Diversity of selective and non-selective fishing gear and their impact on inland fisheries in Bangladesh

The paper describes the wide range of traditional fishing gear used by subsistence and professional fishers in the inland waters in Bangladesh as well as their impact on the fisheries and the environment. The negative impacts indicate the need for regulation of specific types of fishing gear at particular times of the year. An awareness/training program should be extended to the fishermen to create awareness of the long-term effects of their fishing practices and to impart knowledge of fishing laws.

Fisheries of the Farasan Islands (Red Sea)

The fisheries of the Farasan Islands (Saudi Arabia, Red Sea) are described. The fishery resources are exploited by artisanal, investor and industrial sectors. The artisanal fishery consists mostly of line fishing around coral reefs and about half the fishing effort occurs within the proposed marine protected area (MPA). Activities by investor and industrial fisheries sector include line fishing, gill netting, fish trapping and demersal fish trawling. The relevant resource management issues that need to be addressed as part of a planning study for the establishment of a MPA are also presented. The major issues are: (1) the decline in the catch of the artisanal fishery; (2) by catch and habitat degradation; (3) sustainability in the collection of giant clams and pearl shells; and (4) the lack of information such as the importance of MPA to fisheries, stock assessment and catch and effort data. A significant role in the future management of the fisheries has been identified for the traditional representatives of the artisanal sector.

The impacts of El Nino on Philippine fisheries

The El Nino phenomenon is an "anomalous climatic condition in the tropical Pacific region which occurs every two to seven years and affects the global climate". There is a greater increase in the water surface temperature of the eastern tropical and central tropical Pacific during an El Nino episode relative to that of the western tropical Pacific. The phenomenon causes fluctuations in rainfall, resulting in drought in some areas and heavy rainfall in others. During the El Nino of 1990-1992, the damage caused by the drought in the Philippines was estimated to be P4.1 billion (PhP24 = US$1). While the damage to agriculture is well documented, the impact on fisheries has not been considered. The impacts of the El Nino episode of 1997-1998 were assessed in the Philippines by the filed personnel of the Department of Agriculture and representatives of the private sector in the 15 regions of the country. Data on the losses caused by the phenomenon were obtained from interviews, surveys and reports of local government units and provincial agricultural offices for the period October 1997-June 1998. The effects of El Nino on aquaculture, marine fisheries and inland fisheries were determined.

Mount Pinatubo's effects on Philippine fisheries

An examination is made of the effects of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on Luzon Island, northwestern Philippines in June 1991 on the Country's fisheries, considering in particular the coral reef environment, inland fisheries and aquaculture.

Rice field fisheries: a resource for Cambodia

Small-scale fisheries in and around rice fields in the lowland areas of Cambodia are greatly underestimated and undervalued. Their contribution to the protein requirements of the poor rural households is significant. In Svay Rieng province, they could provide 65-75% of the animal protein requirements of these households. The value could well be around 40% of the value of rice production. It is, therefore, important that these natural stocks and the fisheries are managed well and that developmental activities explicitly consider their impact on these fisheries.

African freshwater fisheries: what needs to be managed?

The management of African freshwater fisheries in Southern African Development Coordination (SADC) countries is discussed. Changes in catch and fishing effort in the SADC freshwater fisheries in the past 50 years, the main causes behind the patterns of change in fishing effort, the effects of fishing effort and environment on the regeneration of fish stocks, as well as existing and proposed fisheries management regulations are investigated.

Feasibility of fisheries co-management in Africa

The current, highly centralized approach to fisheries management seems to be incapable of coping with escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation. Co-management has been identified as an alternative. This paper compares various approaches to fisheries management and discusses their performance in relation to the nature of the fishery. It is concluded that in African fisheries, stringent institutional arrangements, poor human, technical and financial resources, and a limited time frame often thwart co-management approaches. However, with the right conditions and prerequisites, comanagement can be successful in improving compliance with regulations and maintaining or enhancing the quality of the resource. The paper brings out the issues that require further research.

Village fisheries management and community-owned marine protected areas in Samoa

As in many tropical countries, subsistence fishers in Samoa live in discrete communities which have a high level of marine knowledge and some degree of control of adjacent waters. These factors provide an ideal basis for motivating communities to manage their marine resources. In Samoa, a community-based fisheries extension program encouraged each village community to define its key problems, discuss causes, propose solutions and take appropriate actions. Various village groups provided information which was recorded as problem/solution trees. The extension process culminated in a Village-Fisheries Management Plan which listed the resource management and conservation undertakings of the community. Undertakings range from enforcing laws banning destructive fishing methods to protecting critical marine habitats. Within the first eighteen months, the extension process commenced in 57 villages of which 40 have produced Village Fisheries Management Plans. An unexpectedly large number (32) or these villages chose to establish Marine Protected Areas, the first community-owned marin reserves in the country.

Co-management of beach seine fisheries in Mozambique: a case study

In Mozambique, compliance with regulations in beach seines fishery is improved when the fishers themselves choose the season the government will declare closed. Beneficial side effects of co-management include a stronger sense of community and individual responsibility toward the common good. This article reports on a case study of fisheries co-management in the community of Inhassoro in the northern part of the province of Inhambane, about 800 km north of the capital of Mozambique, Maputo.

Measuring transaction costs of fisheries co-management in San Salvador Island, Philippines

It is generally accepted that co-management systems are more cost-effective than centralized management of natural resources. However, no attempts have been made to empirically verify the transaction costs involved in fisheries co-management. Some estimates of transaction costs of fisheries co-management in San Salvador Island, Philippines, are presented in this paper. These estimates are used to compare the various transaction costs in co-managed and in centrally managed fisheries in San Salvador Island.

The relationship between catch and effort and its effect on predicted yields of sardine fisheries in Lake Kariba

There is an unusual relationship between catch per unit effort and effort in the Lake Kariba sardine (Limnothrissa miodon) fishery. This is apparently a results of ecological changes in the lake following the decline of the Salvinia mats that existed there until 1973. Predictive models based on the entire data set (1974-89) are of limited value because they are influenced by the rapid decline in catch per unit effort that took place from 1974 to 1978. A model based on the 1980-89 data indicates that the current catch could be increased substantially. Some empirical models and features of the sardine's biology suggest that it is a realistic model.

Assessment of the fishing effort level in the shrimp fisheries of the central and southern Gulf of California

In view of the concern caused by the declining trend in the annual shrimp yield in the Central Gulf of California, an attempt was made to analyze the fishing effort level exerted upon the shrimp stocks of the blue (Farfantepenaeus stylirostris) and the brown shrimp (F. californiensis) from 1980 to 1991. For this purpose, both Schaefer and Fox production models were applied. The results from these analyses revealed an economic overexploitation condition, and suggested an imperative need to implement as a regulatory measure, the reduction of the catch per unit of effort level (CPUE) to keep the fishery within acceptable bioeconomic margins of a maximum sustainable yield (Ys). This can only be achieved through the adjustment of the fleet size from 481 vessels down to 250 or 275.

Community fisheries management of freshwater lakes in Bangladesh

The Oxbow Lakes Small Scale Fishermen Project in western Bangladesh is primarily a Social Fisheries Project. The project aims at self-management of the Oxbow lakes fishing and fish farming by members of the local communities and the sharing of the benefits in an equitable manner. Project emphasis is on social and institutional aspects of the community water resource management and on improving the fish yields through better fisheries practices.