Fish for the People Vol.15 No.2
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/1191
2024-03-28T16:52:17ZFish for the People Vol. 15 No. 2
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/1198
Fish for the People Vol. 15 No. 2
2017-01-01T00:00:00ZThe shifting habitat of Hilsa: River to sea
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/1197
The shifting habitat of Hilsa: River to sea
Hossain, M. Shahadat
Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is one of the most economically important fish species in Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar. To some extent, hilsa has also been found to inhabit the waters of Thailand, especially in the Andaman Sea as well as in waters in its eastern part extending as far as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Viet Nam (BOBLME & SEAFDEC, 2015). In view of the wide distribution of hilsa in Southeast Asia, the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) and the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) Project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, entered into an agreement for a technical exchange to enhance the capacity of scientists from Myanmar and Thailand, as well as their understanding of the biology and life stages of this species. This article will article will not discuss the outputs of the BOBLMESEAFDEC Project, but will focus on the status of hilsa production in Bangladesh to understand the shifting phenomenon of the habitat of this species from the rivers to the marine waters. Since the 18th century, administrators, philosophers, naturalists and scientists have been fascinated by the impressive size of hilsa, its euryhaline behavior and capability to move through extensive distant migration routes between marine feeding grounds and riverine spawning grounds. In Bangladesh, many rivers like the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Padma, Meghna, Hoogly, Irrawaddy, Mahananda, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery have been characterized as the major source for the riverine catch of hilsa, while the Bay of Bengal has recently been recording considerable quantities of marine catch of hilsa. The riverine contribution to the country’s total hilsa production in 1950-60s was 94% while the marine catch contributed only 6%. This trend has however been reversed in recent decades with 72% comprising the marine catch of hilsa and 28% from riverine catch. Unplanned water control structures in the upstream rivers, disruption of migration routes, degradation of habitats, indiscriminate exploitation of juveniles and broodstocks, and increased fishing pressure in the near shore and estuarine areas with efficient gears have been attributed to have contributed to the decline of the riverine catch of hilsa. In the Meghna River estuary of Bangladesh, which has been reported to account for the highest hilsa landing in recent decades, drift gill, fixed gill and seine nets have been used to catch hilsa. As the global market opportunity for hilsa has expanded to the Middle East, Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, and Australia, the demand for hilsa has been increasing. Therefore, management of its fisheries is something that should be dealt with by countries in cooperation with transboundary countries where this species is known to also inhabit. Lessons on the reasons for the shifting habitats of hilsa could be learnt from this article.
2017-01-01T00:00:00ZSustainable management of neritic tunas in Southeast Asia: Longtail tuna and kawakawa in focus
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/1196
Sustainable management of neritic tunas in Southeast Asia: Longtail tuna and kawakawa in focus
Siriraksophon, Somboon
Oceanic and neritic tunas are abundant and commonly found in the waters throughout Southeast Asia. While oceanic tunas migrate over oceans and seas, neritic tunas mostly inhabit the economic zones and subregional marine waters of Southeast Asia. All tuna resources are economically important in Southeast Asia, generating export revenues for the countries and providing important protein sources for domestic consumption. While the catch of the oceanic tunas is reported to have declined but that of the neritic tuna species continues to increase making these species becoming more important and increasingly the target of exploitation by commercial and local fisheries, especially now that attractive prices are offered by processing companies for such species. Therefore, it is necessary to address the status of and uncertainties in the distribution, migration, and utilization of neritic tuna stocks in the waters and sub-regions of Southeast Asia, prior to the development of appropriate tuna management measures and plans at the national and sub-regional levels.
2017-01-01T00:00:00ZSustainable management of inland capture fisheries for food security: Experience of Indonesia
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/1195
Sustainable management of inland capture fisheries for food security: Experience of Indonesia
Utomo, Agus Djoko; Samuel
An archipelago with 17,500 islands, Indonesia is situated between latitude 06° 08’ N – 11° 15’ S and longitude 94° 15’ – 141° 00’ E and its territorial waters on 12 mile-limit basis, embrace a total area of 3,166,162 km 2 and coastline of about 80,791 km. The country’s registered land area is about 191,944,300 ha. Economic development program has been implemented in Indonesia since 1969 but little has been done to develop its capture fisheries in inland open waters, e.g. lakes, rivers, reservoirs and flood plains. Efforts to achieve sustainable capture fisheries in inland open waters are generally not based on scientific information resulting in less developed technologies on inland capture fisheries, in spite the country’s long history of capture fisheries in inland open waters which has been going on for centuries (Sarnita, 1987). Considering that the inland waters are the most important source of income for the rural people, there is a need to manage the country’s inland open water capture fisheries for sustainability. Nonetheless, certain alternatives have been promoted in Indonesia to manage the country’s inland water fisheries, and this is through stocking and restocking of inland waters with cultured fish species, and establishing of fish reserves in inland waters.
2017-01-01T00:00:00Z