Ecolabels and certification for small-scale operators

(PDF has 16 pages.)

Fisheries in a changing scene [includes section on proposed Morecambe Bay barrage scheme]: paper presented at Association of River Authorities, Annual Conference, Morecambe, 1967

The report looks at trends developing in the area of the Lancashire River Authority which will, by the turn of the century, bring tremendous pressures to bear on its natural resources, particularly land and water. It looks at difficulties maintaining an environment suitable for all, human or otherwise, including construction of energy plants and increasing population. It explores the scheme of harnessing water on Morecambe Bay, including fishery advantages and disadvantages. The report looks at fish deaths and diseases in Morecambe Bay and the Lancashire area, providing statistics.

Aquaculture Asia, Vol.13, No.1, pp.1-56, January-March 2008

Developing guidelines for sustainable freshwater aquaculture planning in Vietnam. Aquaculture production, certification and trade: Challenges and opportunities for the small-scale farmer in Asia. The successful development of backyard hatcheries for crustaceans in Thailand. Alternate carp species for diversification in freshwater aquaculture in India. Genetic and reproduction technologies for enhanced aquaculture and fisheries management of Murray cod. Effluent and disease management in traditional practices of shrimp farming: A case study on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Status of sahar domestication and its development in the Himalayan Region of Nepal. Vaccination benefits highlighted as Schering-Plough reinforces commitment to Asian aquaculture. Comparative advantage analysis of shrimp production in Asia. Strategies to improve livelihood of the rural poor: A case study in two small reservoirs in Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam. Cambodian Government ban on snakehead farming enforced. Marine finfish aquaculture developments at ‘Indonesian Aquaculture 2007’. Production update – marine finfish aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Body size of rotifers from estuaries in North Sulawesi. NACA Newsletter.

Bibliografía argentina de peces de agua dulce.

