Report of the PRA carried out at Mwasonge Beach, Tanzania, October 23rd - November 3rd, 2000

This paper comprises part of the so-called "3-beaches Survey" of the LVFRP. In Tanzania, this study has developed to examine two landing sites (Mwasonge and Ihale), and to chart the progress of the newly established Beach Management Units (BMU) at each beach, comparing one BMU against the other. The over-arching objective of this survey was to develop an understanding of the context in which Mwasonge's fishery exists. The study does so by examining the community's history, culture and beliefs, various other socio-cultural factors, their resources, society and economy, wealth and the community's perceptions of wealth. Importantly, the survey examines the community's institutions and its perceptions of fishing rules and changes within the fishery. All of these facets of community life are examined with the use of participatory Rural Appraisal tools, and the images that the study generated are reproduced herein.

Mechanics of sediment transport and bedrock erosion in steep landscapes

Erosion is concentrated in steep landscapes such that, despite accounting for only a small fraction of Earth’s total surface area, these areas regulate the flux of sediment to downstream basins, and their rugged morphology records transient changes (or lack thereof) in geologic and climatic forcing. Steep landscapes are geomorphically active; large sediment fluxes and rapid landscape evolution rates can create or destroy habitat for humans and wildlife alike, and landslides, debris flows, and floods common in mountainous areas represent a persistent natural and structural hazard. Despite the central role that steep landscapes play in the geosciences and in landscape management, the processes controlling their evolution have been poorly studied compared to lower-gradient areas. This thesis focuses on the basic mechanics of sediment transport and bedrock incision in steep landscapes, as these are the fundamental processes which set the pace and style of landscape evolution. Chapter 1 examines the spatial distribution of slow-moving landslides; these landslides can dominate sediment fluxes to river networks, but the controls on their occurrence are poorly understood. Using a case-study along the San Andreas Fault, California, I show that slow-moving landslides preferentially occur near the fault, suggesting a rock-strength control on landslide distribution. Chapter 2 provides the first field-measurements of incipient sediment motion in streams steeper than 14% and shows a large influence of slope-dependent flow hydraulics and grain-scale roughness on particle motion. Chapter 3 presents experimental evidence for bedrock erosion by suspended sediment, suggesting that, in contrast to prevailing theoretical predictions, suspension-regime transport in steep streams can be the dominant erosion agent. Steep streams are often characterized by the presence of waterfalls and bedrock steps which can have locally high rates of erosion; Chapters 4 and 5 present newly developed, experimentally validated theory on sediment transport through and bedrock erosion in waterfall plunge pools. Finally, Chapter 6 explores the formation of a bedrock slot canyon where interactions between sediment transport and bedrock incision lead to the formation of upstream-propagating bedrock step-pools and waterfalls.

Co-management of beach seine fisheries in Mozambique: a case study

In Mozambique, compliance with regulations in beach seines fishery is improved when the fishers themselves choose the season the government will declare closed. Beneficial side effects of co-management include a stronger sense of community and individual responsibility toward the common good. This article reports on a case study of fisheries co-management in the community of Inhassoro in the northern part of the province of Inhambane, about 800 km north of the capital of Mozambique, Maputo.

Fishery Management and Local Communities: The Case of Madeira Beach, Florida

This paper uses an industrial organization approach to trace the impact on Madeira Beach, Fla., and surrounding areas of a 1-month closure of the grouper fishery from 15 February 2001 to 15 March 2001. A proposed 2-month closure is also evaluated. This approach identifies the economic relationships in the industry based on both product and place. The empirical analysis measures the losses in employment and income, information that enriches social and anthropological research on fishery-dependent communities. The 1-month closure is estimated to have reduced annual catches landed in Madeira Beach by 9.7–10.1% and annual revenues by 9.3–11.5%. These reductions are associated with a direct loss of about 33 full-time (annualized) jobs and personal income losses between $8 and 12 million in Madeira Beach and Pinellas County over a 10-year period. If the closure occurs for 2 months, annual landings and revenues will be reduced an estimated 17–21% and 20–23%, respectively.

Local distribution and abundance of swimming crabs (Callinectes spp. and Arenaeus cribrarius) on a tropical arid beach

Distribution, abundance, and several population features were studied in Ensenada de La Vela (Venezuela) between 1993 and 1998 as a first step in the assessment of local fisheries of swimming crabs. Arenaeus cribrarius was the most abundant species at the marine foreshore. Callinectes danae prevailed at the estuarine location. Callinectes bocourti was the most abundant species at the offshore. Abundances of A. cribrarius and C. danae fluctuated widely and randomly. Ovigerous females were almost absent. Adults of several species were smaller than previously reported. This study suggests that fisheries based on these swimming crabs probably will be restricted to an artisanal level because abundances appear too low to support industrial exploitation.

Textural and compositional variations in beach sands along Karachi coast

The texture of clastic sediments is a fairly reliable index of the erosional history and energy conditions of the depositional environment, while its mineralogy reflects the composition of the source rocks. The beach sands of Clifton, Sandspit, Hawkesbay and Paradise Point were studied to determine their erosional history, depositional environment and their source

Ceylon's beach seine fishery

Setting a net in the water and hauling it up onto the beach manually by its two ends is one of the oldest methods of catching fish and it is still employed in several parts of the world: Ceylon is one of these. Here there are several hundreds of beach seines operated by several thousands of fishermen and they contribute 35-40% of Ceylon's total annual fish catch. This means that beach seining been and still is Ceylon's most important single method of fishing. In recent years the beach seine fishery has encountered difficulties which threaten its existence and the seiners have appealed repeatedly to the Department of Fisheries to undertake remedial action. There have been many and conflicting representations as to what this action should be, and the Department is seeking for a wise course through the confusion. As part of its search it asked its Research Division in April 1953, to undertake a study of the seine fishery to describe it, study the nature of its problems and to present any recommendations that seemed appropriate and consistent with the welfare of the fishing industry as a whole. The following is a report on the preliminary phases of that study.

Status of the beach seine fishery in the Hambantota District during 1995-97

Beach seine fishery is one of the oldest fishing methods practiced in Sri Lanka. In the recent past several modifications were observed in the structure of the net and the material used in the construction of nets. beach seine nets made of nylon material were also reported at 4 operating sites out of 17-beach seine landing centers in the Hambantota District. However, traditional beach seine nets made of coir and kuralon were the common nets used in the area. Fishing season extends from September to April of the following year. However, beach seining at Mawella was carried out throughout the year. The estimated average annual effort for the entire study area was about 4250 operations. The mean annual catch rate at Mawella, Kalametiya and Welipatanwila were estimated as 81.8, 290.7, and 167.3 kg/operation respectively. The mean annual catch rate for the entire study area was estimated as 157.3 kg/operation. The beach seines recorded an estimated annual production of 662mt in the Hambantota district. Stoleophorous sp. has made the major contribution to the beach seine catches and it was about 31.7% of the total beach seine production. Leiognathus sp. Carangids and Trichuras sp. have produced 11.5%, 9.5% and 8.5% respectively while Amblygaster sirm and other Sardinella sp. have produced 5.5% and 4.9% respectively. A sirm was found during the months of November, February, March and July. The size range of A. sirm caught by beach seine during February –March period was in the range of 5-12cm (total length). Contribution by Rastrelliger sp. and Sphyreana sp. were 2.9% and 2.6% by each category. Average income of a beach seine operation at Mawella, Kalametiya and Welipatanwila were Rs. 3330/=, 10250/= and 6222/= per operation respectively.