Potential Yield of South Asian Small Reservoir Fisheries. Final Technical Report.
Abstract
Fisheries in many Asian reservoirs are culture-based, i.e. dependent on the regular stocking of seed fish. The project has substantially improved the conceptual understanding of culture-based fisheries. It has provided qualitative guidelines for the management of such fisheries, and tools for their quantitative assessment. A population dynamics model for culture-based fisheries has been developed. The model incorporates simple sub-models for the two key population processes of density-dependent growth and size-dependent mortality. Stocking and harvesting regimes for perennial and seasonal culture-based reservoir fisheries have been evaluated quantitatively using the population model. A quantitative assessment method developed on the basis of modelling results has been tested on stocking and catch data from a Chinese reservoir. The role of multiple uses in the management of communal small reservoirs has been studied in Northeast Thailand. A need for further research has been identified in the following areas: bio-economic modelling of culture-based fisheries, design of adaptive management policies, sampling for stock assessment, options in seed production, relationship between access rights and the provision of inputs for fish production, and management of small reservoirs for multiple objectives.
Citation
Marine Resources Assessment Group Ltd, Fisheries Management Science Programme, Overseas Development Administration London, UK, 59 pp.