Non-fishing Activities Research Articles

Artisanal Inland Water Fishing and Challenges of Livelihood Sustainability in Ibi Local Government Area, Taraba State Nigeria

This study examined challenges of livelihood sustainability from artisanal inland water fishing activities in Ibi LGA, Taraba State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Purposive sampling was used in selecting 406 respondents from 12 communities in 6 political wards of the LGA. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse 401 questionnaires retrieved. Findings of the study reveal decline in daily fish catch from three baskets 10 years ago to only one basket presently. Also, income from fishing has declined from ₦150,000 ($192) monthly 10 years ago to less than ₦50,000 ($64) presently. Factors responsible for decline in fish catch include rising water level, temperature increase, pollution, climate change, seasonality and unsustainable fishing practices. The unsustainable fishing practices include use of chemicals, small size nets and mosquito nets in fishing. The results reveal that fishermen engaged in non-fishing activities, fish farming and construction of fishing ponds along the floodplain as a way of achieving livelihood sustainability. Challenges of livelihood sustainability include seasonality of fishing activities, decline in fish stocks, use of traditional fishing methods and unsustainable fishing practices among others. The study recommend the need to enforce extant laws on fishery protection, enlightenment campaign, and government support to fishing cooperatives.

Guidance on marine protected area protection level assignments when faced with unknown regulatory information

Strong human use regulations are an important precondition for marine protected area (MPA) effectiveness. Distinguishing MPAs based on their protection levels has shown advantages, but the availability of regulatory information about allowed activities is a major roadblock towards completing assessments at scale. Here, using a California case study, we explore assigning MPA protection levels following the regulation-based classification system (RBCS) under different scenarios of incomplete regulatory information. In the first group of scenarios (A), only readily available information was used, i.e., information contained in direct MPA implementing regulations and management plans. In the second group (B), information was limited to the activities in ProtectedSeas’ Navigator that matched those in the RBCS. From group A, 99% and 100% correct classification of fully and highly protected areas, respectively, were obtained when treating unknown aquaculture, bottom exploitation, and bottom extraction as ‘prohibited’ and boating, anchoring, and fishing activities as ‘allowed’. High classification accuracy was also obtained for moderately, poorly, and unprotected areas. From group B, 92% and 94% correct classification of fully and highly protected areas were obtained when using the same assumptions for non-fishing activities but using Navigator’s Level of Fishing Protection (LFP) score to guide assumptions about unknown fishing activities. Correct classification rates were poorer with different assumptions. Regulation-based MPA evaluation systems can reliably identify fully and highly protected areas in the face of unknown information, when assumptions about unknown information are guided by contextual indicators such as generally regulated human activities and/or overall level of fishing restriction.

On the move: The role of mobility and migration as a coping strategy for resource users after abrupt environmental disturbance – the empirical example of the Coastal El Niño 2017

Individual mobility – moving between and within different geographic regions – represents an adaptation strategy of natural resource users worldwide to cope with sudden and gradual changes in resource abundances. This work traces the recent history of Peruvian small-scale fishers’ migration, and particularly analyses the spatial mobility patterns of resource users along the Peruvian coastline in the aftermath of the coastal El Niño 2017. In February-March 2017, this event caused extraordinary heavy rains and a rise in water temperatures along the coast of northern Peru, inducing negative consequences for the small-scale fisheries and scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) aquaculture sectors, both representing important socio-economic activities in the region. Responses of local resource users to these changes were highly diverse, with a great number of people leaving the region in search for work in fishing and non-fishing activities. With a particular emphasis on the province of Sechura, this work attempts to shed light on how and why migration flows differ for fishers and scallop farmers and to explore future pathways in the context of post-disturbance recovery. About one year after the disturbance event, the small-scale fishery operated almost on a regular scale, while the aquaculture sector still struggled towards pre-El Niño conditions, reflected, for example, in a higher percentage of persons engaging in other economic activities within and outside the region. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of human movement and translocal social networks emerging in moments of crisis and should be considered for future development of long-term management strategies incorporating increasing interconnectedness of places on different scales in the face of future disturbance events. Understanding adaptation strategies of resource users in this particular social-ecological setting will further serve to inform other coastal systems prone to (re-occurring) environmental change by highlighting the diversity of socio-economic and natural drivers that can stipulate mobility and affect adaptive capacity of resource users.

