STREAM Country Strategy Paper: Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka the incidence of poverty varies among regions and livelihoods; aquatic resources users represent a poor category in many regions and therefore a vulnerable group. In December 2004 the country was hit by a Tsunami originating off the coast of Aceh in Indonesia, which affected the livelihoods of a large section of coastal aquatic resource users. The country is currently engaged in a major humanitarian effort to improve the livelihoods of aquatic resources users through various donor-funded projects. (PDF contains 18 pages)

Proceedings of the scoping meeting on Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation (SAPA), Hanoi, Vietnam, 23-25 May 2000

Vietnam has a large number of poor people whose livelihoods depend in various ways on aquatic resources. More than 20 million people living along the coastline are among the most vulnerable and poorest in Vietnam and similarly poor situations occur with more than 10 million population living in mid and highland areas throughout the country. The Government of Vietnam is giving high priority to the poverty alleviation and following several successful government and donor funded projects, it is recognized that aquaculture can and should play an increasingly important role in improving the livelihoods of poor people. (Pdf contains 216 pages).

Community-based marine resource management in Solomon Islands: a facilitators guide

This guide was developed to document the process and activities that WorldFish staff have used and adapted as facilitators working with communities interested in marine resource management in Solomon Islands. It draws on the experiences from work conducted with FSPI and MFMR through ACIAR funded projects, with communities that had a primary interest in the management of coral reef fisheries. Since 2011 the process has been trialed and adapted further with communities interested in mangrove ecosystem management (through the MESCAL project). This guide is based on lessons about the process of a community developing, writing and implementing a management plan. This guide does not cover lessons about the outcomes of that management.

The WISH pond: potential for development of aquaculture in northeast Cambodia

In Cambodia, fish provide a major source of animal protein for rural households. Capture fisheries have declined and aquaculture has been identified as playing an important role in food and nutritional security and rural income generation. In 2011, WorldFish, in partnership with the Stung Treng Fishery Administration Cantonment and the Culture and Environment Preservation Association, aimed at improving the uptake of small-scale aquaculture by communities with limited experience in fish culture in Stung Treng Province in northeast Cambodia. The system was given the name “WISH ponds,” derived from the combination of the words "water" and "fish" to reflect the integration of fish cultivation with water for storage and vegetable growing. It was targeted towards households with limited space to construct large aquaculture ponds, such as peri-urban households. The study indicated that WISH ponds can create an important learning platform for communities to address challenges associated with small-scale aquaculture development by using scientific data generated and owned by the participants. Results from this 2011 study provided important insights into the challenges and constraints for introducing small-scale aquaculture into rural households in Cambodia. In mid-2013, WorldFish won a Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation grant, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, to build upon its successful engagement with communities in northeast Cambodia where WISH ponds had already been introduced and investigate scaling this technology to establish more WISH ponds in these communities.

Results of the Sea Grant fishes sampling program for the 1971-1972 Season. Annual Report, Part 6, 1973

(PDF contains 48 pages)

Aquiculture and Marketing of the Florida Bay Scallop in Crystal River, Florida

The overall goal of this study was to develop a new fishery resource product through open-water aquaculture for the west coast of Florida that would compete as a non-traditional product through market development. Specific objectives were as follows: I. To grow a minimum of 50, 000 juvenile scallops to a minimum market size of40 mm in a cage and float system in the off-shore waters of Crystal River, Florida. 2. To determine the growth rate, survival, and time to market size for the individuals in this system and area to other similar projects like Virginia. 3. To introduce local fishermen and the aquaculture students at Crystal River High School to the hatchery, nursery, and grow-out techniques. 4. To determine the economic and financial characteristics of bay scallop culture in Florida and assess the sensitivity of projected costs and earnings to changes in key technical, managerial, and market related parameters. 5. To determine the market acceptability and necessary marketing strategy for whole bay scallop product in Florida. (PDF has 99 pages)

