Characterization of rural livelihood of Lake Chad basin fishermen

The study examined the characterization of rural livelihood of the fishermen in the Nigeria portion of Lake Chad Basin are as part of European Commission (EC) founded project entitled "Sustainable development of continental fisheries; a regional study of policy options and policy formation mechanisms for the Lake Chad Basin" Wealth ranking exercise which was not based on real income but on production capacity of the fishermen was carried out in twenty (20) villages survey on the western part of the region using Rapid Rural Appraisal Technique with semi- structured interviews. The different activities carried out by the villagers for living were identified according to their socio-economic status. This was followed by an assessment of the socio-economic characterization within each wealth group. Series of comparative analysis of the ethnic composition, accessibility of fishing gear ownership by the population were done. The results show that the 3 wealth groups in the region include the rich (Group 1) the middle class (Group 2) and the poor (Group 3). It was identified that fishing is just one component of the socio-economic production system along side farming, livestock rearing and trading which are closely integrated. The diversified livelihood system being practiced in the Chad Basin region are not only less vulnerable but also more sustainable

Poverty alleviation and rural development in Nigeria: a gender perspective

The paper examines the concept of the feminization of poverty and reviews the limited evidence on the extent of poverty among women. It then examines the arguments that poor women can be highly effective change agents for the eradication of poverty. However, all the women may be considered as instruments for eliminating poverty, lack of understanding an appreciation of the impact of their sex roles and of gender roles and stereotypes continue to prevent the realization of this potential. Therefore, the paper moves on to summarize the differences between sex and gender and examines how both women's sexes roles and the imp gender roles and stereotypes lead to the feminization of poverty and exclude women from the participation in development and programmes to eliminate poverty. The paper reviews the major approaches: women in development or WID, gender and development or GAD and extension of GAD known as mainstreaming. Finally, it considers the issue of poverty, women and gender in Nigeria. It also advances a number of recommendations on women and gender poverty and rural development for the consideration of policy-makers in Nigeria

Occupational practices and problems of rural artisanal fisherfolks in Oyan Dam area of Ogun State

Artisanal Fish Societies constitutes one of the poorest societies in the developing world. Attempts to harness the potentials of the societies have often failed due to the enormity of the problem of poverty. This study was conducted in four major fishing villages namely; Abule titun, Apojola, Imama Odo and Ibaro in order to investigate the occupational practices and the problems of rural artisanal fisherfolks in Oyam's Dam, area of Ogun State. Eighty respondents were randomly selected among the artisanal fisher folks for interview using interview guide. The findings revealed that 43.8% of the fisherfolks are within active range of 31-40 years while 30% are within 21-30 years range. Also 31% had no formal education indicating a relatively high level of illiteracy among the fisherfolks while majority of the respondents practice fishing activities using paddle and canoe. It was similarly discovered from the study that the most pressing problems of the fisherfolks is the lack of basic social amenities like electricity, potable water, access roads, hospitals and markets. It is therefore recommended that basic social infrastructures be provided for the artisanal fishing communities in order to improve their social welfare, standard of living and the capacity to have a sustainable fishing occupation in the interest of food security and poverty alleviation

Worsening water quality conditions at Inner Puno Bay, Lake Titicaca, Peru, and their effect on Lemna spp. biomass

Although there have been a number of studies on aquatic conditions and the flora and fauna of Lake Titicaca over many decades, most of this work has been centred on the offshore regions of the main lake. Water quality there has been degrading and abundant growth of Lemna spp. has been developing. Lemna spp., commonly called floating duck-weed or ‘lenteja de agua’ in Puno, occurs perennially in most parts of the inner Puno Bay shore-line. In this article, the authors compare water quality changes over recent decades in shore-line regions of Inner Puno Bay and their possible effects on the distribution, abundance and biomass of Lemna spp..

