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ABSTRACT Coastal fishery resources shared by Belize and Mexico emphasize the need for bi‐national conservation and management strategies. We used the recreational flats fishery as a model to: (1) evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a mixed‐methods approach for fishery conservation and management and (2) propose a general strategic plan to guide conservation and management that also benefits biodiversity of aquatic resources. The approach consisted of gathering local knowledge, observing participants, reviewing literature, and interviewing key representatives of the flats fishing community, resource managers (governmental and co‐managers), academia and non‐governmental organizations, followed by online surveys, to rank overall findings and prioritize concerns identified by a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Our findings indicated that science, education, conservation, and management were important. The strategic framework included goals, objectives, strategies, and outcomes that will depend on validation and collaboration amongst sectors to generate information and application to fisheries and protected areas (PAs) management to benefit local communities, national economies, and preservation of biodiversity. Prioritized needs included: (1) science to address habitat loss and degradation, overharvest, habitat use conflict resolution, fishing pressure, and protection of key habitats for all life cycles of target species; (2) education and awareness to increase knowledge, address fish handling practices, and guide conservation and management decision‐making; (3) inclusion of the flats fishery in conservation plans, PAs, development, and economic plans; and (4) improved enforcement of regulations to ensure sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is important to fisheries in Northeastern Brazil. To restore stocks in Rio Grande do Norte, cobia were stocked and the fishery was monitored over 4 years. We evaluated effects of stocking on cobia size composition in this data‐limited fishery to understand stocking limitations and explore possibilities for future projects. Total length of cobia was significantly shorter after stocking than before stocking, with mostly small fish caught mainly by nets, an unusual pattern for cobia. Total length also varied significantly among bottom types. Most of the cobia harvested were below the size at first maturity, which suggests that stocking increased the catch, but most fish harvested were immature, thereby potentially hindering stock recovery. For future projects, we recommend against the use of plastic tags for tagging hatchery cobia and propose releases that emulate natural spawning dynamics, alongside releasing fish at older ages. Further, we recommend robust post‐stocking fishery monitoring, and management strategies, such as a release of net‐caught cobia in the initial 2 years and incorporating validated fisher knowledge into decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artisanal small‐scale fisheries are crucial for subsistence and food security, especially in developing countries. However, artisanal fishers face stressors, such as economic and social marginalization, conflicts, and overfishing. Socio‐economic attributes potentially influence their risk perception. We investigated risk perception among artisanal fishers in a Marine Protected Area through interviews and semi‐structured questionnaires. Risk perception was positively influenced by fishing environment and negatively influenced by a lack of religious beliefs. Offshore fishers faced more operating conditions and time at sea, with higher risk of losses, and perceived more health and conflict risks. Inshore fishers have higher perception of environmental degradation. Prioritizing different risk perceptions is essential for effective fisheries management. Separate management plans for offshore and inshore fisheries are recommended due to varying catch, environmental perception, socio‐environmental risks, and exploited resource characteristics among artisanal fisher groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small‐scale fisheries are vital to millions of rural people, but surprisingly little is known about the environmental and socio‐economic factors that guide rural peoples' decisions to adopt a fishery‐oriented livelihood. We analyzed data from a large‐scale household survey of 3929 households in 235 rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon to develop multi‐scalar quantitative models to explain engagement in fishing and the relationship between fishing livelihoods and poverty. Households harvested an average of 1000 kg of fish and sold 450 kg over the 12 months preceding interviews. The mean total annual income was 3119 USD per household and fishing contributed 27% to total income. Access to extensive floodplain habitat, geographical isolation, and an available workforce were important drivers of fishing activity, while poor market connectivity and limited financial capital restricted households from increasing the scale of market‐oriented fishing. Wealthier households generally harvested more fish, whereas reliance on fisheries was greatest among poorer households who harvested less fish. Fisheries management and conservation initiatives in developing regions must consider the distinct drivers of fishing specialization across the full wealth spectrum with particular attention to "high reliance‐high harvest" households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining fisheries catches are a global trend, with management failing to keep pace with growth in fishing effort and technological advances. The economic value of Honduras' catches was estimated within the industrial and artisanal sectors. Catches were found to be 2.9 times greater than the official statistics between 1950 and 2015. The merging of industrial and artisanal catch data masked the decline in industrial catches and hid the strong growth of artisanal fisheries. In 1996, annual artisanal fisheries landed catches