BOBLME Mergui Archipelago Stakeholder Workshop, Ranong, Thailand, 13-14 July 2010

Develop recommendations and workplan to establish environmental baselines and monitoring;alternative livelihoods; planning and management; and institutional arrangements.

Culture potential of Amblypharyngodon mola with carps in polyculture in farmers' pond of northern regions of Bangladesh

To assess the culture potential of mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) along with carps in polyculture systems, an experiment consisted of three treatments each with five replications was conducted for 4 months in two villages of Parbatipur upazilla under Dinajpur district. In the first treatment (SS), catla, rohu, mrigal, grass carp, Thai punti, common carp and a higher density of silver carp (8 per 40m²) were stocked. In the second treatment (SM), stocking density of silver carp was reduced to half and mola was added at a stocking density of 12,500/ha with all other fishes used in SS. In the third treatment (MM), no silver carp was stocked and mola was added at a stocking density of 25,000/ha with all other fishes used in SS. All treatments were subjected to the same regime of feed and fertilizers. The yields of large carps were 2035 kg/ha, 1757 kg/ha and 1326 kg/ha for treatments SS, SM and MM, respectively. Catla, grass carp and carpio showed better growth and production performance in presence of mola at a higher density, while rohu, Thai punti and mrigal showed better performance when stocking density of mola was relatively low. Mola yield was almost two times higher (184 kg/ha) in absence of silver carp (MM) than (62 kg/ha) in presence of silver carp (SM). The result showed that there was a significantly (p<0.01) lower total fish production in treatment MM. But there were no significant difference in total production between treatment SS and SM.

Report of the BOBLME Fisheries Assessment Working Group meetings, Bangkok, Thailand, 13-14 September, 2010 & Chennai, India 25 November, 2010

Review of available data and assessments for Hilsa (Tenulaosa ilisha) and Indian Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta). Identification of future assessment approaches and data needs and stock status advice.

Mergui Archipelago Joint Stakeholder Workshop report, Phuket, Thailand, 18-19 January, 2011

Data, information gaps and related monitoring requirements including trans-boundry issues; alternative livelihoods; critical habitat and develoment issues; policy, planning and institutional development.

Report of the Marine Protected Areas Working Group, Bangkok, Thailand, 1-2 February, 2012

The purpose of the meeting was to: discuss and reach consensus on the implications of the FAO Marine Protected Area(MPA) guidelines; provide further input for BOBLME brochure and policies; agree on actions on the BOBLME MPA review; produce concept proposals for MPA pilot sites and to formalise the establishment of the BOBLME MPA working group.

Report of the regional workshop in transboundary aquatic animal health issues, Bangkok, Thailand, 12-13 January, 2012

This workshop was implemented as part of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA). The main focus was on the shrimp and fish aquaculture sectors and addressed issues such as aquatic animal health and transfers of aquatic animals and plants.

Report of the BOBLME Regional Fisheries Management Advisory Committee, Bangkok, Thailand, 25-26 June, 2012

The BOBLME Project supports member countries to produce fishery management plans for hilsa and Indian Mackerel using an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM). The EAFM has three tiers: technical studies to provide information; a Regional Fisheries Management Committee (RFMAC) to interpret the information and deliver ecosystem based fisheries management advice; and a Regional Fisheries Management Forum to deliberate on the advice as it relates to national actions.

An illustrated key to the Malacostraca (Crustacea) of the northern Arabian Sea. Part 6: Decapoda anomura

The key deals with the Decapoda, Anomura of the northern Arabian Sea, belonging to 3 super-families, 10 families, 32 genera and 104 species. With few exceptions, each species is accompanied by illustrations of taxonomic importance; its first reporter is referenced, supplemented by a subsequent record from the area. Necessary schematic diagrams explaining terminologies are also included.

Chemical forms of copper, zinc, lead and cadmium in sediments of the northern part of the Red Sea, Egypt

Total concentrations and chemical forms of heavy metals in sediment samples from the Gulf of Suez and the northern part of the Red Sea, collected during January 2003, were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Maximum concentrations of 49.56, 65.42, 33.52 and 3.52 µg/g were recorded for total Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd respectively at Adabiya location. These may reflect the high contribution of land-based activities in the northern part of the Gulf. Also, high percentages of heavy metals were found in the residual fraction (Cu=78.61, Zn=77.10 and Pb=66.80%) while a high percentage of Cd was found in the carbonate fraction (45.82%). However, few or negligible percentages were recorded in the exchangeable fractions (Cu=0.51, Zn=1.57 and Pb=1.74%). Concentration of Cd in the exchangeable fraction was too low to be detected.

