ASIA'S FISHING INDUSTRY LOSES $520 MILLION IN TSUNAMI

The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization has 22 fisheries specialists in the area already, with another 11 on their way. Investigators are looking at immediate relief and a longer-term strategy that will include advice on sustainable fishing. Approximately, 111,000 fishing vessels were destroyed or damaged; 36,000 engines were lost or damaged beyond repair; and 1.7 million units of fishing gear, such as nets, tackle, and similar equipment were also destroyed.

"We should not recreate one of the major problems within fisheries prior to the tsunami, which was over capacity in the coastal fisheries," FAO Fishery Technology Service head Jeremy Turner said. "In the past there were too many boats and too much fishing. We must ensure that we do not surpass the level of fishing capacity that was there before the disaster."