Management of environmental issues for sustainable fisheries production from aquaculture in Nigeria

Aquaculture depends largely upon a good aquatic environment. The quality of the aquatic medium determines success to a large extent in aquaculture. The medium is particularly vulnerable to excessive abstraction (i.e surface or groundwater) and contamination from a range of sources (industrial, agricultural or domestic) as well as risks of self-pollution. Environmental management options proffered so far include: improvements in farming performance (especially related to feed and feeding strategies, stocking densities, water quality management, disease prevention and control, use of chemicals, etc.) and in the selection of sites and culturable species, treatment of effluents, sensitivity of recipient waters and enforcement of environmental regulations and guidelines specific to the culture system. There are presently conceptual frameworks for aquatic environment management backed by legal administrative tools to create or enforce rational system for water management, fisheries and aquaculture development strengthened by adaptive institutionalisation

SEDAWOG, 2000. Fisheries co-management options at Kiumba Beach: a participatory pilot study

This report represents the key output of a training workshop hosted by Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project (LVFRP) for researchers from each of the riparian countries fisheries research institutes. The workshop aimed to train the researchers in participatory research techniques which they could use to undertake a study of community-based institutions and organizations which could potentially be involved in fisheries co-management. A central focus of the workshop was a study to identify the community-based organizations and institutions, which operated at Kiumba beach, and this study is reported here. Separate reports, which include operated at Kiumba beach and this study is reported here. Separate reports, which include details of the training process and the participatory methods used, are available (Sarch 1995, 2000). The report centers on the information generated from the participatory pilot study conducted by the workshop participants and the community at Kiumba Beach over the course of a week in March 2000. Ranges of participatory research techniques were used and the discussion and diagrams, which resulted from them, form the basis of this report. The workshop participants undertook a preliminary analysis of these findings and this has been synthesized at the end of this report. (PDF contains 55 pages)

Small-scale fisheries resources management options - an overview: a key note address

Small-scale fisheries is traditional and rural based. Therefore, the paper is an over view of small-scale fisheries resources management in Nigeria. It provides about 80-90% employment to surrounding population. The small-scale fisheries are grouped in to two major sectors:- the artisanal or capture fisheries and aquaculture farming. The paper identified some management problems such as:- multi uses of the water bodies, lack of or inadequate data upon which sound management strategies are based, ownership of inland water bodies is a problem, uncontrolled exploitation hampers sustainable development, poor and low technology and lack of capital, land and credit facilities. The paper presented some management options for sustainable management. Measures to reduced fish spoilage have been advanced. Also highlighted is the role of fish culture in small-scale fisheries management

Reforming state-level coastal management and development policies: strategic retreat as an innovative, proactive and equitable coastal environmental management strategy

Atlantic and Gulf Coast shorelines include some of the most unique and biologically rich ecosystems in the United States that provide immeasurable aesthetic, habitat and economic benefits. Natural coastal ecosystems, however, are under increasing threat from rampant and irresponsible growth and development. Once a boon to local economies, complex natural forces – enhanced by global climate change and sea level rise - are now considered hazards and eroding the very foundation upon which coastal development is based. For nearly a century, beach restoration and erosion control structures have been used to artificially stabilize shorelines in an effort to protect structures and infrastructure. Beach restoration, the import and emplacement of sand on an eroding beach, is expensive, unpredictable, inefficient and may result in long-term environmental impacts. The detrimental environmental impacts of erosion control structures such as sea walls, groins, bulkheads and revetments include sediment deficits, accelerated erosion and beach loss. These and other traditional responses to coastal erosion and storm impacts- along with archaic federal and state policies, subsidies and development incentives - are costly, encourage risky development, artificially increase property values of high-risk or environmentally sensitive properties, reduce the post-storm resilience of shorelines, damage coastal ecosystems and are becoming increasingly unsustainable. Although communities, coastal managers and property owners face increasingly complex and difficult challenges, there is an emerging public, social and political awareness that, without meaningful policy reforms, coastal ecosystems and economies are in jeopardy. Strategic retreat is a sustainable, interdisciplinary management strategy that supports the proactive, planned removal of vulnerable coastal development; reduces risk; increases shoreline resiliency and ensures long term protection of coastal systems. Public policies and management strategies that can overcome common economic misperceptions and promote the removal of vulnerable development will provide state and local policy makers and coastal managers with an effective management tool that concomitantly addresses the economic, environmental, legal and political issues along developed shorelines. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Reforming state-level coastal management and development policies: strategic retreat as an innovative, proactive and equitable coastal environmental management strategy

