Family fish farming improves quality of life in the Bolivian Amazon

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Pisciculture familiale améliore la qualité de vie en Amazonie bolivienneSpanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Piscicultura familiar mejora la calidad de vida en la Amazonía BolivianaIn the Municipality of Yapacani (a subtropical region in Bolivia) approximately 4,000 rural families live in poverty, mainly due to extreme dependence on single crop rice farming, which is highly vulnerable to changes in the weather and market conditions. The Peces Para la Vida (PPV) project introduced technology for polyculture (integrated, multispecies fish farming), with an emphasis on leadership by women, who have tripled their families’ incomes through fish farming. This successful model centers on family-based productive business units and promotes multi-stakeholder partnerships, which in turn has contributed significantly to local nutrition, and the development of the national fishery sector

Guide for good hygiene and handling practices with fish

Resumen en inglés incluidoEste manual presenta una serie de buenas prácticas que permiten mejorar la manipulación y conservación del pescado. Proporciona consejos prácticos y reglas de higiene fáciles de aplicar por los consumidores y «profesionales del pescado» (pescadores, transportistas, comerciantes) para fomentar el consumo de un producto rico, nutritivo y saludable

Induced breeding in tropical fish culture

Abstracts in French and Spanis

Pesca, la acuicultura y el vivir bien en Bolivia : contribuciones para la seguridad alimentaria

Versión en inglés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Pesca, la acuicultura y el vivir bien en Bolivia : contribuciones para la seguridad alimentariaVersión en francés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Pêches, aquaculture et bien vivre en Bolivie : contributions à la sécurité alimentair

Pêches, aquaculture et bien vivre en Bolivie : contributions à la sécurité alimentaire

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Fisheries, aquaculture and living well in Bolivia : contributions to food securityVersion espagnole disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Pesca, la acuicultura y el vivir bien en Bolivia : contribuciones para la seguridad alimentari

Fisheries, aquaculture and living well in Bolivia : contributions to food security

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Pêches, aquaculture et bien vivre en Bolivie : contributions à la sécurité alimentaireSpanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Pesca, la acuicultura y el vivir bien en Bolivia : contribuciones para la seguridad alimentariaThe sustainable development of aquaculture should include family enterprises as one of its essential components. Research indicates that family-based aquaculture has grown without major subsidies. By developing strategies and actions for the regular provision of quality supplies for the sector as well as training and extension programs at the regional level, the State would demonstrate recognition and support for self-sufficient industry. It is important that the State invests in support to producers. In order to choose an appropriate approach, type and scale of fisheries and/or fish farms that best meet the needs of local populations, consideration of social and economic aspects is a must

Lessons from Urbanized Native Oysters: tips for restoration

The native oyster Ostrea lurida was once very abundant on the west coast of North America, contributing to a long history of indigenous use and a short history of decimation by overfishing during the gold rushes. Since the early 1900s, the species has not managed to recover its historical abundance, and it is of conservation interest in both Canada and the US. However, the Gorge Waterway population of the oysters in the urban core of the Capital Regional District of Southern Vancouver Island, well within the range of exploitation, continues to exist in some of the highest densities recorded amongst extant populations of BC. These include subtidal, shallow-water reefs and intertidal abundances on hard and soft substrates. Five years of study with citizen scientists and NGO researchers has characterized the population, demonstrating strong annual strong recruitment peaks, likely short life spans both intertidally and subtidally, resistance to substantial freshwater exposure, and probably lack of substantial predation. Custom-designed bridge footings were quickly and extensively colonized, but high sediment loads restricted survival of re-located individuals on artificial reefs of Pacific oyster shells. This presentation will present results of annual monitoring of both adults and young recruits, with an assessment of how the population is influenced by the urban environment and its resilience to ongoing stressors. Implications to enhancement of oyster populations in similarly highly turbid estuarine environments is discussed

Tools for Understanding the Complexities of Small-Scale Coastal Fisheries Economies in Northeastern Brazil: Participatory Value Chain Mapping and Economic Feasibility Studies

In developing countries the framework for institutional engagement in small-scale fishing communities needs to consider the regional, social, economic and environmental complexities of informal resource-based economies. The combination of socio-economic trajectory of artisanal fisherfolks, their relationship with the environment, the economic pressures and the public policy framework, which often regarded fishing communities as desolate and in a permanent state of deficiency, resulted in a paradigm that reinforced social exclusion and further degradation of the environment. This context is further aggravated by gender inequalities, which turn the role of fisherwomen in small scale fisheries and community development invisible. Within this negatively charged context, the challenge of fostering a socially just, environmentally sustainable and economically viable livelihood relies on institutional interventions that are able to identify the endogenous potential for change within the community. As such, a community-based development approach aims to build opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement to socially embed the economic and resource-management tools. The paper describes the conceptual framework and the participatory methodology applied by the "Gente da Maré" (The People of the Tide) Project in Brazil. This methodology involves the participatory development of value chain mapping and economic feasibility study towards sustainable livelihoods for small-scale coastal fishing communities. A special focus is placed on the "marisqueiras" – shell fisherwomen that live from the extraction of clams and oysters in coastal communities spread across Brazil‘s North-eastern Region, as well as on the intervening institutions. The paper concludes with reflections on the community-based inter-institutional approach to participatory value chain mapping and economic feasibility studies, the challenges that lay ahead in the application of participatory economic development tools and on future directions for further research

Opportunities and challenges for artesanal fisheries in the Bolivian Amazon

Resumen en portugúes y inglés incluidoLa Amazonía boliviana alberga abundantes recursos pesqueros que representan una fuente importante para la subsistencia familiar y para la generación de ingresos económicos. A pesar de esta condición favorable, los niveles de pobreza en la región son elevados. Las pesquerías de pequeña escala existentes en la región están mal organizadas y vulnerables a varias amenazas incluyendo conflictos entre usuarios por el derecho de uso, la introducción de especies, represas hidroeléctricas y cambios ambientales. En los últimos años, se identificaron y priorizaron algunas estrategias de desarrollo pesquero que tienen el potencial de mejorar sustancialmente los medios de vida y la seguridad alimentaria en la región. Acciones prioritarias son la solución de los cuellos de botella en la cadena de valor de la pesca de pequeña escala, el fortalecimiento de la capacidad de las organizaciones de pescadores y de las instancias públicas para entrar en procesos de co-manejo, y el desarrollo de nuevas opciones para la piscicultura