Managing the marine aquarium trade: is eco-certification the answer?

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
CRAIG S. SHUMAN ◽  
GREGOR HODGSON ◽  
RICHARD F. AMBROSE
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Certification Programme ◽  
Catch Composition

Global trade in marine ornamental species includes numerous countries; however, 80% of the trade involves exports from the Philippines and Indonesia to the USA. The worldwide import value of marine ornamentals is estimated at US$ 200–330 million annually. Recent concern regarding sustainability and environmental impacts on coral reefs where collection occurs has spurred debate as to how best to monitor, manage and regulate the industry. A certification programme proposed by the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) has the potential to manage the trade efficiently by minimizing environmental impacts, thus continuing this important source of income for impoverished coastal villagers. The MAC Ecosystem and Fishery Management (EFM) Standard was established to protect fish stocks from overexploitation and will be the most difficult component of the certification programme to implement. Prerequisites for successful EFM in developing nations are local control over fisheries and accurate records to monitor catch. Collector logs were found to be a useful tool to monitor both catch per unit effort (CPUE) and catch composition from collection areas in the Philippines. Comparison of catch composition in two distinct regions of the Philippines indicated that one site was severely overfished while the other was moderately overfished. The Collection Area Management Plan required by the MAC certification programme, combined with the current legal framework in the Philippines allowing for local jurisdiction of reef resources, has the potential to prevent further overfishing in the latter region. Until sufficient ecological data can be obtained, CPUE can provide an effective means to monitor and manage the fishery within the framework of the MAC certification programme. Despite effective management plans in source nations, legislation in receiving nations may be required to help stimulate a strong market demand for certified ornamentals if the MAC certification programme is to be successful.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Advisory Committees ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Flexible Management ◽  
Water Uses

<em>Abstract</em>.—Effective means to directly engage the public in determining reservoir fishery management objectives and strategies is a common challenge to managers. This paper examines the experiences and lessons acquired from three separate situations in which citizen advisory committees were used to assist fishery management biologists in resolving conflicts and setting management objectives for three lakes in Arkansas. Benefits included a better understanding on both the part of anglers and agency biologists of their respective motivations and preferences, a greater sense of shared ownership of solutions, and a well-defined but flexible management plan. The effectiveness of citizen advisory committees was challenged by dissent and mistrust among advisory committee members, failure of committee members to communicate management plans outside the committee proper, political intervention, and the threat to agency credibility if the agreed plans fail to be implemented. Citizen advisory committees can be an effective tool for crafting reservoir fishery management plans.

Species Diversity, Abundance and Habitat Distribution of Anurans in Mts. Palay-Palay Mataas-Na-Gulod Protected Landscape, Luzon Island, Philippines

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
New Records ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Sampling Time ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Transect Sampling ◽  
Total Species ◽  
Effective Conservation

Mt. Palay-Palay is Cavite’s only protected landscape and yet very few herpetological studies have been done in this area. Thus, the study aims to provide robust ecological data on different anuran species so that an effective conservation and management plan could be formulated. Five habitats were sampled using a combination of cruising transect, stratified random strip transect sampling, time-constrained searches, visual encounter survey (VES) and acoustic encounter survey (AES). A total of 1528 individuals belonging to 12 species was recorded from the study area. In addition to previous works, 2 Platymantis spp. were new records bringing the total species richness to 16. Of the 16 species, 10 (62.5%) are endemic to the Philippines. Among the species, Platymantis mimulus was the most abundant and also had the highest density of 174 frogs ha-1. Among the habitats riparian forests had highest species diversity, Mau Tao and Jackknife1 values which showed dependence of anurans on water. Of the 17 microhabitats, forest floor litter was the most occupied by anurans.

scholarly journals Design and Operation of “Siklob”, a Mechanised Falling Gear Operated in Northern Iloilo, Philippines

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN JAMES MORALES ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mesh Size ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Gear Design ◽  
Fine Mesh ◽  
Sardinella Gibbosa ◽  
Commercially Important

Fisheries in the Philippines is multispecies, and this is seen with the wide variety of fishing gears used in major and minor fishing grounds in the country. These gears constantly face modification and development to improve catch quality, quantity, and overall efficiency. This study investigated the features of “siklob”, a mechanised falling gear operated along the municipal waters of Northern Iloilo, Philippines. Some coastal residents claimed that fishers use fine mesh nets for this gear, and this was because of some incidences of the capture of very small fish. Results of this study, however, indicate that the mesh size of nettings used for “siklob” is 4.35 cm, which is above the minimum set by the national law (3 cm). The gear is operated offshore, in a fishing vessel, with lights and fish-finding devices. The catch included an array of pelagic to benthic species, with Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker, 1849) as the top species. The catch per unit effort values for two fishing operations were 17.40 kg.cast-1 and 16.5 kg.cast-1, respectively. If a management plan for the gear is to be implemented in the area, it would be necessary first to study the spawning seasons of commercially important species and impose closed fishing seasons. Before any attempt to ban or control the use of the gear, it is necessary first to understand the gear design, performance, and selectivity.

