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)

The role of small indigenous fish species in food and nutrition security in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, only 6% of the daily food intake is animal food of which fish accounts for 50%. Rice is the mainstay, making up 60% of the daily food intake. However, many nutrients such as vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, zinc and iodine are not found in rice and have to be obtained from other sources. Small indigenous fish are a vital contribution to the diet of the rural poor in Bangladesh, where more than 30,000 children go blind every year from vitamin A deficiency and 70% of women and children are iron-deficient. Small fish, which are less than 10 cm in length and usually eaten whole with the organs and bones, contain large amount of calcium and possibly iron and zinc. The largest fish promoted in aquaculture do not contribute significantly to calcium intake. Some species also contain large amount of vitamin A. Much of the small indigenous fish (SIS) of Bangladesh are caught in floodplains and natural waterbodies. Small fish are eaten frequently in small amounts and are more equally distributed among family members than big fish of which men get the larger share. Unfortunately, overfishing and the deterioration of natural habitats have resulted in a decline in SIS. When measures are taken to improve food and nutrition security, there should be a focus on production of small fish so that greater quantities are accessible for consumption by the rural poor.

Measures of Plant Surface-areas for Eurasian Watermilfoil and Water Stargrass

Plant surface areas were measured from samples of two common submersed aquatics with widely diverging morphologies: Eurasian watermilfoil ( Myriophyllum spicatum L.) and water stargrass ( Heteranthera dubia (Jacq.) MacM.). Measures for the highly dissected leaves of Eurasian watermilfoil involved development of a regression equation relating leaf length to direct measures of a subsample of leaf parts. Measures for the simple leaves of the stargrass were sums of measured triangles. Stem surfaces for both species were calculated as measured cylinders. Though the means of the stem length and leaf length were larger for stargrass samples, their mean surface area was 95 cm 2 which was less than the 108 cm 2 recorded for Eurasian watermilfoil samples. Relating surface area to dry weight for the stargrass was straightforward, with 1 mg of dry weight yielding an average 0.678 cm 2 of surface area. Biomass measures for the water milfoil were confounded by the additional weight of epiphytic algae persisting on cleaned samples. The results suggest that a lesstime consuming method for surface area measures of plants with highly dissected leaves and a caveat for using biomass measures to estimate surface area in such plants.

Stock assessment of protogynous fish: evaluating measures of spawning biomass used to estimate biological reference points

In stock assessments, recruitment is typically modeled as a function of females only. For protogynous stocks, however, disproportionate fishing on males increases the possibility of reduced fertilization rates. To incorporate the importance of males in protogynous stocks, assessment models have been used to predict recruitment not just from female spawning biomass (Sf), but also from that of males (Sm) or both sexes (Sb). We conducted a simulation study to evaluate the ability of these three measures to estimate biological reference points used in fishery management. Of the three, Sf provides best estimates if the potential for decreased fertilization is weak, whereas Sm is best only if the potential is very strong. In general, Sb estimates the true reference points most closely, which indicates that if the potential for decreased fertilization is moderate or unknown, Sb should be used in assessments of protogynous stocks. Moreover, for a broad range of scenarios, relative errors from Sf and Sb occur in opposite directions, indicating that estimates from these measures could be used to bound uncertainty.

A study of measures of population density and of concentration of fishing effort in the fishery for yellowfin tuna, Neothunnus macropterus, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, from 1951 to 1956