surpassed the industrial fishery sector, and in 2000, the annual net value of artisanal fisheries eclipsed the value of the industrial fisheries. These data highlight the importance of artisanal fisheries in Honduras and challenge the long‐held belief that the industrial sector contributes more to the national economy. The global paucity of fisheries data highlights the need for comprehensive strategies to collect more detailed and accurate fisheries data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The findings of livelihood research on the role of artisanal fishing among rain forest communities in eastern Peru are reported. In-depth household surveys conducted in three communities along the Ucayali River ( n = 68 households) and four communities on the Marañón River ( n = 87) provided data on resource use, income generation, asset holdings and household coping strategies in the face of two common shocks - illness and major floods. Results indicated the high economic importance of artisanal fishing, with considerable specialisation evident in fishing at the household and community levels. When faced with adversity, forest people in the Upper Amazon turn more to the floodplain (to fish) than to the rain forest (to hunt or extract forest products) to cope with major shocks. It appears that floodplain fisheries are an important safety net for forest people living along rivers in humid tropical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Negombo estuary brush park fishery in Sri Lanka was investigated from June 1998 to March 1999. The mean fish yield (all species) in the fishery was 12.46 t ha-1 yr-1 . Fin fish species formed about 91% of the yield and the rest was formed by penaeid shrimps and crabs. Fish yield and the twig density in the brush park exhibited a second order polynomial relationship indicating a minimum yield at an intermediate value of twig density in the brush parks. The relationship between fish yield and duration of implantation of brush parks showed an optimal period of 30–40 days for high fish yields. Income levels of fishermen, availability of construction material and suitable sites for implantation of brush parks are some of the factors determining size and number of brush parks per fisherman and duration of installation. Indigenous knowledge within the fishing community about the effect of salinity variations, twig density and mangrove species used on the harvests greatly contribute to effective operation of this fishing practice. Cultivation of mangroves to obtain twigs and branches is a unique feature in this estuary. Indigenous knowledge on mangroves has led to the adoption of sound silvicultural practices. Although cultivating mono-specific mangrove stands may not increase diversity of mangrove forests, it reduces denudation of naturally occurring mangrove forests because of brush park construction, and retains habitats for other organisms. Mangrove management plans in the Negombo estuary should therefore be viewed and treated in an integrated manner that takes into account both resource and social components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Billings Reservoir is an urban reservoir located in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region. It supports 101 active artisanal fishermen. To describe this fishery, landings were recorded daily between February 1996 and January 1997 at Colônia (23° 50′ 57′′ S; 46° 40′ 02′′ W). In every landing, a data collector recorded catch, effort, fishing gears and fishing grounds. A total of 147 593 kg of fish were recorded in 3515 fishing trips. The exotic Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), was the main species exploited (81.4% of the annual catches). Five other species were also targeted: the characid Astyanax eigenmaniorum (Cope) (13.0% of the annual catches); the erythrinid Hoplias aff. malabaricus (Block) (2.1%); the exotic cyprinid Cyprinus carpio L. (Campos & Fernández-Yépez) (2.4%); the curimatid Cyphocharax modestus L. (1.1%); and the pimelodid Rhamdia sp. (0.1%). Two main groups of fishermen were discriminated using Principal Components Analysis; these were associated with the type of fishing gear and fishing strategies, i.e. those who exploited Nile tilapia with cast nets and beating gill nets, and those who exploited other species with set gill nets. Management and maintenance of this fishery should consider the positive top-down effects that Nile tilapia could have in controlling eutrophication and also the social benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inland fisheries of Sri Lanka are essentially artisanal on most of the reservoirs in the country. The annual inland fish production declined dramatically after 1990, when state patronage for the development of the inland fisheries was discontinued for 4 years. This decline was shown to be a result of growth overfishing of the two dominant cichlid species which accounted for over 90% of landings. This was a result of using small mesh ( < 6.9 cm) gillnets in the absence of the State-sponsored monitoring procedure in the fishery after 1990. This indicates that it is necessary to monitor inland fisheries management in Sri Lanka through a centralized authority in the current situation. However, in some Sri Lankan reservoirs, fishing communities can be categorized as ‘organized’ because they collectively make decisions to define procedures for the rational exploitation of the fishery resources. In reservoirs with ‘organized’ fishing, the communities themselves have developed mechanisms to regulate the landing sizes of dominant cichlid fish species through community-based fisheries management strategies. In such reservoirs, over-exploitation of fish stocks was not evident, even after 1990, when state-sponsored monitoring procedures were suspended. Based on these observations, an alternative approach is recommended for the management of Sri Lankan reservoir capture fisheries in which the Government and resource-users have equal responsibilities in the management of the resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]