Resource survey of Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, 1983

Forward: Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary (LKNMS) was designated in 1981 to protect and promote the study, teaching, and wise use of the resources of Looe Key Sanctuary (Plate A). In order to wisely manage this valuable resource, a quantitative resource inventory was funded by the Sanctuary Programs Division (SPD), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in cooperation with the Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA; the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), University of Miami; the Fisher Island Laboratory, United States Geological Survey; and the St. Petersburg Laboratory, State of Florida Department of Natural Resources. This report is the result of this cooperative effort. The objective of this study was to quantitatively inventory selected resources of LKNMS in order to allow future monitoring of changes in the Sanctuary as a result of human or natural processes. This study, referred to as Phase I, gives a brief summary of past and present uses of the Sanctuary (Chapter 2); and describes general habitat types (Chapter 3), geology and sediment distribution (Chapter 4), coral abundance and distribution (Chapter 5), the growth history of the coral Montastraea annularis (Chapter 6), reef fish abundance and distribution (Chapter 7), and status of selected resources (Chapter 8). An interpretation of the results of the survey are provided for management consideration (Chapter 9). The results are expected to provide fundamental information for applied management, natural history interpretation, and scientific research. Numerous photographs and illustrations were used to supplement the report to make the material presented easier to comprehend (Plate B). We anticipate the information provided will be used by managers, naturalists, and the general public in addition to scientists. Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs were taken at Looe Key Reef by Dr. James A. Bohnsack. The top photograph in Plate 7.8 was taken by Michael C. Schmale. Illustrations were done by Jack Javech, NMFS. Field work was initiated in May 1983 and completed for the most part by October 1983 thanks to the cooperation of numerous people and organizations. In addition to the participating agencies and organizations we thank the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute and the Division of Parks and Recreation, State of Florida Department of Natural Resources for their logistical support. Special thanks goes to Billy Causey, the Sanctuary Manager, for his help, information, and comments. We thank in alphabetical order: Scott Bannerot, Margie Bastian, Bill Becker, Barbara Bohnsack, Grant Beardsley, John Halas, Raymond Hixon, Irene Hooper, Eric Lindblad, and Mike Schmale. We dedicate this effort to the memory of Ray Hixon who participated in the study and who loved Looe Key. (PDF contains 43 pages)

Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of management strategies and regulations of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary by commercial fishers, dive operators, and environmental group members: A baseline characterization and 10-year comparison

This research is part of the Socioeconomic Research & Monitoring Program for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), which was initiated in 1998. In 1995-96, a baseline study on the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of proposed FKNMS management strategies and regulations of commercial fishers, dive operators and on selected environmental group members was conducted by researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Atmospheric and Marine Science (RSMAS). The baseline study was funded by the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program, and components of the study were published by Florida Sea Grant and in several peer reviewed journals. The study was accepted into the Socioeconomic Research & Monitoring Program at a workshop to design the program in 1998, and workshop participants recommended that the study be replicated every ten years. The 10-year replication was conducted in 2004-05 (commercial fishers) 2006 (dive operators) and 2007 (environmental group members) by the same researchers at RSMAS, while the University of Florida researchers were replaced by Thomas J. Murray & Associates, Inc., which conducted the commercial fishing panels in the FKNMS. The 10-year replication study was funded by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. The study not only makes 10-year comparisons in the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of FKNMS management strategies and regulations, but it also establishes new baselines for future monitoring efforts. Things change, and following the principles of “adaptive management”, management has responded with changes in the management plan strategies and regulations. Some of the management strategies and regulations that were being proposed at the time of the baseline 1995-96 study were changed before the management plan and regulations went into effect in July 1997. This was especially true for the main focus of the study which was the various types of marine zones in the draft and final zoning action plan. Some of the zones proposed were changed significantly and subsequently new zones have been created. This study includes 10-year comparisons of socioeconomic/demographic profiles of each user group; sources and usefulness of information; knowledge of purposes of FKNMS zones; perceived beneficiaries of the FKNMS zones; views on FKNMS processes to develop management strategies and regulations; views on FKNMS zone outcomes; views on FKNMS performance; and general support for FKNMS. In addition to new baseline information on FKNMS zones, new baseline information was developed for spatial use, investment and costs-and-earnings for commercial fishers and dive operators, and views on resource conditions for all three user groups. Statistical tests were done to detect significant changes in both the distribution of responses to questions and changes in mean scores for items replicated over the 10-year period. (PDF has 143 pages.)

Aquaculture and marketing of the Florida Bay Scallop in Crystal River, Florida

The overall goal of this study was to develop a new fishery resource product through open-water aquaculture for the west coast of Florida that would compete as a non-traditional product through market development. Specific objectives were as follows: I. To grow a minimum of 50, 000 juvenile scallops to a minimum market size of40 mm in a cage and float system in the off-shore waters of Crystal River, Florida. 2. To determine the growth rate, survival, and time to market size for the individuals in this system and area to other similar projects like Virginia. 3. To introduce local fishermen and the aquaculture students at Crystal River High School to the hatchery, nursery, and grow-out techniques. 4. To determine the economic and financial characteristics of bay scallop culture in Florida and assess the sensitivity of projected costs and earnings to changes in key technical, managerial, and market related parameters. 5. To determine the market acceptability and necessary marketing strategy for whole bay scallop product in Florida. (PDF has 99 pages.)

