Community management of Mekong River resources in Laos

The Mekong River is one of Asia's greatest rivers. It is the lifeblood of millions of small-scale farmers and fishers in China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the river is particularly important because for the landlocked country, the Mekong is the Sea of Laos. In southern Lao PDR, fisheries for native fish species constitute an extremely important source of subsistence protein and income for local people. It has been estimated that wild-caught fish constitute at least 90% of the protein for lowland Laotians living next to the Mekong. Despite the extreme importance of fish to the diets and economics of communities along the Mekong, the resource, and the people who depend upon it, are in danger.

Markets, marketing and production issues for aquaculture in East Africa: the case of Uganda

Aquaculture is currently responsible for an insignificant proportion of total fish production in Uganda. However, given the increasing demand for fresh fish in urban and peri-urban araes, and threats to the supply of fish from natural catch fisheries, the potential exists for a strong market in aquaculture. Small-scale fish farmers located relatively close to markets or all-season roads, and who can supply consistent and high quality produce, will have the widest range of marketing opportunities, and will likely be within the area of operation of potential traders and intermediaries that deliver fish to markets. Fish farmers that are not close to roads, or produce unreliable quantities and variable quality products may face high transaction costs of marketing their product, and decreasing net returns to production. The authors found that significant on-farm labor, and access to input markets are important factors leading to positive net returns to fish production. Areas with high population density and relatively low wages will be well suited to labor intensive aquaculture. The authors concluded that aquaculture development has good potential in certain areas of Uganda and should therefore be pursued as a potential development pathway. However, policy makers should consider the importance of the price of fresh fish relative to the cost of labor, as well as other factors including the importance of smallholder credit and access to extension services, when directing investments in aquaculture technology.

Corals, fishermen and tourists

Two major anthropogenic activities that disturb coral reefs are fishing and tourism, even though coral reefs are important for both fishing and tourism. Already more than 60 per cent of all reefs worldwide are endangered. The use of explosives and poison by small-scale fishers, to supply the market for live fish for aquariums and for human consumption, cause irreversible damages to reefs. Similarly, rapid and unmanaged coastal development for marine tourism negatively affects coral reefs in many ways. Though marine parks and marine protected areas are being promoted all over the world, developing countries need assistance in establishing and assessing such reserves and for taking appropriate actions for rehabilitation of reefs. These can be accomplished through partnership projects.

Production of freshwater prawns in the Mekong Delta

Currently there are 2 sources of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii production in Vietnam - natural production from the rivers and canals and aquaculture production from ponds and ricefields. An account is given of the production of this prawn in the Mekong Delta. The prawns are harvested primarily by a common small scale method using shelter traps. The total annual freshwater prawn production in Vietnam during 1985-90 was reported to vary from 5000 to 8000 tons, most of it from natural fisheries; although there are no official statistics on the production of farmed prawns, the amount is believed to be very small. The grow-out system includes intensive monospecies pond culture, and semi-intensive or extensive integrated rice-prawn or vegetable-prawn culture.

Population dynamics and exploitation of Metapenaeus affinis in Kuwaiti waters

Length-frequency data of Metapenaeus affinis collected from the trawl catches of R/V Bahith in Kuwaiti waters from 1985 to 1989 were combined with estimates of monthly total catch by the commercial and small-scale fleets operating in Kuwait, and analyzed using the Compleat ELEFAN software package. A major recruitment pulse of M. affinis occurs in spring and a minor one in autumn. Optimum relative yield per recruit (Y'/R) is obtained with the length-at-first capture (L sub(c)) of 24.4 cm CL for females and < 17.6 m CL for males. Virtual population analysis results indicated that the biomasses have decreased during the last three-year period for which data were available.

Fish demand and supply projections

It has been predicted that the global demand for fish for human consumption will increase by more than 50% over the next 15 years. The FAO has projected that the increase in supply will originate primarily from marine fisheries, aquaculture and to a lesser extent from inland fisheries, but with a commensurate price increase. However, there are constraints to increased production in both marine and inland fisheries, such as overfishing, overexploitation limited potential increase and environmental degradation due to industrialization. The author sees aquaculture as having the greatest potential for future expansion. Aquaculture practices vary depending on culture, environment, society amd sources of fish. Inputs are generally low-cost, ecologically efficient and the majority of aquaculture ventures are small-scale and family operated. In the future, advances in technology, genetic improvement of cultured species, improvement in nutrition, disease management, reproduction control and environmental management are expected along with opportunities for complimentary activities with agriculture, industrial and wastewater linkages. The main constraints to aquaculture are from reduced access to suitable land and good quality water due to pollution and habitat degradation. Aquaculture itself carries minimal potential for aquatic pollution. State participation in fisheries production has not proven to be the best way to promote the fisheries sector. The role of governments is increasingly seen as creating an environment for economic sectors to make an optimum contribution, through support in areas such as infrastructure, research, training and extension and a legal framework. The author feels that a holistic approach integrating the natural and social sciences is called for when fisheries policy is being examined.