Small scale rural aquaculture in Assam, India: a case study

The state of Assam in northeastern India has an excellent sub-tropical climate for the development of fresh water fish culture in a variety of aquatic bodies. Aquaculture not only plays an important role in nutrition but also in the rural economy of the State. A pilot project conducted with a group of resource poor tribal farmers revealed that a production of about 1 800 kg/ha/yr could be achieved from small seasonal homestead ponds through integrated use of locally available biological resources. This implies an excellent opportunity for improving the rural economy through the development of small-scale fish culture enterprises. In this project, a greater emphasis was placed on improving the knowledge and skills of the farmers and their farming practices so that in the future they would be in a position to expand their activities with financial assistance made available locally. Aquaculture being a new activity in the area, this pilot project was only a start in acquainting the farmers with the practice and potential of aquaculture.

Simple aquaculture training for rural development in Zimbabwe

A summary is provided of a course introduced in 1987 at the Chaminuka Training Centre in Zimbabwe for training in rural aquaculture. The recruitment of trainees, aquaculture and rural development, the curriculum and practical training are outlined.

Socioeconomic factors that influence the adoption of small-scale rural fish farming at household level in Zimbabwe

The study compares the socioeconomic profile of fish and nonfish farming households in three different agroecological regions in Zimbabwe. Some of the direct socioeconomic factors that influence the adoption of small-scale fish farming in the areas are also identified.

Multiple environmental states affecting penaeid shrimp production in Peru

A modification of the Schaefer surplus-production model was used to account for environmental induced variations of shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) catch in northern Peru. Based on time series of catch, effort, river discharge and sea surface temperature, fluctuations in catch of shrimps are explained and discussed with respect to multiple level of carrying capacity and hence different maximum sustainable yields.

Wastewater use in aquaculture: research in Peru

Use of wastewater is an issue gaining importance throughout the (developing) world, as water sources become scarcer and competition for them increases. In Peru, research has shown the technical, economic and social feasibility of growing fish in wastewater. Such fish farms could recover 100% of the wastewater treatment costs.

Involvement of rural women in aquaculture: an innovative approach

Although women have proved to be competent in adopting new aquaculture technologies, their role is very much restricted and often ignored. One of the major reasons is the location of aquaculture sites and several sociocultural taboos against women who strive to earn for their family’s subsistence in rural areas. There is a gender bias in many aquaculture activities. To ensure that women utilize their full potential in profitable activities like aquaculture, it is necessary to provide capacity building support to rural women, which will eventually lead to their empowerment. In countries like India, the technology provided to women must take into account cultural aspects. One such project - backyard ornamental fish breeding and management - has been found to offer immense scope for improving the livelihood of rural women. This paper gives some practical tips for dissemination of technology in the rural sector, particularly to rural women.

The Fisheries for Mangrove Cockles,Anadaraspp., from Mexico to Peru, With Descriptions of Their Habitats and Biology, the Fishermen’s Lives, and the Effects of Shrimp Farming

