Integrating Environmental Characteristics and Fisheries Management in Northern Finland River Impoundments

/ Three large rivers in northern Finland, the Kemijoki, Iijoki, and Oulujoki rivers, were dammed for hydropower generation in the 1940s-1960s. Due to differences in environmental conditions, these impoundments require detailed study to produce guidelines for fisheries management.Water quality, hydrology, vegetation, and geomorphology data of 16 impoundments were gathered. Shoreline land-use data were derived from maps, and fish assemblage data were collected by exploratory fishing and from the annual fishery statistics. The relations among environmental variables were studied, and a classification of the impoundments was developed by hierarchical cluster analysis. Consequently, three impoundment groups with different environmental characteristics were formed. Significant differences among impoundment groups were also detected in fish yield. We conclude that the variation in environmental conditions, together with differences in fish communities in the impoundments were important enough to justify the claim that impoundments of different types require different management strategies. KEY WORDS: Impoundments; River regulation; Fish assemblage; Water quality; Aquatic vegetation; Finland     

Fishing Farmers or Farming Fishers? Fishing Typology of Inland Small-Scale Fishing Households and Fisheries Management in Singkarak Lake, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Technical and socio-economic characteristics are known to determine different types of fishers and their livelihood strategies. Faced with declining fish and water resources, small-scale fisheries engage into transformations in livelihood and fishing practices. The paper is an attempt to understand these changes and their socio-economic patterns, in the case of Singkarak Lake in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Based upon the hypothesis that riparian communities have diverse, complex yet structured and dynamic livelihood systems, the paper’s main objective is to study, document and model the actual diversity in livelihood, practices and performance of inland small-scale fisheries along the Singkarak Lake, to picture how households are adapted to the situation, and propose an updated, workable model (typology) of those for policy. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to develop a typology of fishing households. The results show that small-scale fishers can be classified into different types characterized by distinct livelihood strategies. Three household types are identified, namely “farming fishers” households (type I, 30 %), “fishing farmers” households (type II, 30 %), and “mainly fishers” households (type III, 40 %). There are significant differences among these groups in the number of boats owned, annual fishing income, agriculture income and farming experience. Type I consists of farming fishers, well equipped, with high fishing costs and income, yet with the lowest return on fishing assets. They are also landowners with farming income, showing the lowest return on land capital. Type II includes poor fishing farmers, landowners with higher farming income; they show the highest return on land asset. They have less fishing equipment, costs and income. Type III (mainly fishers) consists of poorer, younger fishers, with highest return on fishing assets and on fishing costs. They have little land, low farming income, and diversified livelihood sources. The nature of their livelihood strategies is discussed for each identified group. This helps to understand the complexity and diversity of small-scale fishers, particularly in the study area which is still poorly known. This paper concludes with policy implication and possible management initiatives for environmentally prudent policy aiming at improvement of fishers’ livelihood.     

Fishing Effort and Catch Composition of Urban Market and Rural Villages in Brazilian Amazon

The management of small-scale freshwater fisheries in Amazon has been based usually on surveys of urban markets, while fisheries of rural villages have gone unnoticed. We compared the fishing characteristics (catch, effort and selectivity) between an urban market and five small villages in the Lower Tocantins River (Brazilian Amazon), downstream from a large reservoir. We recorded 86 and 601 fish landings in the urban market and villages, respectively, using the same methodology. The urban fishers showed higher catch per unit of effort, higher amount of ice (related to a higher fishing effort, as ice is used to store fish catches) and larger crew size per fishing trip, but village fishers had a higher estimated annual fish production. Conversely, urban and village fishers used similar fishing gear (gillnets) and the main fish species caught were the same. However, village fishers showed more diverse strategies regarding gear, habitats and fish caught. Therefore, although it underestimated the total amount of fish caught in the Lower Tocantins River region, the data from the urban market could be a reliable indicator of main fish species exploited and fishing gear used by village fishers. Monitoring and management should consider the differences and similarities between urban and rural fisheries, in Amazon and in other tropical regions.     

