Review of SEAFDEC collaborative resource surveys in the South China Sea

Abstract

SEAFDEC's Interdepartmental Collaborative Research Program on Fishery Resources Survey in the South China Sea was initiated in 1995 after the acquisition of MV SAEFDEC from Japan. The area covered in the survey were the Gulf of Thailand and east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Area 1), water of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam (Area II), west coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines (Area III), and waters of Vietnam (Area IV). Besides resources assessment using the acoustic survey, the researchers had also undertaken studies in oceanography and marine biology. The paper highlights the achievements and problems encountered from these survey.