SSSeeeaaa AAArrrououounnnddd UUUsss A Figure 1. Sample of publications dealing with bycatch. with dealing publications of Sample 1. Figure e-mails, whosesubstance, with thebackgroundintwo Allsopp 1989)providedme Research Centre(IDRC; International Development official attheCanadian was formanyyearsasenior word ‘bycatch’. Bertie, who earliest introductionofthe for areferenceattestingthe (Allsopp 1996)askedhim Caribbean EnglishUsage Oxford Dictionaryof brother, theauthorof that atthecelebration,his turned 80,andwroteme ‘Bertie’ Allsopprecently or HowW.H.L.Allsoppcoined The Sea Sea The The Sea Sea The The Sea Sea The The Sea Sea The The Sea Sea The n oldfriendofmine, model, Dr. W.H.L. and oftenarole Issue 44 – No – 44 Issue Issue 44 – No – 44 Issue Issue 44 – No – 44 Issue Issue 44 – No – 44 Issue Issue 44 – No – 44 Issue a newwordandcreated Around Us Project Ne Project Us Around Around Us Project Ne Project Us Around Around Us Project Ne Project Us Around Around Us Project Ne Project Us Around Around Us Project Ne Project Us Around new insights On bycatch by DanielPauly recipe book,calypsos,etc. feasts onStPeter’s day, high colonialofficials,fish- the Governorandother with thefullparticipationof More-Skinfish Campaign’ from 1950-1955, an ‘Eat- unmarketable. Westarted, abandoned as fishermen intheirnetsand caught incidentallybylocal were called ‘skinfish’), discards ofcatfishes(which I wasfirstshownthelarge British Guianain1950when ‘bycatch’ originatedin useoftheterm “The follows: slightly edited,wasas v v v v v ember/December 2007 ember/December ember/December 2007 ember/December ember/December 2007 ember/December ember/December 2007 ember/December ember/December 2007 ember/December also identifiedsimilarterms publication divisionofIDRC species’) alternatives. The and boring(‘non-target also beatcute(‘bye-catch’) replacement for fish’.‘trash It eventually acceptedas first questioned,but new word – ‘bycatch’ -was Guyana (Allsopp1982).My bycatch utilizationprojectin approval toundertakea 1972, thattherewashesitant IDRC fisheriesprogramin from FAO, the andstarted It wasonlywhenIresigned industrial practice. considered by FAO anormal shrimp trawlers,again pattern ofdiscardingby Togo. There, Isawthesame West Africafromabasein however, to work forthemin to help. They hiredme, However, theFAO declined jettisoned theirbycatch. based trawlersstarted Japanese, andotherGuyana- worse. Soon,over200US, situation becamemuch of penaeidprawns,the 1957, foundlargeresources conducted offGuyanain When atrawling survey, Continued on page 2 - Bycatch - 2 page on Continued Continued on page 2 - Bycatch - 2 page on Continued Continued on page 2 - Bycatch - 2 page on Continued Continued on page 2 - Bycatch - 2 page on Continued Continued on page 2 - Bycatch - 2 page on Continued wsletter wsletter wsletter wsletter wsletter Sea Around Us – November/December 2007 Page 2

