The contribution of nearshore fish aggregating devices (FADs) to food security and livelihoods in Solomon Islands

Fish aggregating devices, or FADs, are used widely in developing countries to concentrate pelagic fish, making them easier to catch. Nearshore FADs anchored close to the coast allow access for rural communities, but despite their popularity among policy makers, there is a dearth of empirical analysis of their contributions to the supply of fish and to fisheries management. In this paper we demonstrate that nearshore FADs increased the supply of fish to four communities in Solomon Islands. Estimated total annual fish catch ranged from 4300 to 12 000 kg across the study villages, with nearshore FADs contributing up to 45% of the catch. While it is clear that FADs increased the supply of fish, FAD catch rates were not consistently higher than other fishing grounds. Villages with limited access to diverse or productive fishing grounds seemingly utilized FADs to better effect. Villagers believed FADs increased household income and nutrition, as well as providing a source of fish for community events. FADs were also perceived to increase intrahousehold conflict and reduce fishers\u27 participation in community activities. FADs need to be placed within a broader rural development context and treated as another component in the diversified livelihoods of rural people; as with other livelihood options they bring trade-offs and risks

Malnutrition in rural Solomon Islands: An analysis of the problem and its drivers

2020 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Solomon Islands, like many Pacific Island nations, suffer from the burden of malnutrition. External drivers including population growth, declining agriculture and fisheries productivity and global food trade have contributed to the transition to greater reliance on imported foods. Globally, diets are recognized as both a cause of and solution to the burden of malnutrition. Using a mixed-method approach this study assessed nutritional status and key determinants of malnutrition among women and young children in rural Solomon Island communities. Quantitative 24-hour recall surveys identified diets of women and young children in these communities to be very limited in diversity. Typical daily diets comprised of fish, sweet potato (and/or rice) and slippery cabbage (a leafy green) usually boiled in coconut milk or baked. Participatory research using problem tree and biocultural approaches identified basic determinants of poor diets and opportunities to address these challenges. We highlight three domains of opportunity to improve diets across multiple scales; 1) improve nutrition-sensitive agriculture and fisheries to produce and distribute diverse, productive and nutrient rich foods; 2) nutrition education and empowerment, focusing on the first 1000 days of life, to influence and inform choices regarding food consumption; and 3) reducing the consumption of imported, energy-rich nutrient poor foods through national and regional policies. These multi-scale domains highlight that food system approaches that strengthen integrated policy and empower people are essential for healthy and sustainable diets in Solomon Islands and more broadly in the Pacific region

Island food systems in transition: Strengthening Indigenous food systems in Solomon Islands

This brief defines a vision for an island food system centered on rural food system actors and Indigenous foods. It provides the foundation for a new partnership program between the Kastom Gaden Association and WorldFish in Solomon Islands. This partnership will work towards implementing the island food systems vision

Nourishing island food systems in Solomon Islands: Operational Plan 2023

The WorldFish program in Solomon Islands is organized around four main research pathways (see figure). The first three are the agreed-upon impact areas of WorldFish, which aligns toward our adopted goal from the Solomon Islands National Fisheries Policy 2019–2029 of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR). The fourth research pathway places a deliberate emphasis on integrated planning and partnerships. Although WorldFish in Solomon Islands has many partners, we particularly integrate our research with MFMR to support national strategies toward its policy goal

National assessment and planning for improved fish handling in Solomon Islands

The report summarizes the discussions and interviews with provincial fisheries officers (PFOs) at the annual PFO conference in Honiara, November 23, 2022.The report also identifies the next steps needed to build a program on fish handling based on input from participants at the Fish Innovation project reflection workshop in Nusatupe, May 16–19, 2023

Gender norms and relations: Implications for agency in coastal livelihoods

Despite advances within development and feminist studies, many livelihood initiatives proceed gender-blind. This application of GENNOVATE attempted to challenge that trend in the Pacific. We investigated how gender norms and relations influence agency (i.e., the availability of choice and capacity to exercise choice) in Solomon Islands. We find that men are able to pursue a broader range of livelihood activities than women who were constrained by individual perceptions of risk and socially prescribed physical mobility restraints. However, our findings challenge the broad proposition that livelihood diversification leads to improvements for agency as women’s more immediate freedoms were limited by intensified time and labour demands. We suggest that better accounting for these gendered differences not only improves livelihood outcomes, but also presents opportunity to catalyse the re-negotiation of gender norms and relations; thereby promoting greater individual agency

The contribution of nearshore fish aggregating devices (FADs) to food security in Solomon Islands

Fish aggregating devices, or FADs, are used widely in developing countries to concentrate pelagic fish, making them easier to catch. Nearshore FADs anchored close to the coast allow access for rural communities, but despite their popularity among policy makers, there is a dearth of empirical analysis of their contributions to the supply of fish and to fisheries management. In this paper we demonstrate that nearshore FADs increased the supply of fish to four communities in Solomon Islands. Estimated total annual fish catch ranged from 4300 to 12 000 kg across the study villages, with nearshore FADs contributing up to 45% of the catch. While it is clear that FADs increased the supply of fish, FAD catch rates were not consistently higher than other fishing grounds. Villages with limited access to diverse or productive fishing grounds seemingly utilized FADs to better effect. Villagers believed FADs increased household income and nutrition, as well as providing a source of fish for community events. FADs were also perceived to increase intra-household conflict and reduce fishers' participation in community activities. FADs need to be placed within a broader rural development context and treated as another component in the diversified livelihoods of rural people; as with other livelihood options they bring trade-offs and risks

The Contribution of Nearshore Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) to Food Security and Livelihoods in Solomon Islands

<div><p>Fish aggregating devices, or FADs, are used widely in developing countries to concentrate pelagic fish, making them easier to catch. Nearshore FADs anchored close to the coast allow access for rural communities, but despite their popularity among policy makers, there is a dearth of empirical analysis of their contributions to the supply of fish and to fisheries management. In this paper we demonstrate that nearshore FADs increased the supply of fish to four communities in Solomon Islands. Estimated total annual fish catch ranged from 4300 to 12 000 kg across the study villages, with nearshore FADs contributing up to 45% of the catch. While it is clear that FADs increased the supply of fish, FAD catch rates were not consistently higher than other fishing grounds. Villages with limited access to diverse or productive fishing grounds seemingly utilized FADs to better effect. Villagers believed FADs increased household income and nutrition, as well as providing a source of fish for community events. FADs were also perceived to increase intra-household conflict and reduce fishers' participation in community activities. FADs need to be placed within a broader rural development context and treated as another component in the diversified livelihoods of rural people; as with other livelihood options they bring trade-offs and risks.</p></div

Mean FAD and non-FAD catch rates (± SE) by weight (top panel) and number of fish (bottom panel) for A) all fishing methods, B) troll line and C) drop stone fishing.

<p>Mean FAD and non-FAD catch rates (± SE) by weight (top panel) and number of fish (bottom panel) for A) all fishing methods, B) troll line and C) drop stone fishing.</p

Perceived household and community benefits (graph A) and negative (graph B) aspects of the nearshore FADs mentioned by respondents during key informant interviews at three of the study villages (Villages A, C and D).

<p>Perceived household and community benefits (graph A) and negative (graph B) aspects of the nearshore FADs mentioned by respondents during key informant interviews at three of the study villages (Villages A, C and D).</p