RAP PUBLICATION 2010/22 Inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation in Asia xi RAP PUBLICATION 2010/22 INLAND FISHERIES RESOURCE ENHANCEMENT AND CONSERVATION IN ASIA Edited by Miao Weimin Sena De Silva Brian Davy FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Bangkok, 2010 i The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. ISBN 978-92-5-106751-2 All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to: Chief Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch Communication Division FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to: [email protected] © FAO 2010 For copies please write to: Aquaculture Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel: (+66) 2 697 4119 Fax: (+66) 2 697 4445 E-mail: [email protected] For bibliographic purposes, please reference this publication as: Miao W., Silva S.D., Davy B. (eds.) (2010) Inland Fisheries Enhancement and Conservation in Asia. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2010/22, 189 pp. ii FOREWORD Inland capture fisheries provide an important source of food and livelihoods for many people in rural areas. In 2008, inland capture fisheries provided 10.2 million tonnes of fish worldwide (FAO, 2010), which was largely used for direct human consumption. Asia has overwhelmingly contributed to the world’s inland capture fisheries production with a reported total production of 6.8 million tonnes in 2008 (FAO, 2010). The actual contribution of inland capture fisheries, however, is far higher than what is reflected in the above official data. Because of the difficulties involved in collecting data from large numbers of small-scale, scattered and often unregistered fishers, official figures for fish catches tend to be vastly underestimated. Inland fisheries resources provide not only the material basis for maintaining capture fisheries production, but also serve as a reservoir of aquatic biodiversity. However, over the past few decades inland fisheries resources have come under increasing pressure from overfishing, use of destructive fishing gear/methodologies, water engineering projects, pollution and environment changes and have shown a clear declining trend. This has been well demonstrated by the disappearance of some traditionally important fish species and a general reduction in the catch of high valued species. Fisheries resource enhancement and conservation measures have long been adopted in many Asian countries for sustaining capture fish production, conserving aquatic biodiversity, rescuing endangered species, improving environmental conditions and upgrading recreational fisheries by offsetting the adverse impacts of human activities on inland fisheries resources. The contribution of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation to sustained inland capture fisheries and conservation of aquatic biodiversity as well as to nutritional security and improved rural livelihoods has been commonly recognized. On the other hand, external interventions to the aquatic ecosystem from fisheries resource enhancement and conservation activities may have had adverse impacts on the ecosystem and wild fish community, especially when such activities are carried out without a strong scientific basis or adequate evaluation and monitoring mechanisms. There is a general lack of comprehensive understanding as to the effectiveness and impacts of current enhancement and conservation activities in the region. This publication is the product of a regional review study on inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation conducted during 2009-2010. It includes ten country review papers and one regional synthesis report generated from a regional expert workshop. The publication provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive information on inland fisheries resources enhancement and conservation in the region, covering practices, methodologies, operational modalities, impacts, constraints and recommendations for the way forward. The synthesis report provides a regional perspective on inland fisheries resources enhancement and conservation practices in Asia, with special focus on identifying common issues and problems, and recommends actions on improved practices for maximizing benefits to the region. This publication can serve as an important reference for people working in inland fisheries resources management. More importantly, it provides a starting point for anticipated thrusts in promoting better practices of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation. Hiroyuki Konuma Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific iii PREPARATION OF THE DOCUMENT This regional review study is an effort to promote improved inland fisheries management under the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It covers ten Asian countries with significant inland capture fisheries, namely Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. The review study was conducted in collaboration with the Network of Aquaculture Centre in Asia-Pacific (NACA). Experts from the ten participating countries prepared a comprehensive review paper for each country during November 2009 to February 2010 following the guidelines jointly developed by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and NACA. A regional expert workshop on inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation in Asia was subsequently convened by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and NACA from 8 to 11 February 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand. The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, NACA, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) as well as the ten experts from the ten countries who participated in the review study attended. The workshop participants shared experiences and lessons on inland fisheries enhancement and conservation practices across the region, discussed the impacts of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation practices, identified the constraints and related problems from a regional perspective and recommended regional collaborative activities to promote improved practices of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation. A regional synthesis report was produced as the major output of the workshop. All the country review papers were presented, commented on and reviewed by a panel of experts during the workshop. The authors revised their manuscripts following the suggestions made by the review panel. The regional synthesis report was drafted by Sena De Silva (Director General, Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand) based on the workshop discussions and further reviewed. The revised country papers were then reviewed and technically edited by an editorial team, which consisted of Miao Weimin (Aquaculture Officer, FAO Regional Officer for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand), Sena De Silva and Brian Davy (Senior Fellow, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Ottawa, Canada) before the authors finalized their manuscripts. The manuscripts were then reedited by the FAO Regional Office staff for final printing after receiving the final confirmed version from the authors. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of the publication was attributable to the joint efforts of all the country review authors and editorial team. Much gratitude is due to the country review authors who made their best efforts in preparing the country papers and showed enormous patience with the many revisions requested of them. Simon Funge-Smith, Senior Fisheries Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is gratefully acknowledged for his technical advice and contribution to the expert workshop. Special thanks are due to Pornsuda David for her assistance in the final language editing and in facilitating publication of the document. Finally, Jiansan Jia, Chief of the FAO Aquaculture Management Service is gratefully acknowledged for his technical support. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD................................................................................................................................................................................... iii INLAND FISHERIES RESOURCE ENHANCEMENT AND CONSERVATION IN BANGLADESH ................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................