Fish for the future: Fisheries development and food security for Kiribati in an era of global climate change

The Republic of Kiribati is a vast South Pacific island group with one of the largest exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the world. Kiribati waters support a wealth of marine fisheries activities. These activities occur in oceanic, coastal and inshore environments and range from large, foreign, industrial-scale oceanic fishing operations to small-scale, domestic, inshore subsistence fisheries, aquaculture and recreational fisheries. Kiribati has developed a framework of domestic and international governance arrangements that are designed to sustainably manage its wealth of marine resources. The report provides background information for fisheries projects in Kiribati that aim to build food security, improve artisanal livelihoods and strengthen community engagement in fisheries governance. It provides information on the current status of Kiribati fishery resources (oceanic and coastal), their current governance and future challenges. Fish and fisher alike pay little heed to maritime boundaries and bureaucratic distinctions. This report covers both sides of the oceanic/coastal boundary because of the I-Kiribati communities’ interest in oceanic fisheries such as tuna and their heavy dependence on its fisheries resources for food security and economic development. The report focuses on two potential pilot sites for community-based fisheries management projects: North Tarawa and Butaritari.

Research and development at SEAFDEC/AQD

The article presents the R & D activities of Southeast Asian Development Center, Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) for 20 years. Its accomplishments in seafarming, community-based resource management, and sea ranching of snappers and mollucs are discussed.

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.

Report of the Study Group on “Ecosystem-Based Management Science and its application to the North Pacific”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL EBM HISTORY References CANADA Overview Activities to date Integrated Management implementation in Canada Objectives, indicators and reference points Assessment approaches Research directions for the future Management directions for the future References JAPAN Overview Conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources Harvest control by TAC system Stock Recovery Plan and effort regulation system Stock enhancement by hatchery-produced juvenile release Conservation and sustainable develop-ment on coastal waters The implementation of ecosystem-based management PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Overview Current actions Output control Input control Summer fishing ban Enhance ecosystem health REPUBLIC OF KOREA Initiatives and actions of ecosystem-based management in Korea Current ecosystem-based management initiatives in Korea Precautionary TAC-based fishery management Closed fishing season/areas Fish size- and sex-controls Fishing gear design restrictions Marine protected areas (MPA) RUSSIA Existing and anticipated ecosystem-based management initiatives Issues related to the implementation of ecosystem-based management UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Definitions and approaches to ecosystem-based fishery management in the United States Present U.S. legislative mandates relating to ecosystem-based fishery management Target species Bycatch species Threatened or endangered species Habitats Food webs Ecosystems Integration of legislative mandates into an ecosystem approach Scientific issues in implementing ecosystem-based approaches References DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDICES Appendix 10.1 Study group membership and participants Appendix 10.2 Terminology definitions Appendix 10.3 Present state of implementing ecosystem-based fishery management in Alaska: Alaska groundfish fisheries Appendix 10.4 Present state of implementing ecosystem-based fishery management off the West Coast of the United States: Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries Appendix 10.5 Descriptions of multi-species and ecosystem models developed or under development in the U.S. North Pacific region that might be used to predict effects of fishing on ecosystems Appendix 10.6 A potential standard reporting format (developed by Australia, and currently being used by the U.S.A in their contribution to this report) (83 page document)

SEDAWOG, 2000. Fisheries co-management options at Kiumba Beach: a participatory pilot study

This report represents the key output of a training workshop hosted by Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project (LVFRP) for researchers from each of the riparian countries fisheries research institutes. The workshop aimed to train the researchers in participatory research techniques which they could use to undertake a study of community-based institutions and organizations which could potentially be involved in fisheries co-management. A central focus of the workshop was a study to identify the community-based organizations and institutions, which operated at Kiumba beach, and this study is reported here. Separate reports, which include operated at Kiumba beach and this study is reported here. Separate reports, which include details of the training process and the participatory methods used, are available (Sarch 1995, 2000). The report centers on the information generated from the participatory pilot study conducted by the workshop participants and the community at Kiumba Beach over the course of a week in March 2000. Ranges of participatory research techniques were used and the discussion and diagrams, which resulted from them, form the basis of this report. The workshop participants undertook a preliminary analysis of these findings and this has been synthesized at the end of this report. (PDF contains 55 pages)

Optimizing the benefits from Nigerian small and medium size reservoirs through cooperative management approach

The paper traces the different management practices adopted for Nigerian inland water bodies from the Colonial era to independence. It observes that the full potentials of these waters have never been realized over the years due to the absence of an effective management. The replacement of the traditional fisheries management by the centralized top-down approach by government after independence has not helped matters. Lately, the cooperative/community-based management approach has taken the centre stage worldwide. This has been identified to offer the most viable and equitable option towards the attainment of an optimum utilization of the fisheries resource. The entire community sensing security of tenure and enjoying some of the benefits from access control will actively take responsibility and enforcement. The paper drew experiences from some water bodies in Bangladesh, Philippines, Benin Republic and Malawi showing sound management strategy that, if adopted for our small and medium size reservoirs and other water bodies, would help optimize on an sustainable manner the benefits from those water bodies