Report of the postgraduate certificate course on integrated coastal management, Bangkok, Thailand, 21 January - 1 March, 2013

Student projects included: conservation and protection of critical coral habitats in Phuket; assessing the carrying capacity on conservation and protection strategies; proactive stakeholder strategy to tackle an environmental threat; improving the environmental management through participation and sustainable freshwater management. All of these projects were conducted on Racha Yai Island in Phuket.

Evaluation of some biological indices and population dynamic of "Saurida tumbil" in the northern Persian Gulf and Oman Sea

The Great lizardfish is one of the commercial demersal fishes in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. In this study the food preference index (FPI), Fullness index (FI) and stomach contents of Saurida tumbil were evaluated to assess the quantity and kind of food which this species consumes in the study area. The samples were collected monthly from commercial bottom trawl fisheries in main fishing grounds of eastern Strait of Hormuz. A total of 346 specimens were collected during years 2009-2010 of which 269 specimens were female and 77 specimens were male. The minimum and maximum total length were 161 and 590 mm, respectively with the highest frequency in length group of 350-370mm. Results showed that 20.9% of stomachs were full, 18.9% were semi-full and 60.2% were empty. The main stomach contents (FPI=80.2%) were fishes and minor stomach contents (FPI=25.7%) were crustacean (Specially crab and shrimp) and cephalopods were found as random food. The minimum and maximum FIs were 2.5 and 42.5 in December and September respectively; and the overall CV was 60.2. The results indicate that this fish is a relatively frugal species which consumes fishes as main food and there is no difference in feeding of male and female.

Report of the BOBLME ecosystem characterisation workshop, Phuket, Thailand, 10-12 February, 2014

The goals of the workshop were to: present verified data, draft a report containing visual descriptors and information on the structure and function of BOBLME ecosystems; identify information gaps and transboundary issues and develop capacity of national scientists on data integration techniques.

Distribution and abundance of cirripede larvae (Cirripedia: Thoracica) in the northern Arabian Sea

Cirripede larvae obtained in the zooplankton samples of the North Arabian Sea Ecological and Environmental Research (NASEER) cruise I (January, 1992) have been studied for their distribution and abundance. They were collected in the northern Arabian Sea waters (22°51'N to 24°58'N, 60°05'E to 65°59'E). Thirty- two samples were taken at 18 stations. The maximum number of larvae were collected from a station near Indus cone (Sta. 8), whereas an off shore station (Sta. 37) and one near the Makran coast (Sta. 60) had poor representation. Regular coastal collections from Manora Channel (24°48'N, 66°59'E), during the study period of one year (1994), have been also included to supplement the NASEER samples. Only one naupliar stage (VI) and a cyprid stage were identified. Relative abundance in day and night samples were also studied.

A review of spider majid crabs of the northern Arabian Sea, with particular reference to Pakistani species, and with description of an undescribed Pleistacantha

The present report deals with the history of work done on northern Arabian Sea majids, their zoogeographical consideration and recognition of present status of certain genera which are established by recent workers. I have nothing of substance to add to previous treatment by Griffin & Tranter (1986). Emphasis is given to species inhabiting coastal waters of Pakistan. The occurrence of the genus Pleistacantha in the Arabian Sea and its adjacent gulfs is discussed in detail due to presence of a unique female which was taken by Fridtj of Nansen Cruise in 1977. This seems to be an undescribed species. At the moment the female is just given as Pleistacantha sp1 till more specimens obtained determine its position. Some interesting features of Doclea muricata are also considered.

Report of the second regional ecosystem characterisation workshop, Bangkok, Thailand, 3-5 November 2014

The workshop's aim was to consolidate and validate the information collected by the CSIRO project during the first regional ecosystem characterisation workshop held in February. This information includes; descriptions of broad scale biophysical drivers of ecological systems in the region; and descriptive narratives and illustrations of each ecosystem sub-region in the Bay of Bengal.