Bycatch - Continued from page 1 standard Japanese fish ‘bycatch from shrimp trawling’, I processing machines to handle find that there are over 120,000 for translation into its French, smaller bycatch species, and hits [see Figure 1 for a sample]. Spanish and Arabic publications. trained fish technologists to start All of this started with our IDRC made a film on the topic, a new industry with the latest humble advocacy from Guyana which had a great impact on machinery. This is now a billion in the 1950s.” policy makers, though we also dollar seafood industry. The new got lots of resistance, especially products that are available for Simply put, Bertie Allsopp saw from the USA and Japan. The direct human consumption are bycatch when others saw word bycatch was then adopted marketed at greater value than trashfish. I wonder how many by European environmentalists, the customary shrimp and fish. new worlds lurk in words not yet by the Inter-American Looking up a Google search for invented. Development Bank, UNEP, and References on page 4 - Bycatch There is an finally by FAO, which made the opportunity reduction of bycatch a good thing for the Sea under their Code of Conduct for On volunteering for the Around Us Responsible Fisheries. In fact, they just published the second edition Sea Around Us project to of a ‘Guide to Bycatch Reduction by Lou Frotté advocate in Tropical Shrimp-Trawl Fisheries’ the wider (Eayrs 2007; see Fig. 1). The Sea Around Us project regularly employs volunteers to assist development with its work. This mutually beneficial arrangement provides young scientists with an opportunity to gain experience and to of bycatch- I think there is an opportunity for the Sea Around Us project to network while furthering the work of the project. Our most recent based advocate the wider development volunteer, Lou Frotté, joins us from France. products for of bycatch-based products for human human consumption. This was My first aim when I volunteered as an intern with the Sea Around consumption admirably done, for example, in Us was to gain professional experience in fisheries research, Singapore, where they modified whilst at the same time improving my English. My second ambition was to enjoy my time here and discover the landscape and culture of British Columbia. The Sea Around Us project newsletter is My work here has focused on the French territories in the published by the Fisheries Centre at the South Pacific Ocean - that is to say French Polynesia, New University of British Co- Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna islands. I have collected a large lumbia. Included amount of data about catches from commercial and subsistence with the Fisheries fisheries between 1950 and 2005, using published sources. Centre’s newsletter Processing these data has allowed me to estimate annual catches FishBytes,six is- and match these data with those published by FAO. In most cases, sues of this news- FAO’s numbers were lower than my estimates. Currently, I am letter are pub- taking the same approach for the French Antilles (Martinique and lished annually. Guadeloupe) and French Guiana. Subscriptions are I have enjoyed my time at the Fisheries Centre - with both free of charge. researchers and students. I have achieved my professional aims Our mailing address is: UBC Fisheries Cen- and have also discovered a beautiful country with an ubiquitous, tre, Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory, wild nature and friendly people. 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Colum- bia, Canada, V6T 1Z4. Our fax number is (604) 822-8934, and our email address is he Sea Around Us project is a Fisheries Centre partner- [email protected]. All queries (in- ship with the Pew Charitable Trusts of Philadelphia, cluding reprint requests), subscription re- TTUSA. The Trusts support nonprofit activities in the areas quests, and address changes should be ad- of culture, education, the environment, health and human serv- dressed to Robyn Forrest, Sea Around Us ices, public policy and religion. Based in Philadelphia, the Newsletter Editor. Trusts make strategic investments to help organisations and The Sea Around Us website may be found citizens develop practical solutions to difficult problems. In at www.seaaroundus.org and contains up- 2000, with approximately $4.8 billion in assets, the Trusts to-date information on the project. committed over $235 million to 302 nonprofit organisations.

ISSN 1713-5214 Sea Around Us (ONLINE) Page 3 Sea Around Us – November/December 2007 The untapped treasure of local fishers’ knowledge

by Dawit Tesfamichael

any people who have Mbeen to a fish landing site and spent a few hours talking to fishers and observing the busy and non-stop movements of different kinds of people will agree that Oral a lot can be learned about fish and fisheries traditions right there. Fishers [...] have have a great deal of been a knowledge, Clockwise from top left: valuable accumulated over 1. A fish landing site in Hodeidah, source of their years of Yemen; experience. In many information tropical fisheries, 2. A fisherman with his son being about interviewed in Hodeidah, Yemen. which are dominated Net-mending time is one of the historical by small scale best time to do interviews; events in traditional fishing fisheries methods, “lack of data” 3. Catch ready for sale in Port Sudan, Sudan is always mentioned as a problem. Actually, Photos by D. Tesfamichael over my few years in the Fisheries Centre, I have heard many researchers In the absence of data records, it mean putting the fisheries at risk from the relatively “data rich” is not uncommon for researchers (Johannes et al. 2000). A good temperate countries also to depend on information gained example of using information complaining about it. from people knowledgeable from fishers is in estimating about the system and the issue unreported catch, which as the As part of my PhD research, I being investigated. For example, name indicates, is not found in went to countries bordering the oral traditions (a.k.a. Local any reports (Tesfamichael and Red Sea to obtain data for my Environmental Knowledge, LEK, or Pitcher, 2007). Hence, in the thesis. I looked not only in the Traditional Environmental situations of many countries usual places, such as ministries, Knowledge, TEK) have been a where good, long-term data- research institutes and valuable source of information recording systems do not exist, universities, but also at fish about historical events in fisheries every effort should be made to landing sites, on the boats and in (e.g. Neis et al. 1999, Sáenz- collect information from the fishing villages. The objective was Arroyo et al. 2005). Pauly (1995) fishers themselves. to interview fishers in order to argues that anecdotes e.g., about obtain historical background and occurrence of species, can be ‘as It goes without saying that time series information for Red factual as temperature records’. including fishers, or users of Sea fisheries. The work was done Sometimes the only information other resources, in the mainly by interviewing fishers of available is expert or traditional assessment and management of different age groups. knowledge and not using it may Continued on page 4 - LEK Sea Around Us – November/December 2007 Page 4