Potential effects of bycatch from the squat lobster fisheries in central Chile on the benthic ecosystem: a survey data approach

In Chile, bottom trawling for squat lobsters is one of the most important crustacean fisheries. The fishery has been monitored for the past 15 years to assess the resource status, spatial distribution and effects on benthic species. Understanding the interactions of fishing and non-fishing activities with the benthic communities is of critical importance to estimate the potential bycatch of important economic species from fishing operations and to determine adequate spatial and temporal fishing bans. In this study we characterised the community of the main non-target species caught during historical squat lobster biomass surveys from 2000 to 2015 and interpreted the species included as potential bycatch of the fishery. Four ecological assemblages were found that differed in abundance but not in species richness, which suggests that the community structures did not differ among the areas, but rather in the relative abundances of the species. In addition, we created habitat suitability maps for the groups identified and discuss the effects of the environment and the survey method on the distribution of the groups. Managers can use this information to detect regions with high bycatch risk for demersal trawl fisheries and understand the potential interaction of fishing operations with the environment.

Livelihood Features of Seaweed Farming Households: A Case study from Bungin Permai Village, South Konawe, South East (SE) Sulawesi, Indonesia

The aim of this study was to analyse the variations and structure of seaweed farming household incomes; to quantify the income coming from various income sources and to analyse the efficiency of seaweed farming. The study was conducted in the village of Bungin Permai, South Konawe from July to September 2016 using structured interviews. In total there were 96 household respondents involved. Income structures and strategies were analysed descriptively, while the amount of income was determined using income analysis. The results showed that most respondents worked in the fisheries sector as seaweed farmers (n=75; 77%) and also as fishermen. The average income generated by seaweed farming households was IDR. 29,154,121 annually; the income from seaweed farming was IDR. 10,556,724 annually, while the income obtained from non-fishing activities was IDR. 11,071,875 annually. The respondents generated additional income by catching crabs, fishing using traps and anchored lift nets (bagan). When all the depreciated assets (e.g. ropes, floats, and traditional boats) were included in the expenses, the mean C/R (cost-to-revenue) value of seaweed farming was 1.88. The lowest R/C was 0.96 while the highest was 21.04. Those R/C values mean that seaweed faming in Bungin Permai was generally efficient and profitable.

New estimates of weight-at-size, maturity-at-size, fecundity, and biomass of snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio, in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska

Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) were identified as a potential future target fishery species in federal waters of the Arctic Ocean off Alaska by the Arctic Fishery Management Plan (Arctic FMP) in 2009, but this plan currently prohibits commercial harvest until sufficient information is available to assess a sustainable commercial fishery. One drawback of the current Arctic FMP is that critical population and biomass estimates were based on limited data. Collaborative research efforts in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas over the past decade have yielded a much richer database on snow crab in the Arctic. Using these data, we generated new estimates of weight-at-size, maturity-at-size, fecundity, and biomass to recalculate sustainable yield of snow crab in the U.S. Arctic. Weight-at-size was generally similar for male and female snow crab between the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, with males reaching overall larger sizes than females in both seas and largest male crabs occurring in the Beaufort Sea. Compared with snow crab in other geographic regions, 50% morphometric maturity was reached at a slightly smaller size in the Chukchi Sea; low sample sizes in the Beaufort Sea prevented maturity-at-size analysis. Fecundity-at-size in the Chukchi Sea was similar to known values estimated for snow crab in other regions. Estimated total reproductive output, using fecundity estimates obtained here, suggest that local reproduction may be sufficient to account for a large portion of observed small juvenile benthic snow crab abundances; further investigation is warranted to determine whether Chukchi and Beaufort populations are self-sustaining at this time. Although snow crab had high abundances in the Chukchi Sea, harvestable biomass of male snow crab only occurred in the Beaufort Sea because crab larger than the minimum marketable size (≥ 100 mm carapace width, based on Bering Sea metric) were absent in the Chukchi Sea over the study period. Our biomass estimates in the Chukchi Sea were substantially higher than previous estimates, owing at least in part to high abundances of small crab that were greatly under-sampled with the large-mesh gear such as was used in surveys referenced in the Arctic FMP. Estimates of biomass and sustainable yield for the Beaufort Sea were over twice as high as previous estimates in the Arctic FMP, but harvestable biomass was largely limited to the slope (> 200 m depth) and is unlikely to support commercial harvest. Our results expand overall understanding of arctic snow crab dynamics in light of potential future fisheries or other, non-fishing activities and inform the management of the Alaskan Arctic stock.

