Small-scale fisheries are important in Laos, where rural people heavily depend upon Mekong River and tributary fish stocks for their livelihoods. Increasing pressures from human exploitation and habitat disturbance, however, have raised serious concerns about the potential depletion of various species. This has led to the establishment of large numbers of Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) or "no-take" fish sanctuaries in southern Laos based on a "community-based fisheries co-management" framework. This study uses the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of fishers to assess the effectiveness of village-managed FCZs in enhancing fish stocks in the mainstream Mekong River in Khong District, Champasak Province. Focus group interviews about species that are believed to have benefited from different FCZs are compared with parameters such as FCZ area, age, depth, localized gradient, water velocity, and the presence of wetland forests nearby. The results suggest that no one aspect is likely to account for variations in fish stocks; rather, it is the interaction between numerous factors that has the largest impact. Secondly, the results indicate that microhabitat diversity and protection are critical for maintaining and enhancing Mekong fisheries. Deep-water pools are particularly important as dry season refuges for many fish species, and FCZ depth may be the single most important environmental factor affecting the success of FCZs in the Mekong River. FCZs have the most potential to benefit relatively sedentary species, but may also benefit highly migratory species, given the right conditions. This study shows that integrated approaches to stock assessment that employ LEK and scientific fisheries management have considerable potential for improving Mekong capture-fisheries management.

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ABSTRACT. Change is a defining characteristic of coastal social-ecological systems, yet the magnitude and speed of contemporary change is challenging the adaptive capacity of even the most robust coastal communities. In the context of multiple drivers of change, it has become increasingly important to identify how threatened communities adapt to livelihood stressors. We investigate how adaptation is negotiated in two coastal fishing communities by documenting livelihood stressors, household assets, adaptive strategies, and factors that facilitate or inhibit adaptation. Declining catch is the most common stressor being experienced in both communities, however, socioeconomic, e.g., disease or theft, and ecological, e.g., severe storms and drought, changes are also creating livelihood stress. We find that specialized fishers' with higher investment in fishing gear and government support are adapting by intensifying their fishing efforts, whereas poorer fishers with more livelihood options are adapting through diversification. Adaptation is facilitated by fishers' groups, occupational pride, and family networks. It is inhibited by limited assets, competition over declining resources, and pervasive poverty. Our data suggest that adaptation is a heterogeneous process that is influenced by multiple factors. Understanding the complexity of fishers' responses to livelihood stressors is critical for fostering adaptive capacity in coastal communities, for strengthening fisheries management, and for improving the livelihoods of fishing dependent communities.

This paper uses themes from political ecology to develop insights into the billion dollar shrimp aquaculture sector in Thailand . We find that corporations can exercise only limited control over shrimp production and that there is no clear trend toward larger operations . We explain the continued viability of small owner-operated farms by looking at how shrimp farming is located in physical and social space, and at the ability of owner-operators to work within the highly unstable socio-ecological processes of shrimp production. We also find that shrimp farming has induced a spatially-uneven increase in state territorial regulation . The spatial distribution of regulation is shaped by differences in how landscapes become politicized, and the degree of jurisdictional clarity . We conclude that industry self-regulation has limited prospects for containing the social and environmental problems of shrimp farming in Thailand, but that expanded state regulation that mobilizes the participation of local people might be effective. 76Rural .Sorioloy Vol. 64 . No. , /)r . i'm/ar JV})

The heavy reliance of most global aquaculture on the ambient environment suggests inherent vulnerability to climate change effects. This review explores the potential effects of climate change stressors on aquaculture biology and resources needed to support decision-making for vulnerability assessment, planned adaptation, and strategic research development. Climate change-mediated physiochemical outcomes important to aquaculture include extreme weather, precipitation and surge-based flooding, water stress, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, saltwater intrusion, and changes to temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Culture practices, environment, and region affect stressor exposure, and biological response between species or populations are not universal. Response to a climate change stressor will be a function of where changes occur relative to optimal ranges and tolerance limits of an organism's life stage and physiological processes; the average magnitude of the stressor over the production cycle; stressor rate of change; variation, frequency, duration, and magnitude of extremes; epigenetic expression, genetic strain, and variation within and between populations; health and nutrition; and simultaneous stressor occurrence. The effects of simultaneous stressors will frequently interact, but may not be fully additive or synergistic. Disease is a major aquaculture limiter, and climate change is expected to further affect plant and animal health through the host and/or infectious agents. Climate change may introduce further complexity to the aquaculture−wild fishery relationship, with over two-thirds of animal aquaculture production dependent on external feed inputs. Higher production costs could be an economic outcome of climate change for many aquaculture sectors. Some aquaculture practices may inadvertently reduce resiliency to climate change, such as a reduction of coastal vegetation, coastal ground-water pumping, and reduction of population variability in pursuit of consistent production traits. Information from the largest aquaculture producers such as China and the top 3 global culture species is still sparse in the literature. This potentially limits thorough understanding of climate change effects on some regional aquaculture sectors.

/ Rising demand for shrimp in the developed nations has helped to foster a dramatic growth in marine shrimp aquaculture, particularly in South America and South Asia, In Thailand, marine shrimp aquaculture is now an important earner of foreign exchange. The growth in production has been achieved through the expansion of the culture area and the adoption of intensive production methods. The conversion of near-shore areas to shrimp culture, however, is proving to have many consequences that impinge on the environmental integrity of coastal areas. This paper reviews the development of Thailand's marine shrimp culture industry and examines the nature of the environmental impacts that are emerging. It then discusses the implications these have for rural poor and the long-term viability of the culture industry.

Increases in global population and seafood demand are occurring simultaneously with fisheries decline in an era of rapid climate change. Aquaculture is well positioned to help meet the world's future seafood needs, but heavy reliance of most global aquaculture on the ambient environment and ecosystem services suggests inherent vulnerability to climate change effects. There are, however, opportunities for adaptation. Engineering and management solutions can reduce exposure to stressors or mitigate stressors through environmental control. Epigenetic adaptation may have the potential to improve stressor tolerance through parental or early life stage exposure. Stressor-resistant traits can be genetically selected for, and maintaining adequate population variability can improve resilience and overall fitness. Information at appropriate time scales is crucial for adaptive response, such as real-time data on stressor levels and/or species' responses, early warning of deleterious events, or prediction of longer-term change. Diet quality and quantity have the potential to meet increasing energetic and nutritional demands associated with mitigating the effects of abiotic and biotic climate change stressors. Research advancements in understanding how climate change affects aquaculture will benefit most from a combination of empirical studies, modelling approaches, and observations at the farm level. Research to support aquaculture adaptation requires an increasing amount of environmental data to guide biological response studies for regional applications. Increased experimental complexity, resources, and duration will be necessary to better understand the effects of multiple stressors. Ultimately, in order for aquaculture sectors to move beyond short-term coping responses, governance initiatives incorporating the changing needs of stakeholders, users, and culture ecosystems as a whole are required to facilitate planned climate change adaptation and mitigation.

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