scholarly journals Ecological and socio-economic assessment of Kenyan coastal fisheries: the case of Malindi-Ungwana Bay artisanal fisheries versus semi-industrial bottom trawling

Afrika Focus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-164
Author(s):  
Cosmas Nzaka Munga ◽  
Edward Kimani ◽  
Ann Vanreusel
Keyword(s):  
Fishery Management ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Bottom Trawling ◽  
Shrimp Fishery ◽  
Fisheries Resources

This study explores and describes the status of the fisheries resources in the Malindi-Ungwana Bay, Kenya. In addition to shrimp bottom trawling, the bay also supports a variety of artisanal fishing techniques with associated resource-use conflict experienced for quite some time until a ban on bottom trawling was imposed. This study therefore, focuses on a before and after the trawling ban effect on shrimp populations and finfish bycatch distribution and abundance, and the characterisation of artisanal finfish catches in terms of catch composition, catch-per-unit-effort, and mean trophic level by vessel-gear categories. Apart from providing the current status of exploitation level of the fisheries resources, the scientific information generated from this study is also useful for the revision of the shrimp fishery management plan that was formulated with inadequate scientific and background information during the six year bottom trawling ban in the bay.

Fish and invertebrate by-catch in the crab pot fishery in the Isle of Man, Irish Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 2099-2111
Author(s):  
Fikret Öndes ◽  
Michel J. Kaiser ◽  
Lee G. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Irish Sea ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Isle Of Man ◽  
Ecosystem Effects ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Catch Rates ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Catch Composition ◽  
Autumn And Winter

Baited trap or pot fisheries are considered to have relatively few wider ecosystem effects on the marine environment, particularly when compared with towed mobile fishing gear. However, this assumption is rarely tested in the field. This study aimed to determine the composition of non-target species that occur in crustacean pots and to assess spatial and temporal differences in catches in the waters around the Isle of Man, Irish Sea. The data were collected using fishery independent surveys and a questionnaire study. Based on fishery independent surveys, a total of five taxonomic groups and 43 species occurred as by-catch. The dominant by-catch species was velvet crab Necora puber. The by-catch per unit effort (BPUE) for all of the non-target species was low particularly in comparison to towed bottom gear fisheries around the Isle of Man. BPUE of species composition varied considerably between different locations around the Isle of Man. The results of both the fishery independent and questionnaire data suggested that the by-catch rates varied with season with peak BPUE occurring in spring which then declined into autumn and winter. By-catch composition did not decrease significantly with an increasing target species catch. Overall, by-catch was low relative to target species catch which may be partially attributable to the use of escape panels in pot fisheries in the Isle of Man.

Understanding ‘Source’ and ‘Purpose’ in Processes of Democratic Change: Insights from the Philippines and Thailand

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Hutchcroft
Keyword(s):  
Effective Means ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Democratic Change ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Formal Establishment

AbstractPrevious decades' celebrations of the triumph of democracy were frequently based on mainstream analyses that displayed two major theoretical problems. First, conceptualisations of democracy based on ‘minimal pre-conditions’ commonly conflated the formal establishment ofdemocratic structureswith the far more complex and historically challenging creation ofsubstantive democracy. Second, a deductive and generally ahistorical model asserting fixed stages of ‘democratic transition’ diverted attention from deeper and more substantive examination ofstruggles for power among social forces within specific historical contexts. By adhering to minimalist conceptions of democracy and simplistic models of democratic change, mainstream analysts quite often chose to overlook many underlying limitations and shortcomings of the democratic structures they were so keen to celebrate. Given more recent concerns over ‘authoritarian undertow’, those with the normative goal of deepening democracy must begin by deepening scholarly conceptualisations of the complex nature of democratic change. This analysis urges attention to the ‘source’ and ‘purpose’ of democracy. What were the goals of those who established democratic structures, and to what extent did these goals correspond to the ideals of democracy? In many cases throughout the world, ‘democracy’ has been used as a convenient and very effective means for both cloaking and legitimising a broad set of political, social, and economic inequalities. The need for deeper analysis is highlighted through attention to the historical character of democratic structures in the Philippines and Thailand, with particular attention to the sources and purposes of ‘democracy’ amid on-going struggles for power among social forces. In both countries, albeit coming forth from very different historical circumstances, democratic structures have been continually undermined by those with little commitment to the democratic ideal: oligarchic dominance in the Philippines, and military/bureaucratic/monarchic dominance in Thailand. Each country possesses its own set of challenges and opportunities for genuine democratic change, as those who seek to undermine elite hegemony and promote popular accountability operate in very different socio-economic and institutional contexts. Efforts to promote substantive democracy in each setting, therefore, must begin with careful historical analysis of the particular challenges that need to be addressed.