Espanol: En la presente lista bibliográfica fueron recopiladas las referencias sobre los peces continentales de la Argentina, del período comprendido entre mediados del siglo XVIII y fines del año 2005. Incluye las listas bibliográficas publicadas durante los años 1981 a 2004, y las citas no mencionadas en ellas. Se incluyeron el ISSN o ISBN según correspondiera, la abreviatura oficial y el lugar de origen de las publicaciones. En algunos casos, los ISSN, las abreviaturas de los nombres de las publicaciones o su procedencia, mencionados en los catálogos, no coinciden con los de la home page de la publicación. Una bibliografía puede ser muy rica y aún estar incompleta. Requiere de sus lectores algún interés histórico, y aún un interés profundo por su tema. Ante una bibliografía, muchos investigadores preferirían no encontrar algunas referencias, y de hecho, muchas son oportunamente olvidadas. Por no saber como hacerlo, o por menosprecio, estas listas raramente son citadas en los trabajos, aunque sobre algunos temas en particular, sería realmente difícil formarse una idea si las bibliografías no existieran. Aún desde el comienzo es complicado precisar un criterio de inclusiones. Por ejemplo, gran parte de la ictiofauna Argentina se encuentra también en Brasil. ¿Justifica esto incluir informes perdidos sobre artes de pesca en una cuenca distante? ¿Deben los clásicos, que todo el mundo conoce y el que se inicia encontrará sin dificultad, ser incluidos? Aún a un grupo que se dedicara full time a este trabajo, le sería difícil verificar la precisión de las citas antiguas, en las que fechas y autoría cambian según la investigación histórica. En una bibliografía más o menos general, la perfección atenta contra la publicación. Sin embargo, pensamos que es conveniente hacerlas. Una mirada a este volumen, muestra la enorme cantidad de desarrollos en muchos temas, y la regla que uno de nosotros ha mencionado desde hace tiempo: siempre hay más publicado sobre un tema de lo que uno cree. La sospecha de que con sólo mirar lo que está hecho, muchos subsidios podrían utilizarse para algo más útil que algunas evaluaciones repetidas de recursos o biodiversidad, es un poco pesimista y no haremos perder trabajos insistiendo en eso. Cada generación elige sus metas, su propia base epistemológica, sus trabajos preferidos y los que desecha. Aún en trabajos perdidos o de mala calidad, es posible encontrar datos valiosos. Ningún proyecto, por mejor diseñado que esté, podrá mostrar en el presente los organismos que vivían en el pasado en un lugar en el que las condiciones han cambiado, o lo hará en términos de otra disciplina. En los temas aplicados la información del pasado puede ser importantísima. Aún en una disciplina tan conservadora como la nomenclatura, los cambios pueden ser exasperantes; no pueden serlo menos en las que intrínsecamente, como la ecología, es lo que estudian. Para dar una idea más precisa del desarrollo de la ictiología en la Argentina, esta lista podría ir acompañada de una apreciación crítica. Entendemos que una tarea así exige un trabajo diferente, de cierta magnitud y con no pocos elementos históricos. Aunque tiene deficiencias, la ictiología argentina constituye una acumulación de conocimientos de considerable calidad y pertinencia para la historia natural de América del Sur. Dejamos a los lectores que cada uno haga la suya. English: For the present list, references on freshwater fishes of Argentina were compiled from the period between middle XVIII Century and the end of the year 2005. It includes previous lists published during 1981 to 2004, and references not mentioned therein. The ISSN o ISBN numbers were included, as well as the official abbreviations and the place of origin of the periodicals. In some cases, these data as quoted in catalogs, do not agree with those in the home page of the publication. A bibliography may be very rich and anyway never complete. It requires from its readers some historic interest and indeed a deep interest on his (her) subject. Browsing a bibliography, many researchers would prefer not to find some references, and in fact, sometimes they forget some of them. Not imagining how to do it, or because people do not concede importance to them, bibliographic lists are rarely quoted in papers, though some subjects would be rather difficult to understand if list of publications would not exist. Even from the beginning, it is difficult to precise a criterion of inclusions. For example, many Argentine fishes occur also in Brazil. Does this justify the inclusion of grey reports on a distant basin? Should classic works, that everybody knows and are easily found, be included? Is near impossible, even for a group dedicated full time to this work, to verify the precision of old citations, whose dates and authorship change according to authorities and historical research. In a more or less general bibliography, completeness is against publication. Nevertheless, we think that is convenient to prepare these lists. A look at this volume shows the enormous developments in many subjects, and the rule that one of us mentioned long ago: there are always more papers on any subject than one suspects. Looking at what has already been done raises the suspicion that many grants could be used for something more useful than repeated evaluations of biodiversity or resources. This is a bit pessimistic, and we do not want to erase working opportunities. Each generation chooses its targets, its own epistemological base, its preferred papers and those that rejects. Even in lost or bad quality papers, the possibility of finding valuable information exists. No project, whatever the appropriateness of its design, could show at present which organisms lived in the past in a place where environmental conditions have changed, or it will do it in terms of another discipline. In applied subjects, information from the past can be very important. Even in a conservative discipline as nomenclature, changes can be exasperating. They are not lesser in those like ecology, where change itself is studied. To provide a more precise idea of the development of ichthyology in Argentina, this list could be accompanied by a critical appreciation. We understood that such an aim requires a different work, with no few historical elements and of certain magnitude. In spite of some deficiencies, Argentine ichthyology, resulting from collaboration of both local and foreign people, constitutes a bulk of knowledge of considerable quality and pertinence for the natural history of South America. We leave each reader to make his (or her) own evaluation. (Texto en Espanol. PDF tiene cien setenta paginas.)

Ecosystem science capabilities required to support NOAA’s mission in the year 2020

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social and environmental needs (NOAA, 2004). In meeting its marine stewardship responsibilities, NOAA seeks to ensure the sustainable use of resources and balance competing uses of coastal and marine ecosystems, recognizing both their human and natural components (NOAA, 2004). Authorities for executing these responsibilities come from over 90 separate pieces of Federal legislation, each with unique requirements and responsibilities. Few of these laws explicitly mandate an ecosystem approach to management (EAM) or supporting science. However, resource managers, the science community, and increasingly, the public, are recognizing that significantly greater connectedness among the scientific disciplines is needed to support management and stewardship responsibilities (Browman and Stergiou, 2004; 2005). Neither NOAA nor any other science agency can meet the increasing demand for ecosystem science products addressing each of its mandates individually. Even if it was possible, doing so would not provide the integration necessary to solve the increasingly complex array of management issues. This focus on the integration of science and management responsibilities into an ecosystem view is one of the centerpieces of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s report (USCOP, 2004), and the Administration’s response to that report in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (CEQ, 2004). (PDF contains 100 pages)

Policies on release of improved fish strains in China

Since 1991, the certification, release and maintenance of new species for aquaculture have become part of the national policy in China. During the past 15 years, this policy has been conducted and improved and has begun to show its significant role in Chinese fisheries. This paper describes the updated system of certification, release and maintenance of new species for aquaculture in China.

