S
I O F
P
OUTH WEST NDIAN
CEAN
ISHERIES
ROGRAMME
(SWIOFP)
NEWSFLASH 7: FEBRUARY 2004












An occasional newsletter to update













members of SWIOFP on current





develo pments.






There has been considerable SWIOFP activity over the past month and
this newsflash provides a brief update on recent progress.

Administration
· The administration of SWIOFP continues to be directed from the Instituto Nacional de
Investigacao Pesqueira (IIP) in Maputo. Their liaison with the World Bank as well as
regional focal points is pivotal to project success.
· A major next milestone is the Plenary meeting in Maputo. This was originally
scheduled for 17 and 18 March 2004 but has been slightly delayed to 25 and 26 March
2004. The agenda for this meeting is in preparation. All delegates are strongly urged to
attend this meeting as it will be important in finalising plans for a long-term SWIOFP
project.

Project activities.
Proceedings of the 2nd Theme Working Group, dealing with data management, have
been reviewed and will be available for distribution by the end of February 04.

The 3rd Theme Working Group, responsible for Operations and Procurement, held its
meeting on 11 and 12 February near Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Facilitated by the
Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), the meeting was held at the historic
coastal town of Bagamoyo. While attendance from some countries was a little
disappointing, the meeting nevertheless produced a number of strategic approaches
towards procurement issues for SWIOFP. Some of the key points are listed-

· The SWIOFP project received endorsement from several senior government
individuals, including Dr Manual Tsaviri, Director of Wildlife as well as the
governor of the Bagamoyo district.
· The following countries were represented: Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, South
Africa and France, as well as the UNDP Large Marine Ecosystem Project. Allan
Robertson, a research vessel specialist, also contributed to the meeting.
· Due consideration was given to the results of the Science Plan and the Data
management meetings. Accordingly, each country presented information on their
disposition towards procurement, especially in the light of available resources such
as ships.

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· The South African and French delegations presented details of potential research
vessels, with an indication of individual capacity, operational cost and
procurement procedures.
· Procurement strategies were developed in terms of four components:
o Generic issues
o Human resource development
o Research vessels
o Equipment
· A number of generic procurement procedures were identified:
o Procurement should follow the shortest possible chain
o There should be minimum government encumbrances
o The process should be credible and transparent
o Users need to define needs and create specifications
o There should be a central procurement body
o Ownership of goods must be clarified.
· It was concluded that any data collecting should as far as possible be undertaken in
conjunction with other programmes, such as the LME project, SADC and the
International Ship Operators Meeting (ISOM).
· The workshop proceedings were recorded by Dr. R. Tamatamah and will be
circulated after review and editing. Prof. POJ Bwathondi, and Drs JDR Bayona
and B. Ngatunga contributed to the success of this Theme Workshop.


Updated Table of Activities

INTERIM PROGRESS


Task
Action
Status
Deadline
Secretarial support.
Appoint
Achieved
Completed
Science Plan workshop
Workshop in Cape Town-
Achieved
Completed
MCM
Data Management workshop
KMFRI- Mombasa
Achieved.
Completed
Data Management proceedings
KMFRI- Circulate
Achieved
Completed
minutes- feedback from
partners
Procurement Workshop
TAFIRI- Dar es Salaam
Achieved
Final record circulated
by mid March 04
Legal, project management
Need final planning
Preliminary stage only
July 2004
and related theme workshops
Plenary SWIOFP meeting
Arrange and prepare
Underway
25-26 Mar. 04
Maputo
Create SWIOFP Website
Design and host,
Achieved
Completed
Compile content- send out
for review
Interface with other WIO
Document other
Ongoing.
Ongoing
programmes, including LME
programmes; circulate-
establish links.
Negotiate Pdf-B extension to
Secretariat to expedite
Achieved
Completed
feb 05
Project status report
Secretariat
Draft completed
Completed
Final project vision document
Compile draft; circulate
Basic framework being
End December 2004;
submitted to GEF
designed
early 2005

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Events and related activities
A growing number of other projects and activities are seeking contact with SWIOFP, which is
a positive trend considering the collaborative nature of the intended project

A particular highlight that should interest SWIOFP participants was a conference arranged by
the Royal Society of London in January 04. The theme revolved around oceanography,
ecology and fisheries of the West Indian Ocean and was thus of direct relevance to SWIOFP.
The presentations were outstanding and it was enormously revealing and encouraging to note
how much new and excellent information is available about WIO oceanography, much of it
derived from remote sensing. The proceedings will be published in the Transactions of the
Royal Society.

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Ana Paula Baloi
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Pesqueira (IIP)
SWIOFP coordinator
Maputo, Mozambique
Tel: + 258 1 490536 / 490307 / 499963
Fax + 258 1 492112
Email: swiofp@moziip.org
Web: www.swiofp.org

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