ENGLISH: This study shows how the catch and effort statistics, from 1951 to 1956, of the fishery for yellowfin tuna, Neothunnus macropterus, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, have been used to compute: (i) two indices of average population density; (ii) an index of concentration of effort on areas of greatest density of available yellowfin. These three indices were then used to determine: (i) quarterly and annual variation in each of them; (ii) the relationship between the two indices of density; (iii) the relationship of each of the indices to the number of exploited one-degree rectangles. To remove extreme sampling variation at low levels of effort, the data from all one-degree rectangles subjected to less than five logged days' fishing in a quarter were eliminated, and the computations were repeated for comparison with those of the original data. SPANISH: Este estudio da a conocer cómo las estadísticas sobre la pesca y el esfuerzo de pesca de la pesquería del atún aleta amarilla, Neothunnus macropterus, en el Océano Pacífico Oriental Tropical, durante 1951 a 1956, han servido para computar: (i) dos índices del promedio de la densidad de la población; (ií) un índice de la concentración del esfuerzo en las áreas de mayor densidad de atún aleta amarilla disponible. Estos tres índices han sido luego usados para determinar: (i) la variación trimestral y anual en cada uno de ellos; (ií) la relación entre los dos índices de densidad; (iii) la relación de cada uno de los índices con el número de rectángulos de un grado explotados. Para evitar la extrema variación del muestreo a bajos niveles de esfuerzo, se eliminaron los datos de todos los rectángulos de un grado sujetos a menos de cinco días de actividad pesquera durante un trimestre según los registros de los cuadernos de bitácora, y las computaciones se repitieron para compararlas con las de los datos originales.

Measures of population density and concentration of fishing effort for yellowfin and skipjack tuna in the eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean 1951-1959

ENGLISH: In a previous Bulletin of this Commission, Griffiths (1960) discussed two indices of population density and an index of concentration of fishing effort of bait boats for yellowfin tuna in the Eastern Tropical Pacific for the 1951-1956 period. Yellowfin and skipjack tuna occur in the same general fishing areas and many of the commercial catches are composed of a mixture of the two species. It is desirable, therefore, to extend the investigation to skipjack and to the two species combined. SPANISH:En un Boletín anterior de esta Comisión, Griffiths (1960) se refiere a dos índices de la densidad de la población y a un índice de la concentración del esfuerzo de pesca de los barcos de carnada sobre el atún aleta amarilla en el Pacífico Oriental Tropical, correspondientes al período 1951-1956. Los atunes aleta amarilla y barrilete se encuentran en las mismas áreas generales de pesca y muchas de las pescas comerciales están compuestas de una mezcla de las dos especies. Es deseable, por lo tanto, ampliar la investigación en lo que se refiere al barrilete y a las dos especies combinadas.

Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security

The objectives of these Technical Guidelines are to provide a focus on small-scale fisheries and their current and potential role in contributing to poverty alleviation and food security by expanding on the guidance on small-scale fisheries offered by the Code. The Guidelines are complementary to existing Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. Most small-scale fishers are in developing countries and many live in communities characterized by poverty and food insecurity. Small-scale fishing communities are faced with an array of serious problems, including overexploitation and depletion of resources, lack of alternative sources of employment, rapid population growth, migration of populations, displacement in coastal areas due to industrial development and tourism, pollution and environmental degradation and conflicts with large commercial fishing operations. However, small-scale fisheries are critical for food security and poverty alleviation in many countries. The first part of the Guidelines discusses the current contribution, role and importance of small-scale fisheries in poverty alleviation and food security. It examines the importance of small-scale fisheries for poverty alleviation at a national, local and household level. It also notes the nutritional qualities of fish and thus the particular role of fish in nutritional aspects of food security. The fact that about half of all fish caught for human consumption comes from small-scale fisheries underlines the importance of this subsector for the world fish supply. In many countries small-scale fisheries contribute to national food security both directly – where fish is a crucial part of the daily diet, and indirectly – by generating foreign exchange earnings that enable the purchase through trade of a range of food products. The second part of the Guidelines explores ways through which the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security could be enhanced. A vision for the future of small-scale fisheries is presented as a goal towards which the subsector should develop. Ensuring greater participation by small-scale fishers and their communities in the formulation of policies, the development of related legislation and regulations, and in management decision-making and implementation processes, is vital to the realization of this vision. The central role of effective fisheries management, the importance of considering cross sectoral uses of fisheries and related resources, the special role of women in fish marketing, processing and value addition, the significant scope for trade, the critical role that adequate financing may have in enabling transitions for effective fisheries management and the role of knowledge in making informed decisions are all discussed in these Guidelines. (PDF contains 97 pages)

State of Technology for In Situ Measures of Salinity Using Conductive Temperature Sensors, Savannah, Georgia, December 3-5, 2007: workshop proceedings

This Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) workshop was convened to assess the availability and state of development of conductivity-temperature sensors that can meet the needs of coastal monitoring and management communities. Rased on the discussion, there are presently a number of commercial sensor options available, with a wide range of package configurations suitable for deployment in a range of coastal environments. However, some of the central questions posed in the workshop planning documents were left somewhat unresolved. The workshop description emphasized coastal management requirements and, in particular, whether less expensive, easily deployed, lower-resolution instruments might serve many management needs. While several participants expressed interest in this class of conductivity-temperature sensors, based on input from the manufacturers, it is not clear that simply relaxing the present level of resolution of existing instruments will result in instruments of significantly lower unit cost. Conductivity-temperature sensors are available near or under the $1,000 unit cost that was operationally defined at the workshop as a breakpoint for what might be considered to be a "low cost" sensor. For the manufacturers, a key consideration before undertaking the effort to develop lower cost sensors is whether there will be a significant market. In terms of defining "low cost," it was also emphasized that the "life cycle costs" for a given instrument must be considered (e.g., including personnel costs for deployment and maintenance). An adequate market survey to demonstrate likely applications and a viable market for lower cost sensors is needed. Another topic for the workshop was the introduction to the proposed ACT verification for conductivity-temperature sensors. Following a summary of the process as envisioned by ACT, initial feedback was solicited. Protocol development will be pursued further in a workshop involving ACT personnel and conductivity-temperature sensor manufacturers.[PDF contains 28 pages]

Measures of turbidity in coastal waters, Coconut Island, Oahu, Hawaii, August 31 - September 2, 2005: workshop proceedings

A three day workshop on turbidity measurements was held at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology from August 3 1 to September 2, 2005. The workshop was attended by 30 participants from industry, coastal management agencies, and academic institutions. All groups recognized common issues regarding the definition of turbidity, limitations of consistent calibration, and the large variety of instrumentation that nominally measure "turbidity." The major recommendations, in order of importance for the coastal monitoring community are listed below: 1. The community of users in coastal ecosystems should tighten instrument design configurations to minimize inter-instrument variability, choosing a set of specifications that are best suited for coastal waters. The IS0 7027 design standard is not tight enough. Advice on these design criteria should be solicited through the ASTM as well as Federal and State regulatory agencies representing the majority of turbidity sensor end users. Parties interested in making turbidity measurements in coastal waters should develop design specifications for these water types rather than relying on design standards made for the analysis of drinking water. 2. The coastal observing groups should assemble a community database relating output of specific sensors to different environmental parameters, so that the entire community of users can benefit from shared information. This would include an unbiased, parallel study of different turbidity sensors, employing a variety of designs and configuration in the broadest range of coastal environments. 3. Turbidity should be used as a measure of relative change in water quality rather than an absolute measure of water quality. Thus, this is a recommendation for managers to develop their own local calibrations. See next recommendation. 4. If the end user specifically wants to use a turbidity sensor to measure a specific water quality parameter such as suspended particle concentration, then direct measurement of that water quality parameter is necessary to correlate with 'turbidity1 for a particular environment. These correlations, however, will be specific to the environment in which they are measured. This works because there are many environments in which water composition is relatively stable but varies in magnitude or concentration. (pdf contains 22 pages)

Measures of tuna abundance from purse-seine operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, adjusted for fleet-wide evolution of increased fishing power, 1960-1971

ENGLISH: The fishing power of the tuna purse-seine fleet of the eastern Pacific Ocean has increased since the early 1960's. Because the entire fleet seems to have adopted equipment and techniques to increase its efficiency in capturing tunas, traditional methods of adjusting catch rates to a reference vessel type of fixed efficiency to index tuna abundance from fishing success are inapplicable. Instead, a methodology for such adjustment based on a mathematical representation of purse seining activities is developed. Observed changes in efficiency in subprocesses of purse seining are then used to adjust catch rates when computing abundance histories for yellowfin and skipjack in large regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean. SPANISH: La eficacia de pesca de la flota de cerco atunera en el Océano Pacífico oriental ha aumentado desde el comienzo del decenio de 1960. Como toda la flota parece haber adoptado equipo y métodos para incrementar su eficaciaen capturar atunes, no se pueden aplicar los métodos tradicionales de ajustar los índices de captura a un tipo normalizado de barco (es decir de eficacia fija) para indicar la abundancia del atún según los resultados de pesca. En su lugar se ha desarrollado un método para realizar tal ajuste basado en una representación matemática de las actividades de las embarcaciones de cerco. Cuando se calcula la abundancia histórica del atún aleta amarilla y barrilete en grandes regiones del Océano Pacífico oriental, se usan entonces los cambios observados en la eficacia de los subprocesos cerqueros para ajustar los índices de captura. (PDF contains 120 pages.)