Proceedings of the Twenty-third Annual Symposium on sea turtle biology and conservation, 17 to 21 March 2003, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The 23rd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation was held between 17 and 21 March 2003 at The Legend Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hosted by the Community Conservation Network, Hawaii, and WWF-Malaysia. The meeting was attended by slightly more than 300 participants representing 73 countries, a dramatic drop in participation from previous years brought about in no small part by the looming war in the middle east region and concerns over travel safety. For 22 years the Symposium had bee an Americas-based event, even though it is the annual gathering of the "international" sea turtle society, and with the move to Malaysia, the Symposium hoped to raise the awareness among the general public of the plight of amrine turtles in Southeast Asia, and share the enormous exspertise of the world authorities on sea turtles with this so-far underrepresented region. Adopting the thems, "Living With Turtles", the Symposium had a very personal flavour, and the smaller number of participants made it possible to make and renew acquaintances, and have time for discussion between sessions. While the travel safety concern excuse was often quoted, it was a pity, particularly to the large contingent of people who attended the event for the first time from underrepresented regions, that many of the household names linked to marine turtle biology and conservation were not present to share their knowledge and promote the global concerns on the plight of turtle populations.

Fishing guidelines

In accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), FAO prepared the first draft of the technical guidelines in relation to Fishing Operations, which were submitted to the Technical Consultation on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, Rome, 26 September to 5 October 1994. The draft was prepared taking into account the Declaration of Cancún, Agenda 21 of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the Report of the Expert Consultation on Responsible Fishing Operations, Sidney, British Colombia, Canada, 6 -11 June 1994. Thereafter, the draft was revised taking into account, the negotiations at the UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, the elaboration of the Code as well as developments at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with regard to the Protocol to the Torremolinos International Convention on Fishing Vessel Safety and the new International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995. Technical Guidelines are given in support of the implementation of the Code in relation to fishing operations. These are addressed to States, international organizations, fisheries management bodies, owners, managers and charterers of fishing vessels as well as fishers and their organizations. Guidance is also given with respect to the general public. (PDF contains 93 pages)

Fisheries management

These Guidelines have been produced to support the implementation of Article 7 of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, with some reference to Article 12. They are addressed primarily to the decision-makers within fisheries management authorities and other interest groups, including fishing companies, fishers' organizations, concerned non-governmental organizations and others. The Guidelines provide a background to the need for fisheries management and an introduction to the activities encompassed by fisheries management. They introduce the major constraints experienced in fisheries and fisheries management and some of the fundamental concepts related to these. Biological, environmental, technological, socio-cultural and economic constraints and concepts are examined. Information is fundamental to responsible fisheries management and these Guidelines put emphasis on the range of data required for informed decisionmaking and examine aspects of the collection and interpretation of these data. Data are discussed in terms of three suggested scales in fisheries management: fisheries policy and development planning, formulation of management plans and implementation of management action. The range of possible management actions is outlined. This includes technical measures, such as gear restrictions, and more direct approaches in the form of direct catch limitation or effort limitation. The problems associated with open access fisheries are explained and comments made on the means to limit access and obstacles which may be encountered in this process. Finally, the Guidelines examine the management process. This section covers the process of agreeing on a management plan for a fishery, including the need for consultation and, where appropriate, cooperative decision-making. The need for periodic review of management plans is stressed. The importance of an effective legal framework, institutional and administrative structures and monitoring control and surveillance are described. (PDF contains 91 pages)

Enabling Sensor* Interoperability, Portland, Maine, October 16-18 2006: workshop proceedings

The ACT workshop "Enabling Sensor Interoperability" addressed the need for protocols at the hardware, firmware, and higher levels in order to attain instrument interoperability within and between ocean observing systems. For the purpose of the workshop, participants spoke in tern of "instruments" rather than "sensors," defining an instrument as a device that contains one or more sensors or actuators and can convert signals from analog to digital. An increase in the abundance, variety, and complexity of instruments and observing systems suggests that effective standards would greatly improve "plug-and-work" capabilities. However, there are few standards or standards bodies that currently address instrument interoperability and configuration. Instrument interoperability issues span the length and breadth of these systems, from the measurement to the end user, including middleware services. There are three major components of instrument interoperability including physical, communication, and application/control layers. Participants identified the essential issues, current obstacles, and enabling technologies and standards, then came up with a series of short and long term solutions. The top three recommended actions, deemed achievable within 6 months of the release of this report are: A list of recommendations for enabling instrument interoperability should be put together and distributed to instrument developers. A recommendation for funding sources to achieve instrument interoperability should be drafted. Funding should be provided (for example through NOPP or an IOOS request for proposals) to develop and demonstrate instrument interoperability technologies involving instrument manufacturers, observing system operators, and cyberinfrastructure groups. Program managers should be identified and made to understand that milestones for achieving instrument interoperability include a) selection of a methodology for uniquely identifying an instrument, b) development of a common protocol for automatic instrument discovery, c) agreement on uniform methods for measurements, d) enablement of end user controlled power cycling, and e) implementation of a registry component for IDS and attributes. The top three recommended actions, deemed achievable within S years of the release of this report are: An ocean observing interoperability standards body should be established that addresses standards for a) metadata, b) commands, c) protocols, d) processes, e) exclusivity, and f) naming authorities.[PDF contains 48 pages]

