Multidisciplinary research and management: fisheries in the Central Delta of the Niger River (Mali)

This contribution gives an overview of the fisheries in the Central Delta of the Niger River (Mali) and highlights the results of a multidisciplinary research and management program conducted in the area to assess the status of the fisheries and improve their management. The importance of multidisciplinary approaches is emphasized to fully elaborate the problems impacting fisheries and the measures for their resolution. Directions for increased decentralization, participation of fishers and ecosystem preservation for improved management of the Central Delta fisheries are briefly discussed.

Culture of prawn in rotation with shrimp

A progressive farmer in Tamil Nadu state, India experimented with crop rotation and successfully cultured Penaeus monodon during the dry season and Macrobrachium rosenbergii during the wet season. The details of M. rosenbergii culture are discussed in this article. Rotation with M. rosenbergii did help the farmer overcome the disease problem since farmers who exclusively cultured P. monodon in the nearby areas during the same season suffered losses due to white spot disease.

Potentials for different models for freshwater aquaculture development in the Red River Delta (Vietnam) using GIS analysis

This study was an attempt to apply land-based GIS analysis for freshwater aquaculture planning in the Red River Delta of Vietnam. It was based on diverse data sources in order to help decision makers at the site and also to contribute to the modelling of selection processes for aquaculture development planning in the region.

Who's working on giant clam culture?

An examination is made of the literature on giant clam (Tridacna ) culture methods induced spawning, larvae, larval and post-larval rearing and socioeconomics. ASFA and the ICLARM library and professional staff collections were used for the search.

River fisheries in Africa: their relationship to flow regimes

River fisheries in Africa are important because of their contribution of animal protein to human diets. Such fisheries are highly dependent on hydrological regimes and show considerable year-to-year variation in response to natural climatic events. River flow regimes are being increasingly altered by withdrawals by man, principally for agriculture. The modification of hydrological regimes is leading to diminishing catches of fish and changes in the number and size of the species caught. Given that the trend to remove water from rivers for agriculture and power generation will continue, better appraisals of the impacts of such withdrawals are urgently needed so the policies for water allocation can be better defined. The development of tools to aid in such decision-making is equally important.

Reducing Prawn-trawl Bycatch in Australia: An Overview and an Example from Queensland

Prawn trawling occurs in most states of Australia in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters. Bycatch occurs to some degree in all Australian trawl fisheries, and there is pressure to reduce the levels of trawl fishery bycatch. This paper gives a brief overview of the bycatch issues and technological solutions that have been evaluated or adopted in Australian prawn-trawl fi sheries. Turtle excluder devices (TED’s) and bycatch reduction devices (BRD’s) are the principal solutions to bycatch in Australian prawn-trawl fisheries. This paper focuses on a major prawn-trawl fishery of northeastern Australia, and the results of commercial use of TED’s and BRD’s in the Queensland east coast trawl fishery are presented. New industry designs are described, and the status of TED and BRD adoption and regulation is summarized. The implementation of technological solutions to reduce fishery bycatch is assumed generally to assist prawn-trawl fisheries within Australia in achieving legislative requirements for minimal environmental impact and ecological sustainable development.

Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, Removing By-catch from Prawn-trawl Codends During Fishing in New South Wales, Australia

During a fishing trip to record video footage of fish escaping from a by-catch reducing device located in a commercial prawn trawl, two bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, were observed to actively manipulate the codend at the seabed, removing and consuming components of catch (mostly juvenile whiting, Sillago spp.). The observed feeding pattern suggests a well established behavioral response to trawling activities and is discussed with respect to (1) the potential nutritional benefit that dolphins may derive from such activities and (2) the effects that scavenging may have on selectivity of the gear.

Temporal Changes in a Tropical Nekton Assemblage and Performance of a Prawn Selective Gear

The temporal variation of components of a moderately diverse (H=1.46) tropical estuarine fish assemblage (long. 146°30'E, lat. 8°45'S) was directed by salinities that had been determined by local oceanographic and probably topographic conditions. For this assemblage, two types of intrayear component profiles are predicted. Pooled data (1988-91) reveal a large component of regular/resident species (43%) in an assemblage which has been under a narrow temperature regime «5T). These results facilitate a discussion on the relevance and usefulness of three hypotheses often cited in studies concerning species diversity and component characteristics of the subtropical/tropical coastal nonreef fish assemblages. Manifestations of the assemblage are reflected in catch composition and weights of 39 trials conducted for a selective prawning gear whose performance in bycatch reduction, mainly for finfishes, is judged by an index, E, we have previously proposed. This gear is capable of harvesting the prawn while conserving the demersal fish. Behavioral responses to netting of the prawns and the finfishes, especially the nearshore surface schoolers such as leiognathids, are discussed from several points of view. An adaptation in terms of group selection for leiognathids of their locking mechanism of median fin spines has been interpreted. For the purpose of bycatch reduction or E enhancement, suggestions for improvements in net design and trawl configuration by considering the behavioral features of fish are made. Our original formula of E is modified for general use. Bycatch problems in the regional prawn fisheries and their possible impacts on fishery planning and development in Papua New Guinea as a developing country are discussed. The gear tested may offer enormous ecological and economic benefits. The gear is multipurpose, extremely simple, and can also be used as a biological sampler.

