A wooden catamaran, the traditional flimsy fishing craft of southern India has to be untied for drying out at regular intervals. In the background are new motorized fishing boats (IND/25) designed under FAO's Bay of Bengal Programme to carry a larger crew and capable of travelling greater distances at a faster speed. - - Bay of Bengal Programme. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Swedish trust funds are helping India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand to develop their coastal fisheries on the Bay of Bengal. FAO's Bay of Bengal Programme is helping to improve fishing craft and gear, boost the income of fishing families, expand coastal aquaculture, improve fish processing and marketing and provide training courses for extension workers and fisherfolk. These fisherfolk are among the poorest and most valuable of the rural population, yet they supply about two-thirds of all the fish for human consumption in the region. In 1986, the project, with its headquarters in Madras, India, expanded to include Indonesia and the Maldives.