Appendix 4. Staged Start Dates

Fiscal year 1999 was the first year of reduced annual program budgets under the current grant. Those unexpected cutbacks resulted in the need to stagger the start dates (see below) of Ninth Work Plan research so that all the meretricious research plans that were originally proposed could still be undertaken, though over a three- rather than a two-year schedule. While this approach satisfactorily allowed the realization of the Ninth Work Plan, it should be noted that it also necessarily foreshortened the program's ability to complete all grant objectives. Currently in progress are experiments and activities in environmental management and socioeconomic aspects of fish culture systems in Kenya, Thailand, Mexico, Peru, Honduras, and the Philippines. Also underway are regional research and development plans for East Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America. Extending the current grant would enable the program to fulfill Continuation Plan 1996–2001 objectives in full.