Toward Adaptive Management: The Impacts of Different Management Strategies on Fish Stocks and Fisheries in a Large Regulated Lake

We applied the adaptive management approach to analyze the demand and feasibility of adaptive management of fish stocks in a large regulated lake, Oulujärvi, in northern Finland. The process consisted of four phases: (1) analysis of the current state of the fisheries system (fishers, related markets and industry, fisheries researches and authorities, related organizations, etc.); (2) analysis of the objectives of different stakeholders; (3) the composition of alternative management strategies and assessment of their impacts; and (4) recommendations for future management. We used catch statistics from the period 1973–1995 to analyze fish stocks and fishing. Fish species involved were brown trout (Salmo trutta L.), whitefish [Coregonus lavaretus (L.) sl.], vendace (Coregonus albula L.); and pikeperch (Stizostedion lucioperca L.). Questionnaires and interviews were applied to ascertain the opinions of different groups of fishermen. Several models and cost–benefit analysis were used to assess the ecological, economic, and social impacts of three alternative management strategies. The results emphasize that when determining stocking levels and fishing regulations, the system should be considered as a whole, and impacts on major fish species and different groups of fishermen should be assessed. The stocking policy and fishing regulations should also be flexible to accommodate changing biotic and societal conditions. The key questions in applying the adaptive management process in Oulujärvi fisheries are how to determine clear objectives for fisheries management, find a fisheries management structure that provides workable interactions between different stakeholders, and arrange cost-effective monitoring. The lessons learned from the Oulujärvi experience and recommendations for fisheries management are relevant to other lakes with conflicting objectives of different stakeholders.     

Social Capital and Fisheries Management: The Case of Chilika Lake in India

This article shows how social capital impacts fisheries management at the local level in Chilika Lake, located in the state of Orissa in India. In Chilika, the different fishing groups established norms and “rules of the game” including, but not limited to, spatial limits that determine who can fish and in what areas, temporal restrictions about when and for how long people may fish, gear constraints about what harvesting gear may be used by each group, and physical controls on size and other characteristics of fish that may be harvested. A survey of the members of fishing groups has shown that the bonding social capital is strong within the Chilika fishing groups. Bonding and bridging social capital keeps the fishers together in times of resource scarcity, checks violations of community rules and sanctions, and strengthens the community fisheries management. In contrast, linking social capital in Chilika appears to be weak, as is evident from the lack of trust in external agencies, seeking the help of formal institutions for legal support, and increasing conflicts. Trust and cooperation among fishers is crucial in helping to build the social capital. A social capital perspective on fisheries governance suggests that there should be a rethinking of priorities and funding mechanisms, from “top-down” fisheries management towards “co-management” with a focus on engendering rights and responsibilities for fishers and their communities.     

Environmental change and fishery management in the northern Persian Gulf

Approximately 52% of the 380,000 tons of fish landings in Iran come from the northern Persian Gulf, with a total of 108,000 fishermen and 8900 fishing vessels (2003 data). The fishery in the region is very important for the local economy, but the major problems facing the Iranian fisheries are an uncertain availability of fish and over-fishing. The Persian Gulf is a sensitive marine ecosystem. The Gulf is a partially enclosed sea with an average depth of 35 metres and replacement of waters take some three to five years. Environmental factors have a major effect on fish stocks and fisheries in such a sensitive ecosystem. This study examines the influence of environmental changes in water temperature, rainfall, wind and sea level pressure on fish stocks in the northern Persian Gulf and estimates the maximum sustainable yields for fisheries management. Multivariate data and surplus production bio-economic models with environmental parameters are used to determine optimal harvest and forecasting. The study found that rainfall, water temperature and wind had significant positive effects whereas sea level pressure had a negative effect on the fisheries in the northern Persian Gulf. It is concluded that environmental parameters should be monitored concurrently with the fisheries to allow a greater understanding for fisheries management in the Persian Gulf.     