Fishers’ Livelihood Diversification in Bhagirathi–Hooghly Stretch of Ganga River in India

For the resource-poor fishers, livelihood diversification is a strategy to cope with the uncertainties and inadequateness of fisheries as a profession. The present study is an attempt to assess the socioeconomic conditions together with livelihood diversification of fishermen households of the Bhagirathi– Hooghly stretch of Ganga River. Data were collected by personally interviewing 500 fishermen from Sagar to Farakka (560 km stretch) in West Bengal using survey schedules in 2016. Analysis of data indicated that the socio-economic conditions of fishermen households were not encouraging. Fishing is the main occupation of around 88.60% of fishers and overall, fishing contributes about 70.30% to the total income of the family. Average number of income-generating activities per household ranged from 1.43 in the lower stretch to 1.79 in the upper stretch. Further, it was found that not only the average household income and number of income sources were limited, their level of diversification was also quite low. The monthly income of a household was found to be Rs 9391. The income is higher in the lower stretch because of higher catch and high value fish in the catch. Fishery as an only profession is unable to provide a decent life. The study also revealed that among other factors, the Simpson index contributes positively and significantly towards per capita income of the fisher households. However, in the absence of suitable alternative opportunities, the resource is under pressure. Government needs to develop appropriate strategies to facilitate successful livelihood diversification. Facilities may be created for non-fishing activities like fish marketing kiosks, cloth weaving facilities, agro-processing in fruit orchard areas, e-rickshaws and so on. Fishers may be trained in other income-generating activities like carpentry, embroidery, dress making, driving, etc. for better livelihood.

Effect of Diversification of Business and Economic Value on Poverty in Batubara Regency

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Determinants of livelihood strategies of fishing households in the volta Basin, Ghana

The main objective of this study is to identify livelihood strategies of fishing households in response to prevalent vulnerabilities they face within the Volta Basin. Questionnaires were administered to fishery households in the Basin using the multistage sampling technique. A non-hierarchical k-means cluster analysis partitioned the households into four livelihood strategies on which the multinomial logit regression was performed. These four identified strategies are fishery only, fishery and farming, fishery and non-farm, and fishery, non-farming and farming. The results from the multinomial logit regression revealed that marital status of head of household, number of months of food shortage experienced by a household per year, access to credit, access to extension services, distance to regular markets and district capital as well as experience in fishery were the major determinants of livelihood strategies. Implications for policy include the need for public extension services and training to invigorate fishery households’ income. As majority of the fishery households combined fishing and non-fishing strategies, livelihood intervention programmes should prioritize improvement of the non-fishing activities and lead to opening other opportunities for rural development. This will take pressure off the fish stock by facilitating the regeneration of fish stock.

Inequality of income, asset and debt of inland fishers in the Theni District of Tamil Nadu, India

In the present study, an attempt was made to measure the impact of inequality on income, asset and debt of inland fishers in the Theni District of Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 140 respondents were surveyed for this work. Gini index (GI) was applied to measure the income inequality and multiple regression was done to identify the influencing variable of asset and debt. Higher income was observed in non-fishing activities than those of the fishing and fishing related works while higher income equality was recorded in fishing. Among assets, fishing gear, craft, television and land had lesser inequality (GI 0.06 to 0.41) while furniture and livestock had higher inequality (GI 0.0 to 0.80). Average debt was found to be higher among institutional sources than that of the non-institutional ones, whereas, a minimum GI (0.59) was recorded in Vagai and the maximum GI (0.76) in Kullapuram. Results of the study indicate that there is a need for curtailing the credit from non-institutional sources, which burden fishers and affects their economic status. Also, the fishing sector in Tamil Nadu needs proper policy attention regarding education and well-designed market policies and institutions to minimise the inequality that is plaguing the sector.

Drivers of redistribution of fishing and non-fishing effort after the implementation of a marine protected area network.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is increasingly utilized to sustainably manage ocean uses. Marine protected areas (MPAs), a form of spatial management in which parts of the ocean are regulated to fishing, are now a common tool in MSP for conserving marine biodiversity and managing fisheries. However, the use of MPAs in MSP often neglects, or simplifies, the redistribution of fishing and non-fishing activities inside and outside of MPAs following their implementation. This redistribution of effort can have important implications for effective MSP. Using long-term (14yr) aerial surveys of boats at the California Channel Islands, we examined the spatial redistribution of fishing and non-fishing activities and their drivers following MPA establishment. Our data represent 6yr of information before the implementation of an MPA network and 8yr after implementation. Different types of boats responded in different ways to the closures, ranging from behaviors by commercial dive boats that support the hypothesis of fishing-the-line, to behaviors by urchin, sport fishing, and recreational boats that support the theory of ideal free distribution. Additionally, we found that boats engaged in recreational activities targeted areas that are sheltered from large waves and located near their home ports, while boats engaged in fishing activities also avoided high wave areas but were not constrained by the distance to their home ports. We did not observe the expected pattern of effort concentration near MPA borders for some boat types; this can be explained by the habitat preference of certain activities (for some activities, the desired habitat attributes are not inside the MPAs), species' biology (species such as urchins where the MPA benefit would likely come from larval export rather than adult spillover), or policy-infraction avoidance. The diversity of boat responses reveals variance from the usual simplified assumption that all extractive boats respond similarly to MPA establishment. Our work is the first empirical study to analyze the response of both commercial and recreational boats to closure. Our results will inform MSP in better accounting for effort redistribution by ocean users in response to the implementation of MPAs and other closures.

