An analysis of poverty and aquatic resources use - focusing especially on the livelihoods of the poor - in Cambodia

The main objectives of this report, which is based on the current literature and key informant interviews, is to assess and analyse the nature and distribution of poverty and aquatic resources use, focusing especially on the livelihoods of the poor. It describes and reports different ways of measuring poverty that are used in Cambodia and quantifies the diverse nature and geographic distribution of aquatic resources use in Cambodia. (PDF contains 55 pages)

Synthesis report with pro-poor trade research findings and policy recommandations

The purpose of the project was to investigate international trade in fisheries products and its relationship to poverty alleviation and livelihoods of poor aquatic resource users in developing countries in Asia, and to identify options to improve the effectiveness of poverty reduction through international seafood trade. The project directly addressed the EC-PREP priority area of trade and development, and indirectly provided valuable insight to two other priority areas: food security and sustainable rural development; and institutional capacity building. [PDF contains 60 pages.]

Marine ornamentals trade in the Philippines and options for its poor stakeholders

The objective of this project in the Philippines is to promote the development of policy changes and other actions related to the trade in ornamental fish with Europe which support poor people’s livelihoods. [PDF contains 118 pages.]

Poverty and aquatic resources in Vietnam: an assessment of the role and potential of aquatic resource management in poor people's livelihoods

This report seeks to discuss a variety of approaches to poverty in order to illustrate the diversity of poor people, and the range of ways in which people are poor, facilitating a broader understanding of poverty and the significance of aquatic resources in poor people’s livelihoods. This is intended to provide a balance to the general neglect of the poor in the pursuit of aquaculture development within the Fisheries sector. It is also intended that this approach to poverty will assist in the planning and targeting of aquatic resource interventions that aim to promote poverty alleviation. In its many different forms, poverty remains a persistent problem with a great number of people facing deprivation and vulnerable livelihoods. Rates of poverty alleviation also differ; whereas the Red River Delta has achieved the greatest reductions in poverty, the Mekong Delta has achieved the smallest improvements, with possible indications that inequality has increased (see 2.4). Inequality between regions persists despite progress in all regions. (PDF has 37 pages.)

Livelihood analysis and development of a planning support for the poor in aquaculture and aquatic resource management. Workshop proceedings. 13-15 February 2001, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam

The workshop was organized to understand and describe the livelihoods of poor people who manage aquatic resources for planning support. The purpose was to support field workers to carry out livelihood analysis and how to use this information. (PDF contains 13 pages)

The STREAM Initiative: support to regional aquatic resources management. Promoting participation, communication, and policies that support the livelihoods of poor aquatic resource users in the Asia-Pacific. Memorandum

Throughout the Asia-Pacific region capture fisheries and certain less intensive forms of aquaculture can and do play a vital role in livelihoods management, food security, and health and nutrition. Knowledge and experience exist that could be more effectively used in policy for poverty alleviation. (PDF contains 89 pages)

Framework for a pro-poor regional strategy on sustainable aquatic resources management in Asia-Pacific: a statement of understanding and recommendations

This statement was prepared by the participants of the FAO/NACA-STREAM Workshop on Aquatic Resources and Livelihoods: Connecting Policy and People, 17-19 March 2005, in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. This was the concluding event of the FAO Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) project entitled “Assistance in Poverty Alleviation through Improved Aquatic Resources Management in Asia-Pacific.” The purpose of the workshop was to review and share experiences of the NACA-STREAM Initiative, build consensus on the value of livelihoods approaches in aquatic resources management and poverty alleviation, and identify ways of promoting livelihoods approaches throughout the region. (Pdf contains 2 pages).

Aquatic resources management for sustainable livelihoods of poor people: proceedings of the DFID-ARM e-mail conference, June 2000

This e-mail conference has been organised by the DFID Aquatic Resources Management (ARM) Programme, S E Asia. It forms part of a wider process of consultation including links with other donors, with government and non-government partners and participatory livelihood assessments with vulnerable groups who benefit from aquatic resources. The objective is to provide a forum for professionals who have been involved in aquatic resources management in the context of poor peoples’ livelihoods, to share experiences, reflect on approaches and contribute to their development. Participants can submit poster presentations (2-pagers) and contribute to the discussions (via the conference website) organised around 5 key issues, set out in this discussion paper. After 4 weeks online the contributed posters and discussions will be edited into a document assessing approaches to aquatic resources management, which benefit livelihoods of poor people. This will be downloadable from the website. (PDF contains 134 pages)

Investigation into the factors associated with poor water quality in intensively cultured prawn ponds

Water quality problems are reported to be the factor limiting prawn production in the local prawn farm. This investigation was carried out to monitor water quality and its relationship to physical, chemical and biological conditions in the ponds in order to establish what factors should be monitored in order to predict problems. Pond collapse was found to be associated with high concentrations of ammonium, high pH and blue-green algae dominated phytoplankton populations. There was no easy means of predicting the imminent collapse of ponds as the phenomenon was never associated with the extreme of any of the conditions monitored. Rather it seemed to be related to the stability of the pond's algal population, which was largely unaccounted for. Recommendations toward improving water quality are proposed.

