Tropical shrimp trawling: Developing a management blueprint and adapting and implementing it in specific countries and fisheries

Around 1.3 million tonnes of tropical shrimp are caught annually throughout the world, primarily using bottom trawls. There are many concerns about the sustainability of these catches and the ecosystems impacts of tropical shrimp trawl fisheries. This paper describes ageneric tropical shrimp trawl blueprint for improvement of management which was developed following a global review of tropical shrimp fisheries and consideration of best practice in fisheries management. The generic blueprint is intended for adaptation through stakeholder consultation and workshops in different countries to reflect country-specific needs, and to result in country- or fisheries-specific shrimp trawl management plans. This process of adaptation has already taken place in Suriname, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Work in these four countries has affirmed the usefulness of the contents and structure of the generic blueprint, as well as the importance of country-specific adaptations. The adaptation process has also generated a number of important lessons in terms of preparation for the adaptation workshops, their completion, and post-workshop activities. Of particular note is that long-term improvements in sustainability are critically dependent on effective and concerted follow-up after the adaptation workshops to ensure the formal adoption of the management plans by government and their coherence with and incorporation into other national and project planning frameworks and developments.