Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species: their Role in Poverty Alleviation, Food Security and Conservation of Biodiversity, 23-25 February 2010, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, West Bengal. Workshop report

This is the report on the workshop on “Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species: Their Role in Poverty Alleviation, Food Security and Conservation of Biodiversity”, organized by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers(ICSF) in collaboration with the Inland Fisheries Society of India (IFSI). The workshop was a forum for exchange of views on the role of small indigenous freshwater fish species (SIFFS) in enhancing rural food supply and livelihood security, and in conserving biodiversity. The workshop also discussed the socioeconomic and cultural contexts for the culture and capture of SIFFS, and how to enhance access—especially for women—to better incomes, livelihoods and nutritional security, through appropriate policy spaces. This report provides a fresh focus on SIFFS, usually regarded as ‘trash’ fish. It urges scientists, researchers and decisionmakers to develop policy and legislative measures to ensure the conservation and promotion of SIFFS, both in capture- and culture-fisheries systems. This report will be useful for fishworker organizations, researchers, policymakers, fish farmers, members of civil society and anyone interested in fisheries and livelihoods. (PDF contains 86 pages)

River-based artificial propagation of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus: an option for the small fish farmer

A cheap method of propagating the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, by incubating the fertilized eggs in a cage placed directly in a flowing river is described. Hatching ranged between 39 and 70%. This is not significantly different from the commonly used water recirculating flow through system. The economic advantages of the river hatching method are discussed with special emphasis on the rural fish farmers.

The small-scale pelagic and demersal fisheries off Kribi, Cameroon

A description of the small-scale fisheries of the coastal pelagic and demersal resources off Kribi, Cameroon, is presented. The major fishing grounds are within the estuarine zone, an area of high productivity. Catch estimates of 19.5 t year super(-1) and 6.5 t year super(-1) were obtained for the pelagic motorized and nonmotorized canoes, respectively, while estimates of 11 t year super(-1) were obtained for the demersal motorized canoes. The social benefits from these fisheries are also discussed.

A survey of ichthyofauna of Lake Kanyaboli and other small waterbodies in Kenya: alternative refugia for endangered fish species

In 1988, the World Conservation Union (WCU) Red Book of Endangered Species listed hundreds of endemic fishes of Lake Victoria under a single heading - "ENDANGERED". Most of the endemic native food fishes are either endangered or extinct. However, a survey of the fauna of Lake Kanyaboli, revealed that a few remaining samples of these native fishes are actually thriving. These include several unidentified Haplochromis spp., Oreochromis esculentus and Oreochromis variabilis. As a result, a stock rehabilitation and management strategy has been designed to use Lake Kanyaboli and other small waterbodies as conservation 'Refugia' for endangered fish species of the larger Lake Victoria.

Hawaii's Pelagic Fisheries

Hawaii's diverse pelagic fisheries supply the bulk of the State's total catch. The largest Hawaii fishery is the recently expanded longline fishery, which now lands about 4,400 metric tons (t) of broadbill swordfish, Xiphias gladius; 1,500 t of bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, and 3,000 t of other pelagic species annually. The increased catch of these other species has raised concerns regarding the continued availability of yellowfin tuna, T. albacares; blue marlin, Makaira mazara; and mahimahi, Coryphaena hippurus, in the small-vessel troll and handline fisheries which target those species. Analysis of catch per unit effort (CPUE) statistics from Hawaii's fisheries did not provide strong evidence of recent declines in availability related to local fishery expansion. A more influential factor was variation in Pacific-wide CPUE, representing overall population abundance and catchability. Exogenous factors, including Pacific-wide fishing pressure, may overwhelm the influence of local fishing pressure on fish availability.

Guam's Small-Boat-based Fisheries

Recent trends in Guam's small-boat fisheries and current knowledge of their biology, management, and economics are summarized. Annual estimates of participation, effort, and harvest are given for the pelagic and bottomfish fisheries for 1980-91 and for the spearfishing and atulai fisheries for 1985. The pelagic fishery is the largest, with annual landings ranging from 168 to 364 metric tons (t), followed by the bottomfish fishery (14-43 t), spearfishingf ishery (517 t), and bigeye scad fishery (3-20 t). All of the pelagic species are highly migratory and require regional management. They are heavily exploited by Guam-based domestic purse-seine and foreign longline fisheries, but region-wide catch and effort as well as the status of the stocks are largely unknown. Bottomfish and reef-fish stocks are shared to an unknown extent with those of the northern Marianas and are locally manageable. Certain vulnerable species of bottomfishes and reeffishes are overfished. Bottomfish and spearedfish landings are dominated by small species with high turnover rates.