Building an Ocean of Information Drop by Drop : realities of a multi-institutional large scale digitization project

An overview of the workflow process the MBLWHOI Library has created through their digitization efforts with the Internet Archive as the part of two consortial projects. This includes some lessons learned as well as future plans to facilitate access. (21 powerpoint slides)

Ownership and co-management: towards the integrated management of Lake Victoria

The management of Lake Victoria is a high priority to the riparian countries that benefit directly from its resources. Management regulations have been formulated and implemented with the aim of maintaining the lake's ecological quality as well as sustaining fisheries exploitation for economic gain. Results indicate, however, that the regulations have not been successful in maintaining the state of the lake's ecosystem nor the fisheries. There has been a continuing decline in fish catches as well as declining biodiversity. Currently, the riparian countries are considering the introduction of a co-management regime as an alternative managerial strategy to address the lake's problems. In this paper it is argued that the failure of the former management regulations was because ownership of the lake was not clearly defined. It is further argued that even if co-management were to be successfully instituted, it will yield very minimal results if the problem of ownership is not properly addressed. This paper explores the ownership status of the lake based on data collected in Tanzania, and examines the relationship between, and significance of, ownership and co-management. The research makes recommendations for how these concepts can contribute to an integrated management of the lake

Fish quality and processing in Malawi: responding to challenges through institutional capacity building

Fish processing and quality control in Malawi are still poorly developed. Traditional fish processing methods are widely employed resulting in considerable post-harvest losses. One of the major challenges to steady and sustainable development in fish processing and quality management is the lack of adequately trained personel. This is directly reflected in poor institutional capacity. This project analyses the situation in fish processing and quality management in Malawi to identify gaps that require improvement. Specifically, the project assesses the role of training institutions in Malawi in capacity building for fish processing and quality management. The institution under discussion in this project is the Aquaculture and Fisheries Science Department at Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi which is responsible for training students in aquaculture and fisheries science at the undergraduate level.Improvement in the teaching of fish processing and quality management in the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Science was identified as the major gap requiring action. The current teaching syllabus was thus analysed to identify weak areas. In conclusion, the project developed (as the major output) a teaching handbook for the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Science.

Institutional, policy and regulatory framework for sustainable development of the Egyptian aquaculture sector

This report presents the findings of a mission to critically review the institutional, policy and regulatory framework for sustainable development of the Egyptian aquaculture sector. The study was undertaken by an International Expert on Aquaculture Policy, and a National Expert on Institutions, on behalf of the Project “Improving Employment and Income through the Development of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector“, implemented by WorldFish and CARE, and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC). The objective of the mission was to assess the current status of the Egyptian aquaculture sector, in terms of the policy, legal and institutional environment, with a view to suggesting the major issues to be addressed within a future policy dialogue.

Institutional support for freshwater aquaculture development: a study of Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, India

The aquaculture sector has been playing an increasingly dominating role in Indian fisheries scenario since the last two and half decades. Introduction of induced breeding and composite fish culture (CFC) technologies has changed the freshwater aquaculture sector in India. Institutional support has been one of the most crucial aspects in all fisheries development programs, more so in the Indian context where most of fish farmers are socially and economically weak. The innovation of CFC technology in freshwater aquaculture sector in the early seventies generated the need for adequate and effective institutional support to farmers. Under the freshwater aquaculture development program, the Fish Farmers Development Agencies (FFDA) have been established at district level to provide technical and extension support to the farming community besides arranging ponds on lease and supply of seeds. In addition to above, FFDAs are also expected to arrange loans from banks and provide subsidies. Thus, FFDAs are meant to provide institutional support to fish farming community in the country. In view of the above, an effort was made to study the adequacy and effectiveness of institutional support provided by the FFDA, Mirzapur for the development of aquaculture in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh {U.P.), India. Study reveals that leasing of ponds for fish farming has been favourable to economically weaker sections of societies while bank loan accessibility is more for those having relatively higher economic status. Though the FFDA, Mirzapur performed well in providing training to potential fish farmers and creating awareness about fish farming, its effectiveness could not be equally seen in seed supply.