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34. Improved fisheries in tropical reservoirs

Full Title:

Improved Fisheries Management in Tropical Reservoirs

Download project proposal [PDF 208Kb]

This is a 4-year interdisciplinary project proposal with the overall aim of increasing the productivity of water and providing sustainable livelihoods to rural poor through improved fisheries management in tropical reservoirs. The main project activities are focused on four selected reservoirs in the Ganges, Nile and Volta benchmark basins. Reservoirs in other basins will be included for comparative purposes and in order to help generate outputs and impacts of wider application and value.

The work is based on the generally accepted underlying assumption that there are substantial opportunities for increasing the productivity of reservoirs from a combination of better harvesting strategies, carefully adapted stock enhancements, and aquacultural activities. To achieve this untapped potential while securing ecosystem services such as water quality and biodiversity, a holistic approach and improved understanding involving both biological principles and stakeholder participation are necessary. The natural biophysical constraints of the reservoirs define the ecological production processes and the socioeconomic settings shape the human-production-enhancement possibilities. By synthesizing these mechanisms into general principles and predictive indicators it will be possible to provide various options and scenarios for improved productivity that can be adapted to the local cultural and institutional settings.

The project activities encompass data inventory from a wide variety of tropical reservoirs, detailed assessment of the selected reservoirs, development of enhancing tools and strategy options, design of comanagement arrangements, market evaluation, dissemination of results, training and capacity building.