This paper provides the first description of the mangrove cockle, Anadara spp., fisheries throughout their Latin American range along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru. Two species, A. tuberculosa and A. grandis, are found over the entire range, while A. similis occurs from El Salvador to Peru. Anadara tuberculosa is by far the most abundant, while A. grandis has declined in abundance during recent decades. Anadara tuberculosa and A. similis occur in level mud sediments in mangrove swamps, comprised mostly of Rhizophora mangle, which line the main-lands and islands of lagoons, whereas A. grandis inhabits intertidal mud flats along the edges of the same mangrove swamps. All harvested cockles are sexually mature. Gametogenesis of the three species occurs year round, and juvenile cockles grow rap-idly. Cockle densities at sizes at least 16–42 mm long ranged from 7 to 24/m2 in Mexico. Macrofaunal associates of cockles include crustaceans, gastropods, and finfishes. The mangrove swamps are in nearly pristine condition in every country except Honduras, Ecuador, and Peru, where shrimp farms constructed in the 1980’s and 1990’s have destroyed some mangrove zones. In addition, Hurricane Mitch destroyed some Honduran mangrove swamps in 1998. About 15,000 fishermen, including men, women, and children, harvest the cockles. Ecuador has the largest tabulated number of fishermen, 5,055, while Peru has the fewest, 75. Colombia has a large number, perhaps exceeding that in Ecuador, but a detailed census of them has never been made. The fishermen are poor and live a meager existence; they do not earn sufficient money to purchase adequate food to allow their full health and growth potential. They travel almost daily from their villages to the harvesting areas in wooden canoes and fiberglass boats at low tide when they can walk into the mangrove swamps to harvest cockles for about 4 h. Harvest rates, which vary among countries owing to differences in cockle abundances, range from about 50 cockles/fisherman/day in El Salvador and Honduras to 500–1,000/ fisherman/day in Mexico. The fishermen return to their villages and sell the cockles to dealers, who sell them mainly whole to market outlets within their countries, but there is some exporting to adjacent countries. An important food in most countries, the cockles are eaten in seviche, raw on the half-shell, and cooked with rice. The cockles are under heavy harvesting pressure, except in Mexico, but stocks are not yet being depleted because they are harvested at sizes which have already spawned. Also some spawning stocks lie within dense mangrove stands which the fishermen cannot reach. Consumers fortunately desire the largest cockles, spurning the smallest. Cockles are important to the people, and efforts to reduce the harvests to prevent overfishing would lead to severe economic suffering in the fishing communities. Pro-grams to conserve and improve cockle habitats may be the most judicious actions to take. Preserving the mangrove swamps intact, increasing their sizes where possible, and controlling cockle predators would lead to an increase in cockle abundance and harvests. Fishes that prey on juvenile cockles might be seined along the edges of swamps before the tide rises and they swim into the swamps to feed. Transplanting mangrove seedlings to suitable areas might increase the size of those habitats. The numbers of fishermen may increase in the future, because most adults now have several children. If new fishermen are tempted to harvest small, immature cockles and stocks are not increased, minimum size rules for harvestable cockles could be implemented and enforced to ensure adequate spawning.

Biology and Fishery for Atlantic Thread Herring, Opisthonema oglinum, along the North Carolina Coast

Thread herrings, Opisthonema spp., are small, nearshore, pelagic clupeid fishes that form dense, surface schools in tropical to subtropical coastal waters. Ecologically, thread herrings form an important forage base for many large, predatory fishes (Finucane and Vaught, 1986). Commercially, thread herrings are targeted by artisanal to moderate-sized seine fisheries off the coasts of Ecuador and Peru (Patterson and Santos, 1992), Costa Rica (Stevenson and Carranza, 1981), Venezuela, the continental margins of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and near the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Trinidad (Reintjes, 1978). Most of the catch is reduced to fish meal and fish oil (Patterson and Santos, 1992), although minor quantities are used for human consumption (Reintjes, 1978).

Small-scale aquaculture for rural livelihoods: Proceedings of the Symposium on Small-scale aquaculture for increasing resilience of Rural Livelihoods in Nepal. 5-6 Feb 2009. Kathmandu, Nepal

Over the years, aquaculture has developed as one of the fastest growing food production sectors in Nepal. However, local fish supplies have been extremely inadequate to meet the ever increasing demand in the country. Nepal imports substantial quantities of fish and fish products from India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and elsewhere. Integration of pond aquaculture in existing crop-livestock-based farming system is believed to be effective in increasing local fish supply and diversifying livelihood options of a large number of small-holder farmers in southern plains (terai) and mid-hill valleys, thereby also increasing resilience of rural livelihoods. There is growing appreciation of the role of small-scale aquaculture in household food and nutrition security, income generation, and empowerment of women and marginalized communities. This book includes a total of 25 papers presented at the ‘Symposium on Small-scale Aquaculture for Increasing Resilience of Rural Livelihoods in Nepal’, held in Kathmandu on 5-6 February 2009. The papers cover technological, social, economic and environmental aspects of small-scale aquaculture development emerged from research and development initiatives of governmental, non-governmental and international research organizations in recent decad