Fish production from aquatic weeds

Irrigation in the eleven River Basin Authorities and in particular in the South Chad Irrigation Project and the Baga Polder Project is increasing and demands high yearly investments for aquatic weed control in canals and drains. If the weeds are biologically controlled by the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella Val.), the costs will be turned into profit, particularly when the fish production (resident fish plus grass carp) is harvested and sold for food. The use of irrigation canals and drains for aquaculture in the form of fish polyculture may be a wise step towards increased fish production. This paper highlights the concept of fish production from aquatic weed control and concludes that it is a proven profitable venture in several countries

Problems and prospects of community-based resource management approach: an experience with the implementation of the ban on beach seines on Lake Kainji

Community Based Resource Management (CBRM) understood as an approach emphasizes a community's capability, responsibility and accountability with regards to managing resources. Based on the recommendations for the Nigerian-German Kainji Lake Fisheries Promotion Project (KLFPP), the Niger and Kebbi States Fisheries Edicts were promulgated in 1997. These edicts, among other things, banned the use of beach seines. Given the conviction of KLFPP, that if communities whose livelihood is linked to the fishery, understand and identify the problems and by consensus agree to the solutions of fisheries problems, they are more likely to adhere to any control measures, specifically the ban on beach seine. In 1999 a first agreement was reached between beach seiners, non-beach seiners and government authorities leading to an almost complete elimination of beach seine on the Lake Kainji. However, despite on going efforts of the Kainji Lake Fisheries Management and Conservation Unit in 2000 and possibly because of certain oversights during and after the first agreement, in May 2001 a significant number of beach seiners was observed. This led to a re-assessment of our approach, which lately culminated into another round of negotiation. The paper presents the latest results on this on-going process

The nutritional status of pre-school children, Kainji Lake communities, Nigeria: a baseline survey

This survey was carried out to provide the Kainji Lake Fisheries Promotion Project (KLFPP), whose overall goal is the improvement of the standard of living of fishing communities around Kainji Lake, Nigeria, and an increase in the availability of fish to consumers, with nutritional status baseline data for long-term monitoring and evaluation of the overall project goal. In a cross-sectional survey, baseline anthropometric data was collected from 768 children, aged 3-60 months in 389 fisherfolk households around the southern sector of Kainji Lake, Nigeria. In addition, data was collected on the nutritional status and fertility of the mothers, vaccination coverage of children and child survival indicators. For control purposes, 576 children and 292 mothers from non-fishing households around Kainji Lake were likewise covered by the survey. A standardised questionnaire was used to collect relevant information, while anthropometric measurements were made using appropriate equipment. Data compilation and analysis was carried out with DATAEASE registered and EPI-INFO registered software, using NCHS reference data for the analysis of anthropometric measurements. The prevalence of stunted children in fishing households was high at 40%, while the prevalence of wasted and underweight children was likewise high at 10% and 29% respectively. Children from non-fishing households had a marginally lower prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight with 37%, 7% and 25 % respectively, although these differences were not statistically significant. Considering the fact that the survey was carried out during a period of relative food abundance, the prevalence of wasting and underweight children is likely to be much higher during periods of food shortage. The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight was relatively high for children aged 3 to 23 months, suggesting an increased risk of malnutrition during this period, most likely associated with inadequate weaning practices. The prevalence of malnourishment amongst women of child-bearing age was relatively high, irrespective of occupation of the household, with an average of 11% undernourished and 6% wasted. Vaccination coverage was very low while infant and child mortality were extremely high with about 1 in 5 children dying before their fifth birthday. Based on the ethical obligation to maximise the potential benefits of the survey, recommendations for activities to improve community nutrition and health were made for communication to relevant authorities. (PDF contains 52 pages)