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Aquaculture, Fisheries, Poverty and Food Security |
The roles of fisheries and aquaculture in improving poor peoples’ lives are many, varied and inter-connected. But for practical purposes most research and writing tends to focus on one aspect - the importance of fisheries as a source of food for the poor… or the role of aquaculture in providing income. Rarely do we find studies that try to pull all aspects of fisheries, aquaculture and development together and provide recommendations to enhance their contribution. This report by Eddie Allison is a masterful effort to rectify this deficiency and one that I thoroughly recommend to anyone with an interest in how fisheries and aquaculture can make a difference. Stephen Hall, Director General, The WorldFish Center.
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World Fisheries Day 2011 Roundup |
World Fisheries Day - 21st of November. WorldFish supports World Fisheries Day. Many other organizations, countries and individuals also have shown their support for fishing communities around the world, and as such we've compiled a list of stories, articles and media from around the globe. |
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Net benefits |
The recent report by McKinsey and Company 'Design for Sustainable Fisheries' takes some important steps towards meeting the challenge of integrating what we understand about the biology of fished species and the economic behaviour of those who fish. It is vital that we do this if we are to better understand the complexities that drive changes in human pressure on fish stocks and how these stocks respond.
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Sea cucumber ranching improves livelihoods |
An article published by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), reports on the international Asia-Pacific Sea Cucumber Aquaculture Symposium. The meeting brought together researchers, government and community development representatives to discuss the potential and opportunities of commercially cultivating one of the most desirable tropical species of sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, also known as sandfish. ACIAR and the WorldFish Center have been investing in sea cucumber cultivation research in Vietnam, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji and Australia since the mid 1990s. |
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Coral Reef Protection Proposed for UNCSD Agenda |
A new UN report "Protection of coral reefs for sustainable livelihoods and development" analyzes the economic, social and development benefits of coral reef protection in the context of the themes and objectives of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and identifies potential actions needed to protect coral reefs and related ecosystems. |
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The Future of Fish |
Fish are the last wild food, but our oceans are being picked clean. Can farming fish take the place of catching them? Read the full article at Time.com. |
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Blue Frontiers : Managing the environmental costs of aquaculture |
A new and comprehensive analysis released by WorldFish Center and Conservation International (CI) has investigated the environmental impact of the world’s major aquaculture production systems and species, and offers a first-ever global assessment of trends and impacts of cultivated seafood. The report, “Blue Frontiers: Managing the environmental effects of aquaculture”, along with a companion policy recommendations paper, is being released in Bangkok, Thailand at the ASEAN SEAFDEC Conference on “Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security Towards 2020”. |
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Rising Food Prices - Nearly One Billion Go to Bed Hungry |
Commentary by Dr. Stephen Hall, Director General, The WorldFish Center - Achieving any large scale change requires powerful messages about why change is needed. The recent short video by the World Bank on the plight of the poor and the consequences of rising food prices provides such a message - it is well worth watching. The video also offers solutions, among which increased investment in agricultural research features prominently. Fisheries and aquaculture have an important role to play as part of that investment. |
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Assessing the impact of fisheries co-management interventions in developing countries |
Finding out whether the work we and others do really does reduce poverty and hunger as we think it will is essential to guide future efforts. Unless we formally assess and quantify development impact we will miss opportunities to improve and development will be slower. But measuring impact is hard, and rigorous studies are rare. This is especially true in areas such as fisheries management as a recent study by Louisa Evans, Nia Cherret and Diemuth Pemsl on the impacts of Community Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) shows. After looking at 204 published studies, only 29 proved suitable for further analysis. |
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WorldFish Scientists Collaborate on Journal of Great Lakes Research |
A special issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, Lakes and Fisheries of Malawi: Reconciling Livelihoods and Aquatic Ecosystem Resilience, is now available online. A collaborative effort involving WorldFish scientists and the University of Minnesota Duluth, USA, this issue was guest-edited by WorldFish scientists Daniel Jamu and Neil Andrew. Daniel and Neil, along with fellow WorldFish scientist Edward Allison, also contributed to several articles in the journal. |
