FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 263 Management systems for riverine fisheries |
by
Thayer Scudder
and
Thomas Conelly
Institute for Development Anthropology
Binghamton
New York,
USA
Reprinted, 1985
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
M-43
ISBN 92-5-102288-7
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE Rome, 1985
© FAO
This document has been prepared as part of FAO's Regular Programme activities by Dr. Thayer Scudder of the Institute for Development Anthropology and California Institute of Technology in collaboration with Mr. Thomas Conelly, also of the Institute for Development Anthropology. It is one in the series of FAO technical papers relating to the PRACTICES OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT.
Distribution: FAO Fisheries Department FAO Regional Fisheries Officers Directors of Fisheries Fisheries Management Selector Authors | For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows: Scudder, T. and T. Conelly, Management 1985 systems for riverine fisheries. FAO Fish.Tech. Pap., (263):85 p. |
ABSTRACT |
This paper is concerned specifically with the problems of river fisheries and associated management issues. It deals in particular with the scope for building on traditional practices, through the participation of traditional fishing communities, as a means of improving the quality of river fishery management. |
The paper reviews the most frequently encountered problems of riverine fisheries such as over-fishing due to population pressure or migration, and artifically induced environmental factors such as dams, pollution and deforestation. It lays stress on the importance of studying fishing communities, as well as strictly biological factors, and presents a four-stage analysis of the evolution of traditional riverine fisheries. Several undesirable consequences of this typical evolution, both on the resource itself and on traditional fishing communities, are identified and illustrated by case studies from the Amazon and the Zambesi. Certain types of traditional management strategies are examined and assessed for their future utility. |
The current ineffectiveness of many existing government river fisheries management policies is noted, either as a result of lack of resources or because they are inappropriate, often rooted in outdated colonial legislation. The lack of both limited access measures and of participation by local fishing communities are highlighted as major deficiencies. |
The paper concludes by linking these two features as crucial components of durable river management strategies for the future, although other possibilities for management are also reviewed and assessed. The paper contains a comprehensive bibliography for further reading. |
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