Atlantic and Gulf Coast shorelines include some of the most unique and biologically rich ecosystems in the United States that provide immeasurable aesthetic, habitat and economic benefits. Natural coastal ecosystems, however, are under increasing threat from rampant and irresponsible growth and development. Once a boon to local economies, complex natural forces – enhanced by global climate change and sea level rise - are now considered hazards and eroding the very foundation upon which coastal development is based. For nearly a century, beach restoration and erosion control structures have been used to artificially stabilize shorelines in an effort to protect structures and infrastructure. Beach restoration, the import and emplacement of sand on an eroding beach, is expensive, unpredictable, inefficient and may result in long-term environmental impacts. The detrimental environmental impacts of erosion control structures such as sea walls, groins, bulkheads and revetments include sediment deficits, accelerated erosion and beach loss. These and other traditional responses to coastal erosion and storm impacts- along with archaic federal and state policies, subsidies and development incentives - are costly, encourage risky development, artificially increase property values of high-risk or environmentally sensitive properties, reduce the post-storm resilience of shorelines, damage coastal ecosystems and are becoming increasingly unsustainable. Although communities, coastal managers and property owners face increasingly complex and difficult challenges, there is an emerging public, social and political awareness that, without meaningful policy reforms, coastal ecosystems and economies are in jeopardy. Strategic retreat is a sustainable, interdisciplinary management strategy that supports the proactive, planned removal of vulnerable coastal development; reduces risk; increases shoreline resiliency and ensures long term protection of coastal systems. Public policies and management strategies that can overcome common economic misperceptions and promote the removal of vulnerable development will provide state and local policy makers and coastal managers with an effective management tool that concomitantly addresses the economic, environmental, legal and political issues along developed shorelines. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Artisanal fisheries status and sustainable management options in Teknaf coast, Bangladesh

The study was an endeavor to bring forward a concise, factual description of the salient features of the present status of artisanal fisheries resources and its management for sustainable development of fishing communities in Teknaf coast, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This study was conducted through 14 fishing villages of 4 Unions in Teknaf Upazila. As a hub of various fisheries deeds, a comprehensive coastal fisheries census, conducted on the coast during the study period, revealed that about 566 fishing fleet of two types, 1263 fishing gears of seven kinds, 6466 fishermen were being involved in fishing at Naaf river estuary. The catch composition of the coastal fishing was found 52 finfish species, 10 shrimp and 3 crabs. The unique potentialities provided by mostly affluent fisheries resources are needed to be tapped and channelized in the appropriate direction for maintaining a paragon of these fisheries resources of coastal area and for pursuing ecologically sustainable development via environment friendly intrinsic exploration and exploitation. “Community Based Fisheries Co-management” program should initiate immediately for the fisherman community of Naaf river estuary of Teknaf coastal region. This will go along way to help sustain the coastal fisheries resources with active participation of the fishermen

The regulators and the regulated: fisheries management, options and dynamics in Kenya's Lake Victoria fishery

The study divides the history of the fishery into five 'regulatory periods': the pre-colonial fishery (pre-1901), the colonial fishery (1901-1963), the post indipendence fishery (1963-1980), the Nile perch 'boom' years (1980-1989), and finally the fishery in the 1990's. Within each of these periods, the nature of and the relationship between, formal and informal regulations differs and changes with time. In the pre-colonial period, the outcome of formal and informal regulations largely sustained the fishery in a productive and species diverse state. However, at no time since then have formal regulations worked, with the result that the nature of production from the fishery changes over time and is dependent on a number of factors, amongst which the most important are effort level increases, technological introductions, species introductions, changes in regional and national job markets, the change from community-based controls to state-based controls within the fishery, and finally, considerable changes to the fish markets.

