Which Fishers are Satisfied in the Caribbean? A Comparative Analysis of Job Satisfaction Among Caribbean Lobster Fishers

Lobster fishing (targeting the spiny lobster Panulirus argus) is an important economic activity throughout the Wider Caribbean Region both as a source of income and employment for the local population as well as foreign exchange for national governments. Due to the high unit prices of the product, international lobster trade provides a way to improve the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent populations. The specie harvested is identical throughout the region and end market prices are roughly similar. In this paper we wish to investigate to which extent lobster fishers’ job satisfaction differs in three countries in the Caribbean and how these differences can be explained by looking at the national governance arrangements

Hunting and fishing focus among the Miskito Indians, eastern Nicaragua

The amounts of native animals taken in hunting and fishing by Amerind peoples are almost unknown. The interrelationships of cultural and ecological systems determine to a large extent hunting and fishing returns, focus, and strategies. This study presents data obtained in a coastal Miskito Indian village in eastern Nicaragua. Measurements were made of meat yields by species and of the time and distance inputs involved in securing fish and game. Hunting and fishing focus and strategies are adaptive mechanisms enabling the Miskito to achieve high and dependable returns from a limited number of species. Several factors are examined which influence hunting and fishing focus: dietary preferences and prohibitions, costs involved, differential productivity and dependability of particular species, seasonality and scheduling, and the impact of cash market opportunities for faunal resources. Under the impetus of population growth and rising aspirations, the Miskito's efforts to secure increasing numbers of animals for both subsistence and market are leading to severe pressures on selected species and to cultural and ecological disruptions .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44475/1/10745_2005_Article_BF01791280.pd

Dietary preferences of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) on a tropical reef flat

We offer the first published description of the feeding choices made by juvenile green turtles on a tropical feeding ground, in this case a reef flat environment. We collected 85 lavage samples from 76 turtles and compared the food eaten to the food resources available. Resampling of some individuals enabled us to gain preliminary insights into diet switching by juvenile turtles. The area of the reef flat at Green Island, Queensland, Australia, had similar proportions of coverage by seagrasses (52%) and by algae (48%). Seven species of seagrass and at least 26 species of algae were identified. The dominant seagrasses, on an area basis, were Cymodocea sp. (29.7%), Halodule sp. (11.1%), Thalassia sp. (6.4%) and Syringodium sp. (4.5%). The most dominant algae were Halimeda spp. (10.2%). and Galaxaura sp. (7.25%). Most juvenile green turtles ate primarily seagrass, but some individuals ate predominantly algae. The turtles showed clear preferences for the seagrass Thalassia hemprichii and the algae Gracilaria spp., Gelidiella sp., Hypnea spp. despite their low abundance in many cases. Ways to improve our understanding of preferences and possible diet switching, and potential factors affecting them, are discussed