LEK - Continued from page 3 each fishery and an evaluation Neis, B., Schneider, D.C., Felt, L., of the available statistical data. Haedrich, R.L., Fischer, J. and resources has many Hutchings, J.A., 1999. Fisheries advantages. Their knowledge An additional treat was the assessment: what can be of the system is usually quite amazing stories the learned from interviewing extensive and is an important interviewees were willing to resource users? Canadian guide for starting any kind of share with me. Two of my Journal of Fisheries and survey. Fishers’ knowledge may interviewees were fishers who Aquatic Sciences 56: 1949– also be complementary to survived for three days in the 1963. existing knowledge of the sea after their boats were Pauly, D., 1995. Anecdotes and resources. Understanding the wrecked in stormy seas. Sadly, the shifting baseline syndrome motivations, concerns and all of their colleagues were of fisheries. Trends in Ecology operations of fishers is also an killed in the accident. Many and Evolution 10: p 430. Many fishers important part of ecosystem- fishers told me stories of Sáenz-Arroyo, A., Roberts, C.M., told me based management, for isn’t encounters with marine Torre, J., Carino-Olvera, M. and stories of ecosystem-based creatures that were sometimes Enriquez-Andrade, R.R., 2005. management about taking a bigger than their small boats, Rapidly shifting environmental encounters holistic approach - and what is although such encounters baselines among fishers of the with marine the whole without the human appear to be less common in Gulf of California. Proceedings creatures element? From a practical recent years. I wonder what of the Royal Society of London, that were point of view, the participation other insights will be attained Series B: Biological Sciences sometimes of resource users in decision- once the interviews are 272: 1957–1962. making may also increase the analyzed quantitatively. Tesfamichael, D. and Pitcher, T.J., bigger than odds for successful sustainable 2007. Estimating the their small use of resources. This issue was Acknowledgements unreported catch of Eritrean boats highlighted in the 8th Larkin My heartfelt thanks go to the Red Sea fisheries. lecture by Dr Ray Hilborn titled diligent and friendly assistants I African Journal of “Managing fish is managing had during the field trip, Marine Science 29 people” (see Hilborn 2007) and without whom the field work (1): 55 – 63. also in many publications. wouldn’t be successful: Ahmed, Aron and Yonathan in Eritrea; Bycatch - Continued from page 2 I had many opportunities to Kalid and Mohammed in Sudan; talk to old and young fishers. and Fahad and Hesham in References More than 400 fishers were Yemen. It was always fun and Allsopp, R. (editor). 1996. interviewed from 3 countries: pleasant to be around Dictionary of Caribbean Sudan, Eritrea and Yemen. Bokretsion, our driver in Eritrea. I English Usage. Oxford Questions were organized would also like to thank many University Press, Oxford, systematically so that the friends and colleagues both in 697 p. historical knowledge or ‘data’ in Canada and the countries I Allsopp, W.H.L. 1982. Use of the fishers’ memories were visited for their encouragement fish bycatch from shrimp captured. For example, fishers and contributions in many ways. trawling: future of different ages were asked Thanks is also due to the Sea development. p. 29–36. In: what was their best ever catch Around Us project for funding Fish bycatch bonus from the and when it occurred. They the field work. sea. Report of the technical were also asked where they go consultation on shrimp fishing frequently. This will give References bycatch utilization. an idea of as to what is Hilborn, R. 2007. Managing Georgetown, Guyana, 27–30 happening to the resources in fisheries is managing October 1981, IDRC, Ottawa. time and space. Fishers were people: what has been Allsopp, W.H.L. 1989. Fishery also very good at providing learned? Fish and Fisheries Development Experiences. information about changes in 8: 285-296. Wiley-Blackwell, 160 p. species and size composition Johannes, R.E., Freeman., M.M.R. Eayrs, S. 2007. A Guide to of their catches over a long and Hamilton, R.J., 2000. Bycatch Reduction in Tropical period of time. The main Ignore fishers’ knowledge Shrimp-Trawl Fisheries. outputs of my work will be and miss the boat. Fish and Revised edition. indices showing the status of Fisheries 1: 257–271. FAO, Rome, 108 p.

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