Use of SARIMA models to assess data-poor fisheries: a case study with a sciaenid fishery off Portugal

Research on assessment and monitoring methods has primarily focused on fisheries with long multivariate data sets. Less research exists on methods applicable to data-poor fisheries with univariate data sets with a small sample size. In this study, we examine the capabilities of seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models to fit, forecast, and monitor the landings of such data-poor fisheries. We use a European fishery on meagre (Sciaenidae: Argyrosomus regius), where only a short time series of landings was available to model (n=60 months), as our case-study. We show that despite the limited sample size, a SARIMA model could be found that adequately fitted and forecasted the time series of meagre landings (12-month forecasts; mean error: 3.5 tons (t); annual absolute percentage error: 15.4%). We derive model-based prediction intervals and show how they can be used to detect problematic situations in the fishery. Our results indicate that over the course of one year the meagre landings remained within the prediction limits of the model and therefore indicated no need for urgent management intervention. We discuss the information that SARIMA model structure conveys on the meagre lifecycle and fishery, the methodological requirements of SARIMA forecasting of data-poor fisheries landings, and the capabilities SARIMA models present within current efforts to monitor the world’s data-poorest resources.

Fish for the poor under a rising global demand and changing fishery regime

In the past, agricultural researchers tended to ignore the fisheries factor in global food and nutritional security. However, the role of fish is becoming critical as a result of changes in fisheries regimes, income distribution, demand and increasing international trade. Fish has become the fastest growing food commodity in international trade and this is raising concern for the supply of fish for poorer people. As a result, the impact of international trade regimes on fish supply and demand, and the consequences on the availability of fish for developing countries need to be studied. Policies aimed at increasing export earnings are in conflict with those aimed at increasing food security in third world countries. Fisheries policy research will need to focus on three primary areas which have an impact on the marginal and poorer communities of developing countries: increased international demand for low-value fish on the supply of poorer countries; improved aquaculture technologies and productivity on poorer and marginal farmers; and land and water allocation policy on productivity, food security and sustainability across farm, fishery and related sectors. The key to local food security is in the integration of agriculture, aquaculture and natural resources but an important focus on fisheries policy research will be to look at the linkages between societal, economic and natural systems in order to develop adequate and flexible solutions to achieve sustainable use of aquatic resources systems.

The future for fish in the food and livelihoods of the poor in Asia

This article is based on the study, Strategies and Options for Increasing and Sustaining Benefits from Fisheries and Aquaculture Production to Benefit Poor Households in Asia carried out under ADB-RETA 5945, and implemented by the WorldFish Center in partnership with nine participating Asian countries.

Growth, mortality and yield-per-recruit of the poor cod, Trisopterus minutus capelanus, from the Strait of Sicily

Length-based methods (LBMs) were used to study the growth of Trisopterus minutus capelanus in the Strait of Sicily (Messina Strait). A total of 16,304 'merluzzetto' or poor cod collected by experimental trawling off the southern coast of Sicily during spring, summer, autumn 1986 and winter 1987 were measured in order to estimate the length structure of the population. Length-frequency distribution were analyzed and normal components were discriminated. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were derived from the mean length of the normal components. The growth parameters obtained by weighted non-linear regression were: K=0.462 (yr super(1)), L sub( infinity )=222.3 (TL,mm) and t sub(o)=-0.679 yr. The resulting growth performance index ( Phi ') was 4.36, a value slightly lower than those derived for Western Mediterranean (mean Phi '=4.45) and Adriatic ( Phi '=4.58) populations and slightly higher than that derived for Hellenic waters ( Phi '=4.27). On the basis of the von Bertalanffy parameters estimated, an array of age-specific instantaneous natural mortality rate (M sub(t)=0.5-1.1) and an average value of total natural mortality rate (Z=2.1 yr super(1)) were estimated and used in the Thompson and Bell yield per recruit (Y/R) analysis in order to evaluate the status of the fishery and forecast the effects of changes in the fishing pattern. Results indicate that this resource is overexploited and that Y/R could be increased by postponing the age at first capture from 0.5 to 1.0 yr. Even a slight reduction in fishing mortality could improve the performance of the fishery. At the present level of exploitation, and assuming a constant recruitment, the spawning stock biomass per recruit (SPR) is well below the conservative threshold of 30% of the pristine or unexploited SPR.

Sources of age determination errors for sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria)

This study was undertaken to resolve problems in age determination of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria). Aging of this species has been hampered by poor agreement (averaging less than 45%) among age readers and by differences in assigned ages of as much as 15 years. Otoliths from fish that had been injected with oxytetracycline (OTC) and that had been at liberty for known durations were used to determine why age determinations were so difficult and to help determine the correct aging procedure. All fish were sampled from Oregon southwards, which represents the southern part of their range. The otoliths were examined with the aid of image processing. Some fish showed little or no growth on the otolith after eight months at liberty, whereas otoliths from other fish grew substantially. Some fish lay down two prominent hyaline zones within a single year, one in the summer and one in the winter. We classified the otoliths by morphological type and found that certain types are more likely to lay down multiple hyaline zones and other types are likely to lay down little or no zones. This finding suggests that some improvement could be achieved by detailed knowledge of the growth characteristics of the different types. This study suggests that it may not be possible to obtain reliable ages from sablefish otoliths. At the very least, more studies will be required to under-stand the growth of sablefish otoliths.