scholarly journals Changes in the catch composition of artisanal fisheries attributable to dolphin depredation in a Mediterranean marine reserve

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Rocklin ◽  
Marie-Catherine Santoni ◽  
Jean-Michel Culioli ◽  
Jean-Antoine Tomasini ◽  
Dominique Pelletier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Artisanal Fisheries ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Natural Reserve ◽  
Catch Composition ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Fish ◽  
Fishing Area ◽  
Fish Avoidance

AbstractRocklin, D., Santoni, M-C., Culioli, J-M., Tomasini, J-A., Pelletier, D., and Mouillot, D. 2009. Changes in the catch composition of artisanal fisheries attributable to dolphin depredation in a Mediterranean marine reserve. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 699–707. There is increasing evidence from previous studies, and from fishers’ observations, that coastal dolphins use fishing nets as an easily accessible feeding source, damaging or depredating fish caught in the nets. This study investigates the impact of dolphin depredation on artisanal trammelnets by analysing the catch composition of 614 artisanal fishing operations in the Bonifacio Strait Natural Reserve (France). Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) attacked, on average, 12.4% of the nets and damaged 8.3% of the catch. However, attacked nets were characterized by statistically significantly higher catch per unit effort than unattacked ones. Catch composition also differed significantly after dolphin attacks; bentho-pelagic fish were more represented and reef-associated fish less represented. Our results suggest that (i) dolphins are attracted by high fish densities in the fishing area and/or nets, and (ii) their attacks induce specific fish-avoidance behaviour, according to the fish position in the water column. Although dolphins depredate a small part of the catch, damage to nets, not yet assessed in this area, could weaken the benefits that reserves can provide to artisanal fisheries.

Aspects of the fishery, maturation and net selectivity of the wedge sole (Dicologoglossa cuneata) off south-western Iberia: implications for fishery management

2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 1465-1474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Neves Santos ◽  
Pedro Gil Lino
Keyword(s):  
Fishery Management ◽  
River Mouth ◽  
Mesh Size ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
Catch Rates ◽  
Log Normal ◽  
First Maturity

The wedge sole (Dicologoglossa cuneata, Moreau 1881) is a commercially important species for the artisanal fleet operating off the south-western Iberian Peninsula. During 2004 and 2005 a study was undertaken aiming to provide a scientific basis for management. Data collection included information on aspects of the fishery, spawning season, size at first maturity, tangle and gill-net selectivity. Seven nominal mesh sizes were used (40, 45 and 50 mm tangle nets and 40, 50, 60 and 70 mm gill-nets). Spawning lasts from December to June, with peaks in March and May. Length at first maturity for females was estimated at 18.5 cm. Catch rates decreased sharply with increasing mesh size, with tangle nets providing the highest yields. The log-normal selectivity model provided the best fit for specimens that were wedged. The higher catch-per-unit-effort of the smaller mesh sizes and the modal length of the fitted selectivity curve being below the size-at-maturity for wedge sole, suggests that the 50 mm nominal mesh size tangle net is the most appropriate for ensuring the fishery sustainability. Nevertheless, the minimum legal size should increase to at least 18 cm and a time–area closure should be implemented off the Guadiana River mouth.

scholarly journals Experimental evaluation of influence of FADs on community structure and fisheries in coastal Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel K. Mbaru ◽  
Dorcas Sigana ◽  
Renison K. Ruwa ◽  
Elizabeth M. Mueni ◽  
Collins K. Ndoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
Catch Composition ◽  
Structural Indices ◽  
Fish Aggregating Devices

Fish aggregating devices (FADs) have been widely used by commercial fisheries to increase the catchability of pelagic stocks in the open sea. FADs have the potential to enhance nearshore small-scale fisheries where stocks are often overfished. This study examined changes in catch composition, abundance, catch and effort, and aspects of diversity in Kenya's nearshore coastal fisheries after deployment of anchored fish aggregating devices (AFADs). The study combined both fishery independent and dependent methods in assessing changes in fish assemblages post-deployment. Results showed orders of magnitude increase in length, weight, commercial value, and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of landed catch after deployment of FADs suggesting that FADs had a positive effect on the local fishery. Species richness at FAD sites increased post-deployment (n = 281) compared to pre-deployment values (n = 223). Simultaneous use of several complementary structural indices may be required in order to accurately describe and monitor fish assemblages around the FADs. The findings suggest that AFADs are capable of creating both short and long-term impacts on livelihoods, with the potential to deflect pressure on the overfished nearshore fish stocks. However, more research will be needed on redistribution of fish around FADs, design and placement configuration, and site selection amongst others.

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