Alternative information for supporting inland fisheries management and decision-making in the Southeast Asia

Abstract

There is an increasing recognition that inland fisheries play an important role for food security and the livelihoods of rural people in the Southeast Asia. Given the situation that there are significant water resources, seasonal inundation and wet rice production, it is natural that people in this region rely on easily accessible aquatic resources for various aspects of livelihoods. Hence fishing and/or collection of aquatic organisms in inland water bodies are commonly observed throughout the region and the vast majority of rural households, regardless of whether they consider themselves as farmers or fishers, engage in some sort of activities to harvest aquatic resources at some sort time of the year. Fish/ aquatic organisms of all sizes are utilized with little discard or wastage.