Artisanal fisheries status and sustainable management options in Teknaf coast, Bangladesh

The study was an endeavor to bring forward a concise, factual description of the salient features of the present status of artisanal fisheries resources and its management for sustainable development of fishing communities in Teknaf coast, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This study was conducted through 14 fishing villages of 4 Unions in Teknaf Upazila. As a hub of various fisheries deeds, a comprehensive coastal fisheries census, conducted on the coast during the study period, revealed that about 566 fishing fleet of two types, 1263 fishing gears of seven kinds, 6466 fishermen were being involved in fishing at Naaf river estuary. The catch composition of the coastal fishing was found 52 finfish species, 10 shrimp and 3 crabs. The unique potentialities provided by mostly affluent fisheries resources are needed to be tapped and channelized in the appropriate direction for maintaining a paragon of these fisheries resources of coastal area and for pursuing ecologically sustainable development via environment friendly intrinsic exploration and exploitation. “Community Based Fisheries Co-management” program should initiate immediately for the fisherman community of Naaf river estuary of Teknaf coastal region. This will go along way to help sustain the coastal fisheries resources with active participation of the fishermen

The Co-management Survey report: an executive summary

Co-management is typically known to be a resource management system that shares managerial responsibility between the state and other stakeholders of a resource. In the case of Lake Victoria, one would expect the state to be represented by the fisheries departments of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, while stakeholder groups may comprise fishing communities, fish processing factories and municipalities. Taking that into account, the survey's objectives were defined as: (a) To identify the difficulties and impracticalities inherent in implementing state-based regulations via a "top-down" management strategy. (b) To assess the prevalence of community-based institutions that either seek to regulate the fishery or have the potential to be used to regulate it. (c) To identify ways in which community-based regulatory and monitory systems may be established, and how these will fare over time. (d) To identify roles for national Fisheries Departments, industrial fish processors and other stakeholders. (e) To develop well-founded policy suggestions for the establishment of a co-management framework to manage the fisheries of Lake Victoria.

The regulators and the regulated: fisheries management, options and dynamics in Kenya's Lake Victoria fishery

The study divides the history of the fishery into five 'regulatory periods': the pre-colonial fishery (pre-1901), the colonial fishery (1901-1963), the post indipendence fishery (1963-1980), the Nile perch 'boom' years (1980-1989), and finally the fishery in the 1990's. Within each of these periods, the nature of and the relationship between, formal and informal regulations differs and changes with time. In the pre-colonial period, the outcome of formal and informal regulations largely sustained the fishery in a productive and species diverse state. However, at no time since then have formal regulations worked, with the result that the nature of production from the fishery changes over time and is dependent on a number of factors, amongst which the most important are effort level increases, technological introductions, species introductions, changes in regional and national job markets, the change from community-based controls to state-based controls within the fishery, and finally, considerable changes to the fish markets.

Towards integrated island management: lessons from Lau, Malaita, for the implementation of a national approach to resource management in Solomon Islands: final report

Solomon Islands has recently developed substantial policy aiming to support inshore fisheries management, conservation, climate change adaptation and ecosystem approaches to resource management. A large body of experience in community based approaches to management has developed but “upscaling” and particularly the implementation of nation-wide approaches has received little attention so far. With the emerging challenges posed by climate change and the need for ecosystem wide and integrated approaches attracting serious donor attention, a national debate on the most effective approaches to implementation is urgently needed. This report discusses potential implementation of “a cost-effective and integrated approach to resource management that is consistent with national policy and needs” based on a review of current policy and institutional structures and examination of a recent case study from Lau, Malaita using stakeholder, transaction and financial cost analyses.

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.

Ecosystem-based Management for Protected Species in the North Pacific Fisheries

In the North Pacific Ocean, an ecosystem-based fishery management approach has been adopted. A significant objective of this approach is to reduce interactions between fishery-related activities and protected species. We review management measures developed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service to reduce effects of the groundfish fisheries off Alaska on marine mammals and seabirds, while continuing to provide economic opportunities for fishery participants. Direct measures have been taken to mitigate known fishery impacts, and precautionary measures have been taken for species with potential (but no documented) interactions with the groundfish fisheries. Area closures limit disturbance to marine mammals at rookeries and haulouts, protect sensitive benthic habitat, and reduce potential competition for prey resources. Temporal and spatial dispersion of catches reduce the localized impact of fishery removals. Seabird avoidance measures have been implemented through collaboration with fishery participants and have been highly successful in reducing seabird bycatch. Finally, a comprehensive observer monitoring program provides data on the location and extent of bycatch of marine mammals and seabirds. These measures provide managers with the flexibility to adapt to changes in the status of protected species and evolving conditions in the fisheries. This review should be useful to fishery managers as an example of an ecosystem-based approach to protected species management that is adaptive and accounts for multiple objectives.

