aquaculture

Brian Coad has published a substantial work in the Freshwater Fishes of Iran.

From the introduction:

This work is meant to provide a guide to the freshwater fishes of Iran. There are no modern keys to this fauna, some available books are incomplete or cursory treatments or outdated, and the detailed and diverse scientific literature is widely scattered in time, languages and journals. Iran lies at a region of major zoogeographical interchange and has a diverse and interesting ichthyofauna about which comparatively little is known. An accurate identification is a pre-requisite for further scientific studies and this website aims to serve that purpose and to be an introductory guide to the fishes. The guide is aimed at a mixed audience, including scientists familiar with ichthyology to whom some introductory sections of this work will be superfluous, and those whose knowledge of fishes is embryonic or who may have limited access to literature sources.

This work has been carried out over a period of over 30 years from my first arrival in Iran in January 1976. In that year, 7 articles were published strictly on Iranian fishes (3 on parasites, 1 on pesticides, 1 on fisheries, 1 describing the blind white fish and 1 a summary of the latter; 2 were in Farsi). In 2006, 160 articles on Iranian fishes appeared, along with many relevant works from neighbouring countries, works on the aquatic environment in Iran and works on taxonomy and systematics relevant to Iran. The study of fishes is now a very active field within Iran and the Middle East. Accordingly, 2006 is the last year that this work was updated although some systematic and taxonomic studies may still be incorporated.

Ichiro Nomura, Assistant Director-General, FAO Fisheries Department, notes in the forward of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 –

Developments during the past two years confirm the trends already observed at the end of the 1990s: capture fisheries production is stagnating, aquaculture output is expanding and there are growing concerns with regard to the livelihoods of fishers and the sustainability of commercial catches and the aquatic ecosystems from which they are extracted. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 reports on several of these issues.

It is not only fishers and fish farmers who have these concerns; they are increasingly shared by civil society at large. Moreover, the importance of international trade in fish and fish products, combined with the trend for major fishing and trading companies to operate on a multinational basis, means that such issues are becoming global in nature – affecting a growing number of countries, be they large fish producers or large consumers of fish. It is heartening to note that governments and other stakeholders have begun to collaborate with their neighbours and partners in trade in an effort to find shared solutions.

Concrete examples of positive outcomes of this “globalization of concerns” are the establishment of new regional fishery management organizations and the strengthening of existing ones. It is probable that ongoing discussions among intergovernmental organizations on topics such as trade in endangered aquatic species, the use of subsidies in the fishing industry, and labour standards in fisheries will also result in agreements of overall benefit to world society.

Given the nature and tone of the international discussion on fishery issues and the developments observed during recent years, I believe that fishers and fish farmers, in collaboration with governments and other stakeholders, will overcome the obstacles they face currently and will succeed in ensuring sustainable fisheries and continued supplies of food fish at least at their present levels.

Science magazine (3 November 2006: Vol. 314. no. 5800, pp. 787 – 790 DOI: 10.1126/science.1132294) reported a less bright future: (from the reprint summary)

A Need for a Sea Change
The significance of the ocean’s declining diversity on humanity has been difficult to assess. In a series of meta-analyses, Worm et al. (p. 787; see the news story by Stokstad [a summary, the balance by subscription]) quantify how the loss of marine diversity on local, regional, and global scales has affected the functioning and stability of marine ecosystems, the flow of ecosystem services, and the rise of associated risks to humanity. Similar relationships occur between biodiversity change and ecosystem services at scales ranging from small squaremeter plots to entire ocean basins; this finding implies that small-scale experiments can be used to predict large-scale ocean change. At current rates of diversity loss, this analysis indicates that there will be no more viable fish or invertebrate species available to fisheries by 2050. However, the results also show that the trends in loss of species are still reversible.

The abstract is available, the article is by subscription. New Scientist magazine carry more freely available coverage of the results of Worm’s (et al) research.

Many fisheries scientists have been sceptical of the idea that damage to a few non-fish species could be a threat to major fish stocks. But this study demonstrates, for the first time, that commercial and ecological health go together in the ocean. “Every species matters.”

In a separate article, New Scientist report that striking the balance between the need to conserve wild stocks and economic imperatives continue to challenge policy makers and the fishing industry; leading to some unhappy compromises.

Jiansan Jia and Jiaxin Chen, have published a paper (2001) entitled Sea Farming and Sea Ranching in China.

The abstract:

The various sea farming and sea ranching practices used in the People’s Republic of China are reviewed, based on published and unpublished information, statistical data and field experiences. The development of marine fisheries during the past 50 years is described. Following their decline caused by overfishing and the ecological degradation of the coastal environment, emphasis was shifted from marine capture fisheries to aquaculture-based operations, including farming and ranching of marine organisms both in inshore and offshore areas. The biology and culture of major representatives of five species groups (seaweed, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and fish), involving a total of 67 different species, are presented, together with detailed production statistics. The eight sea farming and ranching systems actually used in China are presented. Several aspects related to marine resources management for sea farming and ranching are discussed, such as legislation, research on genetics and biodiversity, health management and marine habitat rehabilitation. Monitoring and evaluation according to biological, environmental and socio-economic standards are briefly considered.

Craig Schiller, from the Zoology Department, The University Of Queensland, Australia, authored a report entitled Assessment of the Status of the Coconut Crab Birgus latro on Niue Island with recommendations regarding an appropriate resource management strategy. The report (now available online) was first published by the FAO in April 1992 as part of the South Pacific Aquaculture Development Project, Suva, Fiji.

From the introduction:

A series of management proposals were developed to ensure the continuation of the coconut crab on Niue. A summary of the recommendations follows:

1. No female coconut crabs with large orange-tinted abdomens or bearing external eggs to be taken or interfered with.
2. Introduction of a minimum legal hunting size of 36mm thoracic length for all coconut crabs (includes providing a size-guide for hunters to use in the field to size crabs).
3. Banning of all coconut crab exports.
4. Introduction of closed hunting seasons.
5. A comprehensive public awareness campaign (involving production of a large coconut crab conservation poster and educational video movie).
6. Establishment of formal coconut crab sanctuaries.
7. Banning use of dogs by coconut crab hunters.
8. Instigation of a coconut crab monitoring programme.
9. Preservation of coconut crab habitat.

Its large size (up to 1 metre) and land-based behaviours suggest Coconut Crab is a species with the potential for aquaculture, but there is very little published research available. It has been noted that wild populations of Coconut Crab are shrinking in the Cook Islands. H. H. Taylor, P. Greenaway, and S. Morris published a report (1993) in the Journal of Experimental Biology entitled Adaptations to a Terrestrial Existence by the Robber Crab Birgus latro – osmotic and ionic regulation on freshwater and saline drinking regimens.

Very usefully, the FAO have launched an online glossary of aquaculture terms, available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese.

This multidisciplinary glossary has been prepared by the Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service (FIRI) of FAO Fisheries Department, under the coordination of Valerio Crespi.

The primary objectives of this glossary are

1. to serve as a reference to fish farmers, consultants, administrators, policy makers, developers, engineers, agriculturists, economists, environmentalists and anybody interested in aquaculture; and
2. to facilitate communication among experts and scientists involved in aquaculture research and development.