Panama City Fisheries Resources Office: FY 2008 Annual Report

HIGHLIGHTS FOR FY 2008 1. Completed the first of a two-year Gulf sturgeon population study on the Choctawhatchee River, Florida. The sub adult and adult Gulf sturgeon population was estimated at 2,800 fish. 2. Gulf sturgeon eggs were collected at three hard bottom sites in the Apalachicola River, Florida; two sites were previously confirmed spawning areas and one was a newly confirmed spawning area. 3. Documented 55 potential environmental threats to Gulf sturgeon spawning habitat in the Pea River, Florida and Alabama. 4. Assigned the Eglin AFB Road-Stream Crossing Working Group to guide the closure, repair and maintenance of roads and road stream crossings that impact threatened and endangered species. 5. Conducted 81 assessments of fish and stream invertebrates on and in watersheds surrounding Eglin AFB. 6. Provided technical support for the 5-year status review and reclassification proposed rule for the Okaloosa darter. 7. Initiated an intensive population genetic analysis of the Okaloosa darter throughout its range. Tissues from over 200 Okaloosa darters were collected and analyzed. 8. Established a GIS database to serve as a host for data from any sites sampled for mussels in Northeast Gulf of Mexico drainages. 9. Conducted habitat surveys at 115 locations in the Apalachicola River to assess the effects of drought-related mussel mortality and strandings, evaluate habitat conditions, and assess population demography. 10. A land use/aerial imagery threats assessment data analysis was completed for the Chipola River. A total of 266 impoundments/borrow pits and 471 unpaved road crossings were identified among the threats. 11. Okaloosa darters marked with elastomeric dyes were monitored in Mill Creek, Eglin AFB, to determine movement and habitat use following completion of a fish passage project. 3 12. Partners for Fish and Wildlife funded a streambank and riparian restoration project on Econfina Creek consisting of 3,900 feet of streambank fencing to exclude cattle access. One acre of riparian floodplain was planted with native trees. 13. We provided design and on-the-ground assistance for restoring surface hydrology at St. Vincent NWR. The project restored approximately 1.5 miles of tidal stream and 100 acres of wetlands. 14. A study was completed on 11 coastal streams to document large wood debris relationships with fluvial geomorphic characteristics. 15. We developed a Population Viability Analysis model for the fat threeridge mussel to determine current and future risk of extinction. 17. A Gulf Sturgeon Friends Group, “Gulf Sturgeon Preservation Society” was organized in FY 08. 18. Multiple outreach projects were completed to detail aquatic resource conservation needs and opportunities, including National Fishing Week, Earth Day, several festivals and school outreach.

Panama City Fisheries Resources Office: FY 2006 Annual Report

HIGHLIGHTS FOR FY 2006 1. Captured and tagged 475 Gulf sturgeons in five Florida rivers and one bay. 2. Documented Gulf sturgeon marine movement and habitat use in the Gulf of Mexico. 3. Assisted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with the collection of Gulf sturgeon, implantation of acoustic tags, and monitoring of fish in a study to examine movement patterns and habitat use in Pensacola and Choctawhatchee bays post-Hurricane Ivan. 4. Provided technical assistance to Jon “Bo” Sawyer in completing a study – Summer Resting Areas of the Gulf Sturgeon in the Conecuh/Escambia River System, Alabama-Florida – for acquiring a Degree of Master of Science at Troy University, Alabama. 5. Coordinated tagging and data collection with NOAA observers aboard trawlers while collecting Gulf sturgeon during dredging operations in the coastal Gulf of Mexico. 6. Hosted the 7th Annual Gulf Sturgeon Workshop. 7. Implemented Gulf Striped Bass Restoration Plan by coordinating the 23rd Annual Morone Workshop, leading the technical committee, transporting broodfish, coordinating the stocking on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system, and evaluating post-stocking success. 8. Continued updating and managing the Freshwater Mussel Survey Database, a Geographic Information System (GIS) database, for over 800 unique sites in the Northeast Gulf (NEG) drainages in Alabama (AL), Georgia (GA), and Florida (FL). 9. Formed a recovery implementation team for listed mussels in the ACF river basin and oversaw grant cooperative agreements for 14 listed and candidate freshwater mussels in the NEG watersheds. 10. Initiated a project in the Apalachicola River to relocate mussels stranded as a result of drought conditions, and calculate river flows at which mussels would be exposed. 11. Initiated a project in Sawhatchee Creek, Georgia to determine the status of threatened and endangered (T&E) freshwater mussels and target restoration projects, population assessments, and potential population augmentation to lead toward recovery of the listed species. 12. Initiated a study to determine the age and growth of the endangered fat threeridge mussel (Amblema neislerii). 13. Provided technical assistance to the Panama City Ecological Services office for a biological opinion on the operations of Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam and its effects on the listed species and designated and proposed critical habitat in the Apalachicola River, Florida. 14. Assisted with a multi-State, inter-agency team to develop a management plan to restore the Alabama shad in the ACF river system. 15. Conducted fishery surveys on Tyndall AFB, Florida and Ft. Benning, Georgia and completed a report with recommendations for future recreational fishery needs. 16. Provided fishery technical assistance to four National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) (i.e., Okefenokee NWR, Banks Lake NWR, St. Vincent NWR, and St. Marks NWR). 17. Initiated an Aquatic Resources and Recreation Fishing Survey on Department of Defense facilities located in Region 4. 18. Identified 130 road-stream crossings on Eglin AFB for rehabilitation and elimination of sediment imputs. 19. Continued the Aquatics Monitoring Program at Eglin AFB to assess techniques that determine current status and sustainability of aquatic habitat and develop a measure to determine quality or degradation of habitat. 20. Assisted Eglin AFB Natural Resource managers in revising the installation’s Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) and its associated component plans. 21. Coordinated recovery efforts for the endangered Okaloosa darter including population/life history surveys, stream restoration, and outreach activities. 22. Initiated a comprehensive status review of the Okaloosa darter with analyses performed to assess available habitat, preferred habitats, range expansions/reductions/fragmentations, population size, and probability of extinction. 23. Assisted the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under a Memorandum of Agreement to develop conservation strategies, implement monitoring and assessment programs, and secure funds for aquatic management programs in six watersheds in northwest Florida and southeast Alabama. 24. Entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Air Force to encourage the conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources at Hurlburt Field, Florida. 25. Multiple outreach projects were completed to detail aquatic resources’ conservation needs and opportunities; including National Fishing Week, Earth Day, several festivals, and school outreach.

