Distance from a fishing community explains fish abundance in a no-take zone with weak compliance

There are numerous examples of no-take marine reserves effectively conserving fish stocks within their boundaries. However, no-take reserves can be rendered ineffective and turned into ‘paper parks’ through poor compliance and weak enforcement of reserve regulations. Long-term monitoring is thus essential to assess the effectiveness of marine reserves in meeting conservation and management objectives. This study documents the present state of the 15-year old no-take zone (NTZ) of South El Ghargana within the Nabq Managed Resource Protected Area, South Sinai, Egyptian Red Sea. Previous studies credited willing compliance by the local fishing community for the increased abundances of targeted fish within the designated NTZ boundaries compared to adjacent fished or take-zones. We compared benthic habitat and fish abundance within the NTZ and the adjacent take sites open to fishing, but found no significant effect of the reserve. Instead, the strongest evidence was for a simple negative relationship between fishing pressure and distance from the closest fishing village. The abundance of targeted piscivorous fish increased significantly with increasing distance from the village, while herbivorous fish showed the opposite trend. This gradient was supported by a corresponding negative correlation between the amount of discarded fishing gear observed on the reef and increasing distance from the village. Discarded fishing gear within the NTZ suggested decreased compliance with the no-take regulations. Our findings indicate that due to non-compliance the no-take reserve is no longer functioning effectively, despite its apparent initial successes and instead a gradient of fishing pressure exists with distance from the nearest fishing community

Preliminary lessons from COVID-19 disruptions of small-scale fishery supply chains

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation measures have disrupted global systems that support the health, food and nutrition security, and livelihoods of billions of people. These disruptions have likewise affected the small-scale fishery (SSF) sector, disrupting SSF supply chains and exposing weaknesses in the global seafood distribution system. To inform future development of adaptive capacity and resilience in the sector, it is important to understand how supply chain actors are responding in the face of a macroeconomic shock. Comparing across seven SSF case studies in four countries, we explore how actors are responding to COVID-19 disruptions, identify constraints to adaptive responses, and describe patterns of disruption and response across cases. In all cases examined, actors shifted focus to local and regional distribution channels and particularly drew on flexibility, organization, and learning to re-purpose pre-existing networks and use technology to their advantage. Key constraints to reaching domestic consumers included domestic restrictions on movement and labor, reduced spending power amongst domestic consumers, and lack of existing distribution channels. In addition, the lack of recognition of SSFs as essential food-producers and inequities in access to technology hampered efforts to continue local seafood supply. We suggest that the initial impacts from COVID-19 highlight the risks in of over-reliance on global trade networks. The SSFs that were able to change strategies most successfully had local organizations and connections in place that they leveraged in innovative ways. As such, supporting local and domestic networks and flexible organizations within the supply chain may help build resilience in the face of future macroeconomic shocks. Importantly, bolstering financial wellbeing and security within the domestic market both before and during such large-scale disruptions is crucial for supporting ongoing supply chain operations and continued food provision during macroeconomic crises

American Seafood Harvesters Marketing Practices Survey Fact Sheets

The 2023 American Seafood Harvesters Marketing Practices Survey is the first-ever national assessment of the direct seafood sector. The survey aims to fill a gap in our understanding of the domestic seafood market in the US and bring greater focus to the socioeconomic contributions of seafood in the nation’s local and regional food systems

