GOVERNMENT-AFFILIATED scientists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and China joined forces to launch the first Common Fisheries Resource Analysis (CFRA), a landmark analysis of the region's shared fish resources providing food and livelihoods for millions of people, on September 2.

A previous study showed that the fish stocks in the region have been decreasing from 70 percent to 95 percent since the 1950s. The launching of CFRA showcases the benefits of international collaboration providing science as the basis of evidence in building more sustainable management of the South China Sea's resources.