Impacts of changes in water quality on recreation behavior and benefits in Finland

The implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires nationally generalizable estimates of the benefits of protecting inland and coastal waters. As an alternative to benefit transfers and meta-analyses, we utilize national recreation inventory data combined with water quality data to model recreation participation and estimate the benefits of water quality improvements. Using hurdle models, we analyze the association of water clarity in individuals' home municipalities with the three most common water recreation activities – swimming, fishing and boating. The results show no effect on boating, but improved water clarity would increase the frequency of close-to-home swimming and fishing, as well as the number of fishers. Furthermore, to value the potential benefits of the WFD, we estimate the consumer surplus of a water recreation day using a travel cost approach. A water policy scenario with a 1-m improvement in water clarity for both inland and coastal waters indicates that the consumer surplus would increase 6% for swimmers and 15% for fishers. In contrast to previously estimated abatement costs to improve water quality, net benefits could turn out to be positive. Our study is a promising example of applying existing national recreation inventory data to estimate the benefits of water quality improvements for the purposes of the WFD.     

Regional differences in mercury levels in aquatic ecosystems: A discussion of possible causal factors with implications for the Tennessee river system and the Northern Hemisphere

Concern about mercury pollution from atmospheric deposition has risen markedly in the last decade because of high levels of mercury in freshwater fish from relatively pristine waters. Whereas high concentrations have been found principally in Canada, the northern United States, and Scandinavia, they have also recently been observed throughout much of Florida. Recent surveys of the Tennessee River system, however, have found no locations where fish levels exceed EPA guidelines for fish consumption. This paper evaluates a number of factors that may cause certain regions in the northern hemisphere to experience unacceptable fish mercury levels while other regions do not. Relevant regional differences include: (1) Waters of the Tennessee River system are generally nonacidic (pH>6) and well buffered, whereas 16%, 22%, and 40% of the lakes in upper Midwest, Northeast, and Florida, respectively, have acid-neutralizing capacities below 50 μeq/liter. Acidity correlates highly with fish mercury levels in a number of lake surveys, and experimental manipulations of acidity have significantly raised fish mercury levels. (2) The ratio of land area to water surface area in the Tennessee Valley averages about 30, whereas it is 15 in the upper Midwest and 6 in Florida. Low ratios allow mercury in precipitation to be directly deposited to aquatic bodies, without an opportunity for the mercury to be sequestered by terrestrial ecosystems. (3) Stream organic matter concentrations in Florida, the upper Midwest, and Sweden are 2–10 times those in the Tennessee Valley. Mercury binds strongly to organic matter, and organic matter transport in runoff is a major pathway by which mercury enters aquatic ecosystems.     

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOFTWATER FLORIDA LAKES AND THEIR SENSITIVITY TO ACID PRECIPITATION1

ABSTRACT: Based on alkalinity data for 596 lakes, 31 percent of Florida's 7300 lakes have < 100 μeq/l alkalinity and are sensitive to acid depostion. More than two-thirds of the lakes in 12 northern Florida counties fit this criterion. Increasing aluminum and decreasing nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations were observed with decressing pH in a survery of 20 softwater lakes. Maximum measured aluminum values (100-150 μg/L) are below levels asociated with fish toxicity. Factor analysis showed that lake chemistry was related to three principal factors, representing three major processes: watershed weathering, acidification, and nutrient inputs. An acidification index defined as the difference between excess SO₄^2- and excess (Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺) accounted for 74 percent of the variance in lake pH. Comparison of historical (late 1950a) and present data for pH, alkalinity, and excess SO₄^2- indicated loss of alkalinity (>25 μeq/L) and increase in excess SO₄^2- (16-34 μeq/L) in several softwater lakes.     