How commoditization and cross-cultural values influence the sustainability of small-scale fisheries in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Globalization, notably through the international seafood trade and commoditization of marine resources, impacts the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and fisher livelihoods. Foremost amongst these impacts are changes in how fishing communities relate to and value marine resources and ecosystems. This dissertation explores the impacts of global seafood markets on the values of four cultural groups involved in fisheries in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI), India. The main aim of this research is to understand how cultural differences, settlement history, market accessibility, and involvement in fishing affect the values that communities ascribe to marine resources and the social-ecological sustainability of those interactions. The multicultural and historically complex nature of fisheries in the ANI provides a unique opportunity to study the variation in market integration and values ascribed to marine resources across different communities, space, and time. The socio-economic and socio-cultural values of four cultural groups that engage in small-scale fishing in the ANI underpin this research. Fish commoditization was examined through the names that respondents from various cultural groups used for commercially important marine species, with commoditized names being more likely to be used than vernacular names by individuals belonging to groups that settled more recently or that had more experience fishing or selling fish. While market access did not influence the likelihood of using commoditized names, shifts in economic value have adversely impacted the livelihoods and food security of certain cultural groups in the ANI. The value landscapes of the cultural groups in the ANI vary with settlement history, gender, occupation, and age. The fisheries that cultural groups engage in, here termed “cultural fisheries,” are influenced by their values, which in turn influence their fishing practices and sustainability. A Rapfish analysis modified for cultural fisheries found that indigenous subsistence fisheries are more sustainable than commercial fisheries in the ANI. The insights from this value-based research are synthesized as policy implications and recommendations for fisheries scientists, managers, and policymakers, as well as social-ecological advice for local communities.Science, Faculty ofResources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute forGraduat

Mechanisms of Pacific oyster summer mortality

A systematic review and meta-analysis of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, summer mortalit

Fact Sheet 4: Economics of Direct Seafood Sales

This document describes economic aspects of direct seafood sales and is the fourth fact sheet highlighting findings from the American Seafood Harvesters Marketing Practices Surve

An overview of fish fauna of Raigad District, northern Western Ghats, India

We studied the fish fauna of Raigad District for two years from August 2008 to August 2010. Sixty six freshwater and secondary freshwater fish species belonging to 31 families and 53 genera were collected from various sampling sites and local markets along the banks of Patalganga, Bhogawati, Amba, Kundalika, Mandad and Savitri river systems present in Raigad District, Maharashtra, northern Western Ghats. Cyprinids were the most dominant group represented by 22 fish species belonging to 13 genera followed by the loaches, croakers and gobies belonging to the family Balitoridae, Sciaenidae and Gobiidae respectively (three species from each family). Of the 66 fish species, five belong to the Vulnerable (VU), four to Near Threatened (NT), 37 to the Least Concern (LC) category and 20 were found to be not evaluated for IUCN Red List criteria. Raigad District is under severe threat of rapid industrialization and urbanization. Further, introduced exotic fish species are becoming a major threat to the indigenous fish fauna of Raigad District. Implementation of ecosystem based adaptation plans and conservation measures are necessary to protect the diverse, endemic and threatened fish fauna of Raigad District

ASHMPS Fact Sheet 2: Marketing Strategies

This document describes popular direct seafood marketing strategies in the US and is the second in a series of four that highlight findings from the American Seafood Harvesters Marketing Practices Survey

History, culture, infrastructure and export markets shape fisheries and reef accessibility in India's contrasting oceanic islands

Islands offer unique model systems for studying fisheries development in relation to the growing global seafood trade. This study examines how export-driven fisheries in India's oceanic islands (Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands) differ significantly as a result of their varied history, culture, available infrastructure and market access. Despite being geographically closer to export centres on the Indian mainland, processing and transport infrastructure in the Lakshadweep Islands are limited. This only allows for the trade of non-perishable commodities like dried tuna that are caught using traditional pole-and-line fishing techniques, restricting reef exploitation to local preference-based consumption and opportunistic export. The Andaman Islands, on the other hand, with multiple daily flight connections and large private and government processing facilities, are better connected to export markets. The relatively recent and multicultural fisheries of these islands supply marine commodity chains for reef fishery goods such as dried shark fins, frozen snapper fillets and chilled groupers. The Nicobar Islands are furthest away from mainland export centres and are mostly populated by indigenous communities - fishing here is mostly for subsistence and local sale. Revised estimates of travel times to export market centres are counterintuitive in terms of geographical distances and are significantly different from travel times to local markets