A bio-socioeconomic model for the management of the small pelagic fishery in northwest Peninsular Malaysia

The article was extracted from the author's dissertation entitled "Management of small pelagic fisheries on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia: a bio-socioeconomic simulation analysis". The basic structure and uses of this simulation model are presented here.

Community-based coastal resource management in Orion (Bataan, Philippines) : building community property rights in a fishing community

The Community-based Coastal Resource Management Project in Orion, Bataan, Philippines was started in 1991. The village level fishers organizations have formed a municipal-wide association called the Samahan at Ugnayan ng Pangisdaan sa Orion (SUGPO). It represents 70% of the small-scale fishers in Orion and has taken on the task of rehabilitating the degraded fishing grounds. The experience in Orion indicates that coastal resource management can be successful if the fishers have ownership of the program and the costs and benefits of the program are distributed equally in a manner acceptable to them.

Simple method for backyard production of snakehead (Channa striata Bloch) fry

The snakehead (Channa striata ) is a common freshwater fish species in Malaysia. Details are given of a simple technique for breeding this species, suitable for small-scale farmers practising backyard aquaculture. Two techniques were used to induce spawning - the first used water level manipulation to simulate rain and the second used injected with human chorionic gonadotropic hormone. The former, more natural, spawning technique was found to provide a viable alternative for the small-scale farmer, being much simpler than hormone injection.

Census of Active Commercial Fishermen in Puerto Rico: 2008

The implementation of Puerto Rican Regulation No. 6768, which overhauled the existing fishery management framework, generated considerable hostility towards local managers. Among the controversial management measures adopted in 2004 were the assignment of fishing licenses based on fishing income, the establishment of closed seasons, and new minimum size restrictions for commercially valuable species. Though tensions have subsided, considerable opposition to these regulations remains. This paper provides a characterization of the current population of active small-scale fishermen, discusses their perceptions about the biological and socio-economic condition of the fishery, and describes their attitudes towards the new management framework. This study revealed that the number of active fishermen decreased from 1,731 in 1988 to 868 in 2008. Although a declining resource base was one of the main drivers behind these waning participation statistics, rising fuel costs and burdensome regulations exacerbated the rate of attrition. The majority of the fishermen were middleaged men (50 years) with moderate levels of formal education and high levels of fishing dependence which limited their employment opportunities outside the fishery. Most of the vessels were small (20 ft) and outfitted with a single outboard engine (80 hp). Hook and line and SCUBA were dominant gears because of their versatility and cost effectiveness. Fishermen suggested that their opposition to the regulations would continue unless they were afforded greater regulatory flexibility and provided with a larger role in the decision-making process. Fishermen were adamant about the need to reconsider the income reporting requirements to secure a fishing license because of the potential for losing public assistance benefits. They also objected to increasing the minimum size of many deepwater snapper (Lutjanidae) and grouper (Serranidae) species because it forced them to discard dead fish, a practice they consider wasteful since these species do not survive the ascent to the surface once hooked.

Humpback and Fin Whaling in the Gulf of Maine from 1800 to 1918

The history of whaling in the Gulf of Maine was reviewed primarily to estimate removals of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, especially during the 19th century. In the decades from 1800 to 1860, whaling effort consisted of a few localized, small-scale, shore-based enterprises on the coast of Maine and Cape Cod, Mass. Provincetown and Nantucket schooners occasionally conducted short cruises for humpback whales in New England waters. With the development of bomb-lance technology at mid century, the ease of killing humpback whales and fin whales, Balaenoptera physalus, increased. As a result, by the 1870’s there was considerable local interest in hunting rorquals (baleen whales in the family Balaenopteridae, which include the humpback and fin whales) in the Gulf of Maine. A few schooners were specially outfitted to take rorquals in the late 1870’s and 1880’s although their combined annual take was probably no more than a few tens of whales. Also in about 1880, fishing steamers began to be used to hunt whales in the Gulf of Maine. This steamer fishery grew to include about five vessels regularly engaged in whaling by the mid 1880’s but dwindled to only one vessel by the end of the decade. Fin whales constituted at least half of the catch, which exceeded 100 animals in some years. In the late 1880’s and thereafter, few whales were taken by whaling vessels in the Gulf of Maine.