Biological Analysis of Two Management Options for the Atlantic Menhaden Fishery

Biological implications of two managment options (the closed corridor and the recommended shortened season (Option 7) options) for the Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, fishery are reported based on purse-seine landings and port sampling data from 1970 to 1984 and captain's daily fishing reports from 1978 to 1982. Large catches of age-O menhaden raise concern for growth overfishing. Area-specific yield-per-recruit analyses are used to investigate the biological consequences of these management options. The closed corridor option indicates coastwide gains in yield-per-recruit ranging from 0.3 to 7.2% depending on changes in fishing activity with most areas showing gains. The shortened fishing season indicates coastwide gains in yield per recruit ranging from O. 4 to 10.2% depending onf ishing year with most geographic areas showing gains. The shortened fishing season option offers the greatest gains when large numbers ofy oung menhaden would be caught late in the fishing year, while gains from the closed corridor option depend on how the fishing fleet responds to that management plan. The shortened season offers greater potential coastwide gains to the fishery, but also may result in greater losses to the North Carolina fall fishery. The analytical approach is applicable to the management of other coastal migratory fish stocks that fall under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission or other interstate management groups.

Issues and options related to management of Silver Springs rhesus macaques

Management options for the Silver Springs free-ranging rhesus macaque population range from removal to active maintenance of the population in situ. Selection of a management option is dependent upon which issues are perceived to be true problems. Management options are presented along with their effectiveness in dealing with issues previously described.(31 page document)

Multi-species and multi-interest management: An ecosystem approach to market squid (Loligo opalescens) harvest in California

Market squid (Loligo opalescens) plays a vital role in the California ecosystem and serves as a major link in the food chain as both a predator and prey species. For over a century, market squid has also been harvested off the California coast from Monterey to San Pedro. Expanding global markets, coupled with a decline in squid product from other parts of the world, in recent years has fueled rapid expansion of the virtually unregulated California fishery. Lack of regulatory management, in combination with dramatic increases in fishing effort and landings, has raised numerous concerns from the scientific, fishing, and regulatory communities. In an effort to address these concerns, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) hosted a panel discussion at the October 1997 California Cooperative Oceanic and Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Conference; it focused on ecosystem management implications for the burgeoning market squid fishery. Both panel and audience members addressed issues such as: the direct and indirect effects of commercial harvesting upon squid biomass; the effects of harvest and the role of squid in the broader marine community; the effects of environmental variation on squid population dynamics; the sustainability of the fishery from the point of view of both scientists and the fishers themselves; and the conservation management options for what is currently an open access and unregulated fishery. Herein are the key points of the ecosystem management panel discussion in the form of a preface, an executive summary, and transcript. (PDF contains 33 pages.)

Methodologies and mechanisms for management of cumulative coastal environmental impacts. Part I: Synthesis, with annotated bibliography; Part II: Development and application of a cumulative impacts assessment protocol

What Are ~umulat iveE ffects? Coastal managers now recognize that many of the most serious resource degradation problems have built up gradually as the combined outcome of numerous actions and choices which alone may have had relatively minor impacts. For example, alteration of essential habitat through wetland loss, degradation of water quality from nonpoint source pollution, and changes in salinity of estuarine waters from water diversion projects can be attributed to numerous small actions and choices. These incremental losses have broad spatial and temporal dimensions, resulting in the gradual alteration of structure and functioning of biophysical systems. In the environmental management field, the term "cumulative effects" is generally used to describe this phenomenon of changes in the environment that result from numerous, small-scale alterations.

Caribbean connectivity: implications for Marine Protected Area Management. Proceedings of a Special Symposium, 9-11 November 2006, 59th Annual Meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, Belize City, Belize