Defining high-resolution dredge fishing grounds with Automatic Identification System (AIS) data

High resolution estimates of bottom towed fishing gears are needed to provide relevant information for natural resource management, impact assessment and maritime spatial planning. The use of satellite-based vessel monitoring system (VMS) data is constrained by data access restrictions as well as rather coarse data resolution. This study focuses on mapping dredge gear fishing grounds using fishing effort estimates at the métier level based on automatic identification system (AIS) data. The performance of the approach was evaluated in terms of correct discrimination between fishing and non-fishing activities for known fishing positions as well as appropriate error propagation. The test was conducted in the Bay of Brest (France) in partnership with a committee of local fishers. The results identified dredge fishing grounds for great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the western part of the Bay of Brest and provided high-resolution information for scientists and local decision makers on the spatial and temporal seasonal variability of fishing effort. The proposed method is semi-automatic and generic making it suitable for other applications.

To fish or not to fish? Resource degradation and income diversification in Benin

AbstractThe authors study the impact of natural resource degradation on income diversification in Beninese fishing communities. Using survey data and econometric analysis, they show that fishermen are more likely to diversify their income when the degradation of the fish stock is more severe. However, the level of income diversification that they find is surprisingly low and far from sufficient to relieve the stress on the lakes. The latter relates to low levels of formal education among fishermen and the unregulated use of highly productive, but damaging, fishing gear. These two factors result in a high return to fishing relative to non-fishing activities, even amid degradation.

Study on Income and Expenditure of Inland Fishermen in Theni Province, India

In present study attempts has been made to assess the present household income and expenses of inland fishermen in Theni province, India. In Present investigations, 140 respondents were selected and assessed their household socio economic condition, employment, income, and saving with predesigned interview schedule through simple random sampling technique. This study discovered, majority of fishers (about 80%) has having education includes primary education and fishing dominantly by middle age group fishers (60%) with work experience of 10 years, but only 24% were participated in the training programme. The unemployment was found to lower of 31% in fishing as compared to non-fishing (41%) and fishing related activities (75%). Hence, these indicates that, there is scope for amplify the inland fishing per providing appropriate training programme to patronize the social profile. At the same time, the non-fishing activities like agriculture has inevitable role in livelihood and generating higher economic returns when it compared to fishing and fishing related activates. While presenting consumption pattern, education was accounted higher percentage than food, social ceremonies, cloths, health, transport etc, the excess amount was saved in institutional and non-institutional organization.

Deriving high-resolution spatiotemporal fishing effort of large-scale longline fishery from vessel monitoring system (VMS) data and validated by observer data

Estimating geo-referenced fishing effort is vital to develop advice for effective fisheries management. Many studies in recent decades have attempted to obtain complete, high-resolution effort data from vessel monitoring systems (VMSs). The main challenge in this regard is to develop a classification method for differentiating fishing activities (e.g., fishing days) from nonfishing activities in VMS data. This study developed a simple, novel classification criterion for a large-scale tuna longline (LTLL) fishery that has not been studied before. LTLL operations were first explored using observer data. Three approaches were designed for developing fishing-day classification criteria, using maximizing sum of sensitivity and specificity (SS) as the major performance measure and minimizing difference of SS as a reference. At least one VMS report with speed in the range of 2–5 kn (1 kn = 1.852 km·h–1) detected during the time-of-day period of 14:00–23:00 h was recommended as the criterion for defining a fishing day. Possible explanations for the differences between the estimated fishing days from VMS data and those reported on logbooks are discussed; most causes were related to specific features of the fishery.

Economic conditions and prospects of small-scale fishermen in Thailand

industry of Thailand is having unprecedented success in earning the country billions of dollars and the position as the largest fishing nation in south-east Asia, thousands of small-scale fishermen along the coast struggle to hold onto fishing as an occupation and a familiar source of income. The conditions of small-scale fishermen and their conflicts with those of larger scale are reviewed, their benefits from government polices are evaluated, and their future prospects are examined. Emphasis is placed on the need for nonfishing activities to raise the smallscale fishermen’s opportunity cost so that their incomes might be improved and fishery resources be permitted to recover.