Autonomous adaptation to climate change by shrimp and catfish farmers in Vietnam’s Mekong River delta

The Mekong River delta of Vietnam supports a thriving aquaculture industry but is exposed to the impacts of climate change. In particular, sea level rise and attendant increased flooding (both coastal and riverine) and coastal salinity intrusion threaten the long-term viability of this important industry. This working paper summarizes an analysis of the economics of aquaculture adaptation in the delta, focusing on the grow-out of two exported aquaculture species—the freshwater striped catfish and the brackish-water tiger shrimp. The analysis was conducted for four pond-based production systems: catfish in the inland and coastal provinces and improved extensive and semi-intensive/intensive shrimp culture.

The Coleopteran fauna of exposed riverine sediments on the River Dane, Cheshire: A survey report

This is the Coleopteran Fauna of ERS on the river Dane, Cheshire: a survey report produced by the Environment Agency in 2003. A comprehensive survey of the Exposed Riverine Sediment (ERS) on the River Dane, Cheshire was undertaken between mid-April and mid-June 2003. 6 locations were selected and subsequently examined to determine the importance of the constituent invertebrate fauna. Appropriate sampling techniques (i.e. pitfall trapping, hand searching and excavations) were directed towards the target group (Coleoptera). All adults from the chosen taxa were identified to species level. The relative value of the fauna was assessed using species richness, conservation status, fidelity score and a site quality index.

River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1965 Season

This is the fourth River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1965 season by the Devon River Board. The object of this investigation is to examine, by means of scale-reading, the general biology of the salmon population of the River Dart. It reviews the methods used for the collection of scales and examination of the materials. It shows the results of the survey and the number of scales studied from each of the various sea-age classes, time of running with distribution of the sea-age groups throughout the season, fish sizes and smolt ages at migration. All it summarized in tables, and figures are included plotting weight distributions for each age classes and frequency distributions.

River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1966 Season

This is the fifth River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1966 Season by the Devon River Board. The object of this investigation is to examine, by means of scale-reading, the general biology of the salmon population of the River Dart. It reviews the methods used for the collection of scales and examination of the materials. It shows the results of the survey and the number of scales studied from each of the various sea-age classes, time of running with distribution of the sea-age groups throughout the season, fish sizes and smolt ages at migration. All it summarized in tables, and figures are included plotting weight distributions for each age classes and frequency distributions. It also compares the results of previous reports.

River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1967 Season

This is the sixth and final River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1967 Season by the Devon River Board. The object of this investigation is to examine, by means of scale-reading, the general biology of the salmon population of the River Dart. It reviews the methods used for the collection of scales and examination of the materials. It shows the results of the survey and the number of scales studied from each of the various sea-age classes, time of running with distribution of the sea-age groups throughout the season, fish sizes and smolt ages at migration. All it summarized in tables, and figures are included plotting weight distributions for each age classes and frequency distributions. It also compares the results of previous reports and gives a full summary for the investigation (including previous reports).

River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1962 Season

This is the first River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1962 season by the Devon River Board. The object of this investigation is to examine, by means of scale-reading, the general biology of the salmon population of the River Dart. It reviews briefly the theory and mechanics of the scale-reading technique, the life history of the salmon, and the methods used for the collection of scales and the examination of the materials. It shows the results of the survey and the number of scales studied from each of the various sea-age classes, time of running with distribution of the sea-age groups throughout the season, fish sizes and smolt ages at migration. All are summarized in various tables and figures are also included, plotting weight distributions for each age classes and frequency distributions.

River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1963 Season

This is the second River Dart Scale Reading Investigation Report on the 1963 season by the Devon River Board. The object of this investigation is to examine, by means of scale-reading, the general biology of the salmon population of the River Dart. It reviews the methods used for the collection of scales and examination of the materials. It shows the results of the survey and number of scales studied from each of the various sea-age classes, time of running with distribution of the sea-age groups throughout the season, fish sizes and smolt ages at migration. All are summarized in tables, and figures are alo included plotting weight distributions for each age classes and frequency distributions. The report also remarks the similarity of the results with those for 1962.