Executive Summary: Tropical marine ecosystems in the Caribbean region are inextricably linked through the movement of pollutants, nutrients, diseases, and other stressors, which threaten to further degrade coral reef communities. The magnitude of change that is occurring within the region is considerable, and solutions will require investigating pros and cons of networks of marine protected areas (MPAs), cooperation of neighboring countries, improved understanding of how external stressors degrade local marine resources, and ameliorating those stressors. Connectivity can be broadly defined as the exchange of materials (e.g., nutrients and pollutants), organisms, and genes and can be divided into: 1) genetic or evolutionary connectivity that concerns the exchange of organisms and genes, 2) demographic connectivity, which is the exchange of individuals among local groups, and 3) oceanographic connectivity, which includes flow of materials and circulation patterns and variability that underpin much of all these exchanges. Presently, we understand little about connectivity at specific locations beyond model outputs, and yet we must manage MPAs with connectivity in mind. A key to successful MPA management is how to most effectively work with scientists to acquire the information managers need. Oceanography connectivity is poorly understood, and even less is known about the shape of the dispersal curve for most species. Dispersal kernels differ for various systems, species, and life histories and are likely highly variable in space and time. Furthermore, the implications of different dispersal kernels on population dynamics and management of species is unknown. However, small dispersal kernels are the norm - not the exception. Linking patterns of dispersal to management options is difficult given the present state of knowledge. The behavioral component of larval dispersal has a major impact on where larvae settle. Individual larval behavior and life history details are required to produce meaningful simulations of population connectivity. Biological inputs are critical determinants of dispersal outcomes beyond what can be gleaned from models of passive dispersal. There is considerable temporal and spatial variation to connectivity patterns. New models are increasingly being developed, but these must be validated to understand upstream-downstream neighborhoods, dispersal corridors, stepping stones, and source/sink dynamics. At present, models are mainly useful for providing generalities and generating hypotheses. Low-technology approaches such as drifter vials and oceanographic drogues are useful, affordable options for understanding local connectivity. The “silver bullet” approach to MPA design may not be possible for several reasons. Genetic connectivity studies reveal divergent population genetic structures despite similar larval life histories. Historical stochasticity in reproduction and/or recruitment likely has important, longlasting consequences on present day genetic structure. (PDF has 200 pages.)

Concerted action for successful coastal communities in Tanzania: Lessons from the Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership (TCMP) 2006-2009

The Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership (TCMP) works to implement the National Integrated Coastal Environmental Management Strategy (ICEMS) in Tanzania’s coastal landscapes and seascapes, funded in large measure by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The overarching goal of the Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems in Tanzania (SUCCESS Tanzania) initiative is to conserve coastal and marine biodiversity while improving the well being of coastal residents through implementation of the Tanzania ICEMS and related ICM policies and strategies. It does this by focusing on three key results: -Policies and Laws that Integrate Conservation and Development Applied -Participatory Landscape Scale Conservation Practiced -Conservation Enterprises Generate Increased and Equitable Benefits from Sustainable Use An additional result sought in the program is gender equity and HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors promoted through communicating HIV/AIDS, environment, and equity messages. (PDF contains 3 pages)

River Lune processes. A study of change in the River Lune catchment and recommendations for flood defence management

There has been a perception of increasing river channel instability in north west rivers and the River Lune in particular in recent decades. This has been attributed variously to: (a) long-term trends in precipitation-runoff regime; (b) changes in land-use such as moor-draining and sub-soil draining such that the river is more flashy than previously, and (c) a change in the magnitude-frequency relationships of flow such that high discharges are occurring with increased frequency. Resources are available in the form of rainfall and runoff records, archived information on channel planform, land use statistics and local engineering experience which have not been jointly and fully evaluated. Effective interpretation of the nature of channel change through time with respect to this resource may enhance the Environment Agency's ability to manage the river channel efficiently in the future and will aid the development of effective policy. The results of this study will for the first time, provide robust guidance with respect to long-term channel adjustment and the appropriate management options. The research provides suggestions as to how policy might be developed taking account of other pertinent factors.

Cheshire Meres 1994 November surveys

This is the Cheshire Meres 1994 November surveys report produced by the National Rivers Authority in 1995. The report focuses on some of Cheshire meres, which were showing evidence of increasing eutrophication, commonly due to anthropogenic inputs. Concern for the deterioration of the water quality of still waters has been translated by incorporating these priorities into the NRA North West Regional Environmental Strategy for Stillwaters. The meres were also being investigated as possible polluted waters under the EC Nitrate Directive. The ultimate aim is to formulate lakes management options in order to help preserve North West still waters and minimise future restoration programmes. For such pro-active work to be carried out, sufficient background data must be available. It should then be possible to fully assess the current status of these lakes, identify seasonal trends and detect significant point/diffuse pollution inputs. These surveys were the first of a series, and it was intended to repeat similar surveys in Summer and Autumn 1995, and include a further 20 meres.