The contribution of fish intake, aquaculture, and small-scale fisheries to improving nutrition security: a literature review

Much of fish consumed by the poor are caught by household members and traded in local markets. These fish are rarely or poorly included in national statistics, and it is therefore difficult to estimate precisely the real contribution of fish to the rural poor households. This report is the first global overview of the role played by fish in improving nutrition. Fish consumption patterns of the poor, the nutritional value of fish, and small-scale fisheries and aquaculture activities are considered. It also highlights the gap in knowledge where more research is needed.

Compensating restrictive fisheries management measures: distribution of improved cocks to Kainji Lake communities 1997-2001

The Nigeria-German Kainji Lake Fisheries Promotion Project (KLFPP) promoted the distribution of genetically improved cocks to the Kainji Lake (Nigeria) fishing communities aiming to compensate for possible short-term income losses due to the implementation of fisheries management measures restricting the use of the Lake's resources and to provide alternative sources for income generation, especially for the women. Out of 5,075 cocks produced, 4,171 cocks were distributed at subsidized prices mainly to women in 116 fishing villages of Kainji Lake. During an impact survey carried out in 12 villages, 6-24 months after distribution, only 25% of the cocks distributed were seen. However, potential income for each beneficiary from the hybrid offspring was estimated at minimum 1,000 Naira per year

Enforcement of associated protected measures in particularly sensitive sea areas

The distinguished character of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) is that every application for PSSAs must be accompanied by Associated Protected Measures (APMs) which can make PSSAs efficient in practice.1 That is why APMs are regarded as the core feature of every PSSA.2 APM is “an international rule or standard that falls within the purview of an international maritime organization (IMO) and regulates international maritime activities for the protection of the area at risk.” So far, APMs have been approved by IMO as following: -Compulsory or recommended pilotage -Mandatory ship reporting -An area to be avoided -Traffic separation schemes -Discharge prohibition or regulations -Mandatory no anchoring areas -Deep water routes -Emission control areas (PDF contains 5 pages)

The global human security index: Can disaggregations help us to forge progress?

A Human Security Index (HIS) enumerating 200 countries was introduced in 2008. A community-level HSI is under development in the USA. Coastal communities face large disparities in components of human security. How can a HSI support improved policies/services (such as environmental or public health forecasts or warnings) for improving lives? Several issues are discussed. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Coastal management measures for the lower Maumee Watershed, Lake Erie

In January 2006 the Maumee Remedial Action Plan (RAP) Committee submitted a State II Watershed Restoration Plan for the Maumee River Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) area located in NW Ohio to the State of Ohio for review and endorsement (MRAC, 2006). The plan was created in order to fulfill the requirements, needs and/or use of five water quality programs including: Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Watershed Coordinator Program; Ohio EPA Great Lakes RAP Program; Ohio DNR Coastal Non-point Source Pollution Control Program; Ohio EPA Total Maximum Daily Load Program; and US Fish & Wildlife Service Natural Resources Damage Program. The plan is intended to serve as a comprehensive regional management approach for all jurisdictions, agencies, organizations, and individuals who are working to restore the watershed, waterways and associated coastal zone. The plan includes: background information and mapping regarding hydrology, geology, ecoregions, and land use, and identifies key causes and sources for water quality concerns within the six 11-digit hydrological units (HUCs), and one large river unit that comprise the Maumee AOC. Tables were also prepared that contains detailed project lists for each major watershed and was organized to facilitate the prioritization of research and planning efforts. Also key to the plan and project tables is a reference to the Ohio DNR Coastal Management Measures that may benefit from the implementation of an identified project. This paper will examine the development of the measures and their importance for coastal management and watershed planning in the Maumee AOC. (PDF contains 4 pages)