The Role of Headwater Streams in Downstream Water Quality1

Abstract: Knowledge of headwater influences on the water‐quality and flow conditions of downstream waters is essential to water‐resource management at all governmental levels; this includes recent court decisions on the jurisdiction of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) over upland areas that contribute to larger downstream water bodies. We review current watershed research and use a water‐quality model to investigate headwater influences on downstream receiving waters. Our evaluations demonstrate the intrinsic connections of headwaters to landscape processes and downstream waters through their influence on the supply, transport, and fate of water and solutes in watersheds. Hydrological processes in headwater catchments control the recharge of subsurface water stores, flow paths, and residence times of water throughout landscapes. The dynamic coupling of hydrological and biogeochemical processes in upland streams further controls the chemical form, timing, and longitudinal distances of solute transport to downstream waters. We apply the spatially explicit, mass‐balance watershed model SPARROW to consider transport and transformations of water and nutrients throughout stream networks in the northeastern United States. We simulate fluxes of nitrogen, a primary nutrient that is a water‐quality concern for acidification of streams and lakes and eutrophication of coastal waters, and refine the model structure to include literature observations of nitrogen removal in streams and lakes. We quantify nitrogen transport from headwaters to downstream navigable waters, where headwaters are defined within the model as first‐order, perennial streams that include flow and nitrogen contributions from smaller, intermittent and ephemeral streams. We find that first‐order headwaters contribute approximately 70% of the mean‐annual water volume and 65% of the nitrogen flux in second‐order streams. Their contributions to mean water volume and nitrogen flux decline only marginally to about 55% and 40% in fourth‐ and higher‐order rivers that include navigable waters and their tributaries. These results underscore the profound influence that headwater areas have on shaping downstream water quantity and water quality. The results have relevance to water‐resource management and regulatory decisions and potentially broaden understanding of the spatial extent of Federal CWA jurisdiction in U.S. waters.     

Exploring the links between natural resource use and biophysical status in the waterways of the North Rupununi, Guyana

The North Rupununi District in south-west Guyana is comprised of a mosaic of ecosystems, including savannas, wetlands and forests, and is home to the Makushi Amerindians, who depend on the waterways for their subsistence needs. With logging and mining seen as increasing threats to the region, it is necessary to look at methods for engaging stakeholders in monitoring the status of their natural resources. This paper presents the results of a pilot study carried out to investigate water use by the Makushi Amerindians, and collect baseline data on the hydro-morphological aspects of the waterways. Methods included informal interviews, the use of the River Habitat Survey (RHS), and water quality measurements. The results indicate the heavy reliance of the Makushi on the waterways for their daily lives, particularly on fishing. Although ponds and creeks are important sources of fish, the rivers provide much larger catches of a greater diversity of fish species, both in the wet and dry seasons. The physical characteristics of the water sources used by the Makushi are mainly associated with the surrounding habitat types: the savanna areas containing the more nutrient rich white-water rivers, and the tropical forest areas containing the less nutrient rich black-water rivers. This study indicates that at present there is no direct evidence of adverse impacts on the waterways used by the Makushi in terms of fish catches, habitat conditions and water quality. A monitoring scheme was set up using this study's outputs as a baseline from which any future changes can be compared. Further work is to be carried out over the next three years to produce monitoring and sustainable management procedures for the North Rupununi ecosystems, by linking the physical attributes of the environment to biodiversity and subsequently local livelihoods, and by building capacity of local stakeholders through training.     

A multi-criteria assessment of fishing gear impacts in demersal fisheries

Fishing gears have multiple impacts on the marine environment, and policies to reduce these impacts through modifying fishing gears are becoming common place. Different modifications result in different changes in the set of environmental impacts, and imply different sets of costs and benefits for different stakeholder groups. In this study, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to quantify the relative importance of the environmental impacts of fishing to different stakeholder groups. Forty eight individuals representing six different stakeholder groups (ecologists, biologists, economists, gear technologists, fishers and fisheries managers) were surveyed. As expected, fishers and gear technologists placed substantially greater importance on reducing discarding of commercial fish species than on habitat damage. Priorities of other stakeholder groups varied, but all placed greater priority on habitats than the commercial sector. The results suggest that management aimed at reducing environmental impacts of fishing broader than just discarding is appropriate, but such moves are likely to be opposed by the fishing industry. The derived weights also have a direct application to fisheries management, as they allow otherwise non-commensurate impacts to be aggregated into an overall impact to compare environmental benefits from alternative modifications of fishing gear.     

