In a bid to preserve the Indian oil sardine stock along the west coast, selected fishermen societies and the Goa government are jointly drafting an action plan as part of the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) in Goa and Maharashtra. The collaboration of these agencies came up with a series of key proposals during the second steering committee meeting held in Goa recently. They agreed to push for strong practices to promote sustainability in the supply chain of fisheries and related products along the coasts of the two states. Fisheries director Govind Jaiswal said the the government will play a key role in enforcing measures that bolster fishery sustainability assessments, based on scientific methods adopted by institutes like the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology and Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. A representative from agro-food company CPF India Private Limited said the firm will support stakeholders in the supply chain, including fishmeal plants and fisherman by imparting training. CPF India has a clear policy to preserve not only environment, but also use of natural resources for sustainability. We will take care that all stakeholders learn more about doing businesses the right way, he said. The fishermen societies include Ratnadurga Macchimar Society, Adarsh Machchimar Society, Vasco Fishing Boat Owners Marketing Co-Op Society Ltd, Zuari Fishermen Marketing Co-Operative Society Ltd and Omega Fishmeal and Oil Private Limited. The collaboration of these agencies came up with a series of key proposals during the second steering committee meeting held in Goa recentlyr. During the meeting, they agreed to push for strong practices to promote sustainability in the supply chain of fisheries and related products along the coasts of the two states.