Adapting to climate change: Combining economics and geomorphology in coastal policy

How is climate change affecting our coastal environment? How can coastal communities adapt to sea level rise and increased storm risk? These questions have garnered tremendous interest from scientists and policy makers alike, as the dynamic coastal environment is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Over half the world population lives and works in a coastal zone less than 120 miles wide, thereby being continuously affected by the changes in the coastal environment [6]. Housing markets are directly influenced by the physical processes that govern coastal systems. Beach towns like Oak Island in North Carolina (NC) face severe erosion, and the tax assesed value of one coastal property fell by 93% in 2007 [9]. With almost ninety percent of the sandy beaches in the US facing moderate to severe erosion [8], coastal communities often intervene to stabilize the shoreline and hold back the sea in order to protect coastal property and infrastructure. Beach nourishment, which is the process of rebuilding a beach by periodically replacing an eroding section of the beach with sand dredged from another location, is a policy for erosion control in many parts of the US Atlantic and Pacific coasts [3]. Beach nourishment projects in the United States are primarily federally funded and implemented by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) after a benefit-cost analysis. Benefits from beach nourishment include reduction in storm damage and recreational benefits from a wider beach. Costs would include the expected cost of construction, present value of periodic maintenance, and any external cost such as the environmental cost associated with a nourishment project (NOAA). Federal appropriations for nourishment totaled $787 million from 1995 to 2002 [10]. Human interventions to stabilize shorelines and physical coastal dynamics are strongly coupled. The value of the beach, in the form of storm protection and recreation amenities, is at least partly capitalized into property values. These beach values ultimately influence the benefit-cost analysis in support of shoreline stabilization policy, which, in turn, affects the shoreline dynamics. This paper explores the policy implications of this circularity. With a better understanding of the physical-economic feedbacks, policy makers can more effectively design climate change adaptation strategies. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Management and Promotion of Digitization Projects: Geologic Atlas of the US

The Geologic Atlas of the United States was digitized and stored in the Texas A&M University institutional repository. Extensive metadata was created which emphasized the geographic and geologic aspects of the material. The map sheets were also convered into kml files for Google Earth and ESRI shape files for use in GIS. A Yahoo!Map interface allows for visualization of the locations of each folio and user friendly browsing across the collection. Details of the project will be discussed, including the selection, digitization methods and standards, preservation, metadata, web presence and staffing. Its storage in DSpace, assortment of publicity outlets, and its inclusion in targeted clearinghouses expand its potential use to national and international audiences.

Grants for Libraries

More and more libraries, museums and cultural institutions rely on fundraising and grant writing to sustain their services, special projects, or new initiatives Since most MLIS programs do not include grant project planning and proposal writing as part of their curriculum, librarians learn the process through trial and error, or continuing education classes. There are numerous books and websites that can assist the novice grant writer. We hope to provide beginners with basic information on the types of grants available, where to look for funding agencies, selected grant writing resources, and a few helpful grant writing hints to get you started. The presentation will be a three-person panel providing a short overview of the areas mentioned above, and discussion of sample grants submitted or received. The overview will be presented in Power Point format with an accompanying handout for each attendee.