This chapter discusses the collection of data on small-scale fisheries in developing countries, the limitations of national data systems and progress in synthesizing collected data.

The majority of the global inland fisheries catch is obtained in developing countries. However, there are severe constraints in collection of information on inland fisheries leading to doubts over the reliability of the available information at the global and regional scales. A major constraint of data collection is the dispersed characteristics of inland fisheries, which cannot be covered by traditional approaches. Sample‐based monitoring of inland fisheries with an appropriate sample frame will improve the present information on inland fisheries. However, it is argued that further rapid improvement of available information can be obtained by providing assessment tools to a global community of practitioners. One such a tool, a combination of databases making use of Google Earth, analysed in a GIS platform and yield modelling is presented and discussed.

No abstract

The floodplain fisheries associated with the Compartmentalization Pilot Project, Tangail, Bangladesh, were monitored using a traditional length‐based fish stock assessment programme from 1992 to 1998. The growth of Colisa fasciatus (Bloch & Schneider) and Channa punctata (Bloch) was significantly higher in years of high floods. Further, the annual yields of Puntius sophore (Hamilton), C. punctata and C. fasciatus were significantly higher in years with high growth rates. The increased growth rate resulted in the presence of two cohorts in the catches during high floods instead of one cohort during years of low flooding. The species studied had relatively short life spans with longevity of 2.4–4.6 years. The majority of fishes did not survive the first year of their lives because of the low survival rate caused by high fishing mortality, which suggests that the fishes in the floodplains of Bangladesh exhibit an annual cycle. Annual fish yields in the flood plains of Bangladesh, appear to be maintained, despite the high fishing effort, by the annual flood pulse providing the nutrient‐rich environment needed for the remaining r‐strategists to survive.

Floodplain fisheries were monitored from 1992 until 2000 in the Compartmentalization Pilot Project in Tangail, Bangladesh. In permanent floodplains about 165 ± 28 kg ha )1 of fish was caught annually. For seasonal floodplains, this figure was 83 ± 23 kg ha )1 yr )1 . The fish catch exhibited a strong seasonal variation, with the highest catch in October, when the floodwater recedes towards the river, and the lowest catch during the dry season in April/May. The annual catch varied with the extent of flooding, with high catches in wet years and low catches in dry years. The extent of flooding was quantified through a Flood Index. Plotting the annual yields against this Flood Index provided a significant relation (P < 0.05), confirming the existence of a flood pulse. The fishing effort (f) and the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) were significantly related (P < 0.05), whereby the fishing effort increased with increasing CPUE. The results are discussed within the frame of fisheries management in Bangladesh and highlight the need for long-term data for proper evaluation of fisheries projects and the development of management schemes, and the difficulty of applying standard surplus production models in floodplain fisheries.