Ecosystem approach to inland fisheries: research needs and implementation strategies

Beard, T. Douglas; Arlinghaus, Robert; Cooke, Steven J.; McIntyre, Peter B.; Silva, Sena De; Bartley, D. M.; Cowx, I. G.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0046

Cited by 148 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

126

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Recent plans to dam the mainstream Mekong River, despite an estimated loss of US $ 274 billion of ecosystem services, demonstrate that political decisions sometimes trump arguments based on value of river fish as an ecosystem good (Dugan et al 2010, Costanza et al 2011. Thus, lack of knowledge and appreciation of the ecosystem services provided by river fish is a significant challenge to their conservation (Beard et al 2011).…”

Section: Limited Understanding Of the Ecosystem Services Provided By mentioning

confidence: 99%

Endangered river fish: factors hindering conservation and restoration

Cooke¹,

Paukert²,

Hogan³

2012

Endang. Species. Res.

166

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Globally, riverine fish face many anthropogenic threats including riparian and flood plain habitat degradation, altered hydrology, migration barriers, fisheries exploitation, environmental (climate) change, and introduction of invasive species. Collectively, these threats have made riverine fishes some of the most threatened taxa on the planet. Although much effort has been devoted to identifying the threats faced by river fish, there has been less effort devoted to identifying the factors that may hinder our ability to conserve and restore river fish populations and their watersheds. Therefore, we focus our efforts on identifying and discussing 10 general factors (can also be viewed as research and implementation needs) that constrain or hinder effective conservation action for endangered river fish: (1) limited basic natural history information; (2) limited appreciation for the scale/extent of migrations and the level of connectivity needed to sustain populations; (3) limited understanding of fish/river-flow relationships; (4) limited understanding of the seasonal aspects of river fish biology, particularly during winter and/or wet seasons; (5) challenges in predicting the response of river fish and river ecosystems to both environmental change and various restoration or management actions; (6) limited understanding of the ecosystem services provided by river fish; (7) the inherent difficulty in studying river fish; (8) limited understanding of the human dimension of river fish conservation and management; (9) limitations of single species approaches that often fail to address the broader-scale problems; and (10) limited effectiveness of governance structures that address endangered river fish populations and rivers that cross multiple jurisdictions. We suggest that these issues may need to be addressed to help protect, restore, or conserve river fish globally, particularly those that are endangered.

show abstract

Section: Limited Understanding Of the Ecosystem Services Provided By mentioning

confidence: 99%

Endangered river fish: factors hindering conservation and restoration

Cooke¹,

Paukert²,

Hogan³

2012

Endang. Species. Res.

166

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Power is sometimes strengthened by being shared." In the same vein, though much rarer in practice, so-called "win-win" scenarios (see Beard et al 2011, Lynch et al 2016a) can be regarded as promoting this synergistic function of power, insofar as they are conceived in recognition of power dynamics and do not simply serve an apolitical and neutral prescription akin to a straightforward technical-administrative solution, e.g., a "panacea." https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss2/art17/ The trend of inland fisheries research reflects the broader domain of fisheries and water resource research, in which power remains an undertreated topic (Visseren-Hamakers 2015, Weitz et al 2017).…”

Section: Power Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…beyond fishing activities) (FAO 1997, Cowx 2002, Beard et al 2011. Important societal needs such as drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, power generation, navigation, and effluent disposal all rely on the waterbodies in which inland fisheries are also based.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intersectorality in the governance of inland fisheries

Song¹,

Bower²,

Onyango³

et al. 2018

E&S

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. One of the defining characteristics of inland fisheries is that they are closely impacted by other essential human activities that rely on the same fresh or brackish water ecosystems, such as hydroelectricity generation and irrigated agriculture. Starting with the premise that an understanding of fisheries' interactions with these external sectors is in itself critical for achieving sustainability of the fisheries, this paper explores the topic of intersectoral governance and outlines an approach to analyzing the intricate and often challenging sector relationships. By drawing on examples of inland fisheries from around the world, the paper proposes four broad discursive mechanisms that can structure the study of the intersectoral dynamics, i.e., system characterization, valuation, power relations, and vertical policy interaction. A synthesis model then demonstrates their interwoven nature, revealing the way each mechanism influences one another as together they shape overall outcomes. It is apparent that analyses often need to be combined to advance more rigorous (and transdisciplinary) science and also inform appropriate courses for the governance of inland fisheries. Given the typically marginal position of fisheries in inland water-use discussions, we call for a more systematic understanding of intersectoral interactions to enhance the sector's resilience within the wider society and subsequently contribute to integrated governance of waterbodies.

show abstract

“…There is also growing concern that underestimating the contribution of freshwater fisheries to food security leads to discounting them in resource management decisions (10,12,23). Even in regions where the nutritional importance of freshwater fisheries is well appreciated by local and national governments, catch statistics are often underestimates by a factor of 2 or more (8,23) to say nothing of the employment and commerce derived from these fisheries (7,8).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the coarse spatial resolution of the available statistics on freshwater fisheries (6) has precluded rigorous assessment of their environmental influences, extrinsic stressors, and nutritional importance. As a result, inland catches have been overlooked in most global fishery analyses despite evidence that rivers and lakes are a vital source of local protein (7,8) that would be difficult to replace (9,10).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking freshwater fishery management to global food security and biodiversity conservation

McIntyre

Liermann

Revenga

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

221

185

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fisheries are an essential ecosystem service, but catches from freshwaters are often overlooked. Hundreds of millions of people around the world benefit from low-cost protein, recreation, and commerce provided by freshwater fisheries, particularly in regions where alternative sources of nutrition and employment are scarce. Here, we derive a gridded global map of riverine fisheries and assess its implications for biodiversity conservation, fishery sustainability, and food security. Catches increase with river discharge and human population density, and 90% of global catch comes from river basins with above-average stress levels. Fish richness and catches are positively but not causally correlated, revealing that fishing pressure is most intense in rivers where potential impacts on biodiversity are highest. Merging our catch analysis with nutritional and socioeconomic data, we find that freshwater fisheries provide the equivalent of all dietary animal protein for 158 million people. Poor and undernourished populations are particularly reliant on inland fisheries compared with marine or aquaculture sources. The spatial coincidence of productive freshwater fisheries and low food security highlights the critical role of rivers and lakes in providing locally sourced, low-cost protein. At the same time, intensive fishing in regions where rivers are already degraded by other stressors may undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity. This syndrome of poverty, nutritional deficiency, fishery dependence, and extrinsic threats to biodiverse river ecosystems underscores the high stakes for improving fishery management. Our enhanced spatial data on estimated catches can facilitate the inclusion of inland fisheries in environmental planning to protect both food security and species diversity.

show abstract

Ecosystem approach to inland fisheries: research needs and implementation strategies

Cited by 148 publications

References 7 publications

Endangered river fish: factors hindering conservation and restoration

Endangered river fish: factors hindering conservation and restoration

Intersectorality in the governance of inland fisheries

Linking freshwater fishery management to global food security and biodiversity conservation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About