The History of Oyster Farming in Australia

Aboriginal Australians consumed oysters before settlement by Europeans as shown by the large number of kitchen middens along Australia's coast. Flat oysters, Ostrea angasi, were consumed in southeastern Australia, whereas both flat and Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata, are found in kitchen middens in southern New South Wales (NSW), but only Sydney rock oysters are found in northern NSW and southern Queensland. Oyster fisheries began with the exploitation of dredge beds, for the use of oyster shell for lime production and oyster meat for consumption. These natural oyster beds were nealy all exhausted by the late 1800's, and they have not recovered. Oyster farming, one of the oldest aquaculture industries in Australia, began as the oyster fisheries declined in the late 1800's. Early attempts at farming flat oysters in Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia, which started in the 1880's, were abandoned in the 1890's. However, a thriving Sydney rock oyster industry developed from primitive beginnings in NSW in the 1870's. Sydney rock oysters are farmed in NSW, southern Queensland, and at Albany, Western Australia (WA). Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, are produced in Tasmania, South Australia, and Port Stephens, NSW. FLant oysters currently are farmed only in NSW, and there is also some small-scale harvesting of tropical species, the coarl rock or milky oyster, S. cucullata, and th black-lip oyster, Striostrea mytiloides, in northern Queensland. Despite intra- and interstate rivalries, oyster farmers are gradually realizing that they are all part of one industry, and this is reflected by the establishment of the national Australian Shellfish Quality Assuarance Program and the transfer of farming technology between states. Australia's oyster harvests have remained relatively stable since Sydney rock oyster production peaked in the mid 1970's at 13 million dozen. By the end of the 1990's this had stabilized at around 8 million dozen, and Pacific oyster production reached a total of 6.5 million dozen from Tasmania, South Australia, and Port Stephens, a total of 14.5 million dozen oysters for the whole country. This small increase in production during a time of substantial human population growth shows a smaller per capita consumption and a declining use of oysters as a "side-dish."

Historical Exploitation of the California Sea Lion, Zalophus californianus, in México

The exploitation of California sea lions, Zalophus californianus, in Mexican waters can be divided into four periods as defined by political characteristics of the country: Prehispanic, Colonial, Independent, and Postrevolutionary. During the first period (pre 1533), Native Americans took sea lions at low levels. During the second (1534–1821) and the third (1822–1911) periods, most exploitation was by foreigners and was incidental to other marine mammal harvests. During the Postrevolutionary period (after 1911), sea lions were exploited by Mexican and U.S. citizens for several commercial uses. Exploitation officially ended in 1982, although some small-scale poaching still occurs.

A History of the Pearl Oyster Fishery in the Archipielago de las Perlas, Panama

The pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera mazatlanica, was once found around the Archipielago de las Perlas in Panama in abundance and it supported a substantial fishery by hard hat divers. The products were pearls, shells used for making buttons, and meats used locally for food. After the mid 1920’s, the fishery declined due to overfishing, and by the 1940’s it was nearly gone. The oysters began to repopulate the grounds during the 1970’s, but the oysters remain relatively scarce. Fishing has since resumed on a small scale by skin divers using face masks.

Remote Camera and Trapping Survey of the Deep-water Shrimps Heterocarpus laevigatus and H. ensifer and the Geryonid Crab Chaceon granulatus in Palau

Time-lapse remote photo-sequences at 73-700 m depth off Palau, Western Caroline Islands, show that the caridean shrimp Heterocarpus laevigatus tends to be a solitary animal, occurring below ~350 m, that gradually accumulates around bait sites over a prolonged period. A smaller speies, H. ensifer, tends to move erratically in swarms, appearing in large numbers in the upper part of its range (<250 m) during the evening crepuscular period and disappearing at dawn. Trapping and photsequence data indicate the depth range of H. ensifer (during daylight) is ~250-550 M, while H. laevigatus ranges from 350 m to at least 800 m, along with the geryonid crab Chaceon granulatus. Combined trapping for Heterocarpus laevigatus and Chaceon granulatus, using a three-chamber box-trap and extended soak times (48-72 hr), may be an appropriate technique for small-scale deep-water fisheries along forereef slopes of Indo-Pacific archipelagoes.