Facing limits in oceanic fisheries

Research from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and fishery scientists indicates that the wild catch of fish and other marine life from the oceans will not be able to increase significantly in the future, except through rehabilitation and better management of stocks. Despite the limited potential for bigger catches, fishing fleets have expanded rapidly in recent decades under government subsidies. Fishers now have approximately twice the capacity necessary to make the annual catch from the oceans. The juxtaposition of natural limits and overinvestment has created a crisis situation for the world's fishers, fishing communities, and traditional fishing cultures. Part I of this article (Natural Resources Forum, November 1994) discussed policy responses at the national and international level. How policy makers respond to the overextension of the marine fishing industry will determine the extent of job loss, hunger and dislocation that will result. Part II examines the social aspects of the world's fishing industry, including the demography of fishers, utilization of fisheries products, the relative social contribution of aquaculture and policy responses to overcapacity. Policy makers could enhance the social benefits of marine fisheries – both jobs and food – through a combination of government oversight and community-based management .     

FEE FISHING AREAS IN ILLINOIS1

ABSTRACT: Fishing is a popular form of recreation in the state of Illinois. Despite seemingly endless varieties of fishing opportunities, limited public access, distant location of lakes with respect to population centers, chemical contaminants in some waters, and the desire for species not naturally found in Illinois have engendered an alternate form of recreational land use, the daily fee fishing area. A fee area is any privately controlled body of water or waters where a fee is charged for fishing. Such operations must Low licensed by the state of Illinois. Fee areas are almost entirely comprised of existing man-made impoundments, particularly farm ponds. They are usually stocked on a put and take basis. The most common species utilized in Illinois are carp and channel catfish. Fee areas are concentrated in the southwestern part of the state and near major metropolitan centers. Even though the number of fee areas has declined during the past decade, the role of such operations remains important to the overall picture of fishing in Illinois.     

Trade-offs between development,culture and conservation – Willingness to pay for tropical river management among urban Australians

Australia’s system of tropical rivers constitutes one of the largest and least changed drainage networks in the world. However increasing demand for water in parts of Australia, along with ongoing drought, is driving pressure to develop these rivers. This paper reports the results of a choice experiment (CE) to assess the benefits of different management strategies for three tropical rivers in northern Australia: the Daly, Mitchell and Fitzroy Rivers. The CE was carried out using a survey mailed to Australian urban populations. The results showed that 90% of Australians were willing to pay a once-off payment for the management of tropical rivers. Respondents who had visited or lived near the rivers were willing to pay more for cultural, recreational and environmental services than those who had not. Respondents classed as ‘developers’, who made up only 4% of the 684 respondents, considered a substantial income from irrigated agriculture as important. Unlike ‘environmentalists’ and ‘neutrals’, ‘developers’ were unwilling to pay for high quality recreational fishing or for having floodplains in good environmental condition. All groups, however, were willing to pay for high cultural values.     

An ecosystem approach to analyse the livelihood of fishers of the Old Brahmaputra River in Mymensingh region,Bangladesh

This paper applies an ecosystem approach to analyse the livelihood of fishers dependent on the Old Brahmaputra River in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. Results suggest that the livelihood of fishers is increasingly threatened because of the fragile river ecosystem and poor livelihood assets. Most fishers face a wide range of vulnerability including shocks, trends and seasonality. This is because the ecosystem of the resource base on which their livelihood depends (i.e. the Old Brahmaputra River) has been degraded severely resulting in a significant decline in fish catch due to a combination of factors, such as over-fishing, use of destructive fishing gears, water pollution, siltation, rapid urbanisation and environmental degradation. We propose an adoption of the socio-ecological system with active community participation in the management of the resource base and collaboration amongst key stakeholders to produce positive livelihood outcomes for the fishers.     

