norms; Support the Gulf of Thailand Fishery Improvement Project in its involvement in the rehabilitation and fishery management process; and Begin the process of bringing Myanmar into the dialogue about the need for robust fisheries management.

Investigation of the Illegal Trade of the Totoaba in China and Hong Kong to Stop the Bycatch of the Critically Endangered Vaquita

(Environmental Investigation Agency / NA15NMF4630360 / $97,247) The project will fund an investigation into the routes and methods used to smuggle totoaba, an endangered fish species (listed in Appendix I of CITES and as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act), whose illegal harvest and trade of their swim bladders is driving the decline of the endangered vaquita. An improved understanding of the trade routes will assist governments and other stakeholders in combatting the illegal totoaba trade.  The project will also increase awareness among consumers of the link between totoaba consumption and the imminent threat to vaquita.

Assessing and Reducing Bycatch Risk Among the World's Most Threatened Marine Megafauna Through Spatial Planning in Coastal Waters of the Northern Indian Ocean and African coast

(Wildlife Conservation Society / NA15NMF4630355 / $60,000) This grant aims to expand the predictive capacity of spatially-explicit entanglement risk models developed for cetaceans in coastal waters of Bangladesh to a much broader geographical area across the rim of the Northern Indian Ocean and African coast, as well as a broader taxonomical scope.

Preparing Management Plans for Trawl Fisheries in South East Asia

(IFFO / NA15NMF4690204 / $108,000) The grant will assist in preparing management plans for trawl fisheries in South East Asia: assisting stakeholders and officials to prepare management plans in accordance with the Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission guidelines.

Miscellaneous: International

Support for the Global Record of Fishing Vessels

(F.A.O. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / NA14NMF4330273 / $50,000) The Global Record of Fishing Vessels Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record) is a voluntary, phased and collaborative global initiative intending to make information available on vessel identification and other relevant data with the aim of providing a reliable and rapid way to contrast data with other sources.  The Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) initiative to compile a Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels is intended to provide a tool to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related activities by making it more difficult and expensive for vessels and companies acting illegally to do business.  The Global Record, along with unique vessel identifiers which are at the heart of the Global Record, will be invaluable for tracking fishing vessels for purposes of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing.

Catching the Right Fish: A Toolbox to Reduce Marine Mammal Bycatch Risk Assessment in Developing Countries

(San Francisco State University / NA16NMF4630338 / $80,000) Marine mammal bycatch, a major threat to sustainable populations, poses a particular challenge in developing countries with fisheries that export to the United States. Data to document bycatch and the effects of bycatch are often lacking in these countries as the research needed takes time, money, and training which are often limited. This project aims to outline an interdisciplinary and iterative approach that makes use of existing data and creates a framework for data acquisition that provides local practitioners and scientists the tools they need to conduct bycatch risk assessments.

The CITES Sponsored Delegates Project: Sponsoring Developing Country Delegates to Participate in the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES

(CITES Secretariat / NA16NMF0080375 / $35,000) The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is scheduled for September 24 – October 5, 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Funding will provide travel support to participants from developing countries to be able to attend and participate in the meeting.

Promoting the use of Coastal Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) in the Northern Area of the Humboldt Current Large Marine Ecosystem (HCLME)

(United Nations Development Programme / NA15NMF4630366 / $70,000) This project aims to put in place a governance framework to strengthen foundational capacities for an effective CMSP framework that can maintain biological integrity, diversity, and ecosystem services despite changing climatic and social pressures.

Global Assessment of Large Whale Entanglement and Bycatch Reduction in Fixed Fishing Gear

(New England Aquarium Corporation / NA15NMF4630357 / $133,066) The objective of this grant is to conduct a global assessment of large whale entanglement and bycatch reduction in fixed fishing gear. The grant will convene a workshop to undertake this assessment and review existing and promising mitigation measures to reduce the bycatch of marine mammals in pot gear and other fixed gear fisheries.

Development of an Electronic Reporting and Data Storage System to Support the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Regional Observer Scheme

(World Wildlife Fund, Inc. / NA15NMF4630356 / $84,390) The proposed project will improve data collection and reporting processes through the development of an electronic reporting and data storage system in support of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Regional Observer Scheme.

Developing Genomic Traceability Tools by Identifying Signals of Local Adaptation in Commercially Important Marine Species

(Smithsonian Institution / NA15NMF4690390 / $52,893)This grant funds RNA-Seq technology to identify genome-wide population structure and signals of local adaptation, a first step towards the development of robust analytic tool that can combat IUU fishing by being able to verify and validate the origin of a seafood product once it is in the market chain.

Cooperative Agreement on U.S. Support for the International Whaling Commission

(International Whaling Commission / NA13NMF4410185 / $300,000) This grant is provided under a multi-year cooperative agreement with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and specific activities are outlined annually based on outcomes of annual and biennial meetings. The grant assists with large whale conservation initiatives, such as entanglement prevention and sustainable whale watching, as well as the continued development of  sustainable aboriginal subsistence whaling.

Cooperative Agreement on U.S. Support for Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Activities

(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / NA14NMF4330273 / $100,000) This grant is provided under a multi-year cooperative agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations where specific activities are outlined annually based on activities coordinated by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Activities in 2015 have included work on the Global Record of Fishing Vessels Refrigerated Transport vessels and supply vessels, and climate change.

World Seabird Conference

(World Seabird Union / NA15NMF4690148 / $40,000) This grant will contribute to the Second World Seabird Conference, particularly by increasing participation by early career scientists from developing countries, to promote knowledge and partnering that can lead to mitigation of threats (such as fisheries interactions) to the survival of pelagic seabird species.