Forestry Impacts on Freshwater Habitat of Anadromous Salmonids in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska: requirements for protection and restoration

This synthesis presents a science overview of the major forest management Issues involved in the recovery of anadromous salmonids affected by timber harvest in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The issues involve the components of ecosystem-based watershed management and how best to implement them, including how to: Design buffer zones to protect fish habitat while enabling economic timber production; Implement effective Best Management Practices (BMPs) to prevent nonpoint-source pollution; Develop watershed-level procedures across property boundaries to prevent cumulative impacts; Develop restoration procedures to contribute to recovery of ecosystem processes; and Enlist support of private landowners in watershed planning, protection, and restoration. Buffer zones, BMPs, cumulative impact prevention, and restoration are essential elements of what must be a comprehensive approach to habitat protection and restoration applied at the watershed level within a larger context of resource concerns in the river basin, species status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and regional environmental and economic issues (Fig. ES. 1). This synthesis 1) reviews salmonid habitat requirements and potential effects of logging; 2) describes the technical foundation of forest practices and restoration; 3) analyzes current federal and non-federal forest practices; and 4) recommends required elements of comprehensive watershed management for recovery of anadromous salmonids.

Abundance, migration and management of Jatka (juvenile hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha) in the Gajner Beel, Pabna, Bangladesh

Studies on the abundance, migration and management of Jatka (juvenile hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha) were conducted in the Gajner Beel, located at the south-east corner of the Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project (PIRDP) in Sujanagar Upazila of Pabna district, Bangladesh. The main Jatka season was found to be extended from mid August to mid October. Veshal/Bandh/Khora Jal (lift net) and Ber Jal (beach seine net) were found as the major gears involved in Jatka fishing. The estimated total amount of Jatka caught from the Beel during the studied season was 46.2 t. The migratory route of Jatka is extended from the Padma and/or Jamuna rivers to the Badai river and then to the Beel through the sluice gate. The possibility of breeding of hilsa in the Beel was nullified. Finally, a community based management plan was suggested for implementation by the Gajner Beel management committee.

HACCP based management system for improving quality of freshwater giant prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii

The study was conducted on the present status of HACCP based quality management system of golda, Macrobrachium rosenbergii farms in Fulpur region of Mymensingh. Information was collected on general condition of farms, culture systems and post-harvest quality management. In almost all farms, there is no or inadequate infrastructure facilities such as, road access, electric supply, telecommunications, ice, feed storage facility, vehicle for golda transportation, washing and toilet facilities. The problems associated with sanitation and hygiene was: widespread use of cow dung, poultry manure and construction of open toilet within the vicinity of prawn culture pond. Different grades of commercially available and locally prepared feeds were used for golda culture in the pond. Golda post-larvae (PL) of 40-50 days old were stocked with carp species. The price of golda PL ranged from Tk. 1.00 to Tk. 1.25/piece. The pond size varied from 50 decimal (0.2 ha) to 2.5 acre (1.0 ha) with an average depth of 2-2.5 m. The culture period of golda varied from April-May to November-December and survival rate ranged between 75 and 80%. Production of golda varied from 250-500 kg/acre (625-1,250 kg/ha). Harvested golda were transported to city market within 4 h. Two size grading were generally followed during pricing, e.g. Tk. 500 to 550/kg for >100 g size and Tk. 300/kg for <100 g size. The cost-benefit ratio was found to remain around 1:1.25 depending on availability of PL. Water quality parameters such as, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity and chlorophyll a in five golda farms in Fulpur region were monitored. Water temperature ranged from 29°C to 33°C, dissolved oxygen from 2.28 to 4.13 mg/l, pH between 6.65 and 7.94, alkalinity from 44 to 70 mg/l and chlorophyll a concentration from 61.88 to 102.34 µg/l in the five investigated ponds. The Aerobic Plate Count (APC) of the water sample was within the range of 2.0x10^6 - 2.96x10^7 CFU/ml and of soil samples within the range of 6.9x10^6 - 7.73x10^6 CFU/g. Streptococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Salmonella sp. were isolated from pond water and sediment. Different feed samples used for golda was analyzed for proximate composition. Moisture content ranged around 14.14-21.22%, crude protein 20.55-44.1%, lipid 4.67-12.54% and ash 9.7-27.69%. The TVB-N values and peroxide values of feeds used as starter, grower and fish meal were found within the acceptable ranges and samples were free from pathogenic organisms. A training was organized for the golda farmers on HACCP, water quality and post-harvest quality management of prawn.