Assessing Ecological Integrity of Ozark Rivers to Determine Suitability for Protective Status

Preservation of extraordinary natural resources, protection of water quality, and restoration of impaired waters require a strategy to identify and protect least-disturbed streams and rivers. We applied two objective, quantitative methods to determine stream ecological integrity of headwater reaches of 10 Ozark rivers, 5 with Wild and Scenic River federal protective status. Thirty-four variables representing macroinvertebrate and fish assemblage characteristics, in-stream habitat, riparian vegetation, water quality, and watershed attributes were quantified for each river and analyzed using two multivariate approaches. The first approach, cluster and discriminant analyses, identified two groups of river with only one variable (% forested watershed) reliably distinguishing groups. Our second approach employed ordinal scaling to compare variables for each river to conceptually ideal conditions that were developed as a composite of optimal attributes among the 10 rivers. The composite distance of each river from ideal was then calculated using a unidimensional ranking technique. Two rivers without Wild and Scenic River designation ranked highest relative to ideal (highest ecological integrity), and two others, also without designation, ranked most distant from ideal (lowest ecological integrity). Fish density, number of intolerant fish species, and invertebrate density were influential biotic variables for scaling. Contributing physical variables included riparian forest cover, water nitrate concentration, water turbidity, percentage of forested watershed, percentage of private land ownership, and road density. These methods provide a framework for refinement and application in other regions to facilitate the process of establishing least-disturbed reference conditions and identifying rivers for protection and restoration.     

Artisan fishers’ perception of climate change and disasters in coastal Bangladesh

Climate change is affecting fishing communities across Bangladesh. While work has been undertaken to investigate the nature of these impacts, understanding how fishers perceive climate change at a local level, especially within developing countries, is crucial. This paper presents the results of a three-year study of the contextual determinants and dimensions of artisanal fishing community perceptions about climate change in coastal Bangladesh. Results of this study indicate that geographic characteristics, socio-economic status, worldviews, tradition, observations and disaster experiences are important determinants for shaping fishers’ perceptions about climate change. Fishers also demonstrate a long-standing tradition of risk adaptation strategies, but do not link them to climate change. We argue that these perceptions provide ideas for how to form appropriate climate responses at local levels not only in Bangladesh but other developing countries.     

Factors Influencing Success of Marine Protected Areas in the Visayas,Philippines as Related to Increasing Protected Area Coverage

Throughout the world there is a general consensus among environmentalists that there should be an increase in the amount of marine area that should be reserved in marine protected areas (MPAs). In fact, the 1998 Philippines Fishery Code indicates a need for designation of at least 15% of municipal waters for fish refuges or sanctuaries. Such an increase in area would take productive fishing areas away from fishing communities that can ill-afford the loss. The larger the protected area, there will be a greater number of people impacted. This article examines the relationship between factors that influence the success of Community Based MPA (CBMPA) performance in the Visayas, Philippines and their significance in efforts to increase the size of protected areas.     

Consumptive orientation of anglers in Engerdal,Norway

In a study of consumptiveness among Swedish and Norwegian anglers in Engerdal, eastern Norway, three segments of low-, mid-, and high-consumptive anglers were identified by replicating a methodology of an earlier study of North American anglers. The Engerdal anglers were somewhat more catch-oriented than the North American anglers. Anglers in Norway fish to satisfy a complex set of experience preferences. Low-consumptive anglers rate nature experiences higher than mid- and high-consumptive anglers. High-consumptive anglers have a somewhat narrower range of experience preferences and are more oriented towards competitive aspects of fishing. All anglers generally support management efforts directed toward restricting other types of use of the waters, such as reducing pollution and reducing local fishermen's leisure gill-net fishing. They also support stocking of fish, but oppose actions restricting angling. However, low-consumptive anglers do not oppose angling restrictions to the same degree as mid- and high-consumptive groups. Low-consumptive fishermen show a higher degree of specialization and report higher overall satisfaction with their fishing trips than the other two groups.