Investing in African fisheries: building links to the Millennium Development Goals

Heck, Simon; Béné, Christophe; Reyes-Gaskin, Roberto

doi:10.1111/j.1467-2679.2007.00251.x

Cited by 54 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This represents more than 10 % of the world population. For most of these households, the revenues generated may not necessarily be very high (Neiland and Béné 2004;Allison et al 2011;Béné and Friend 2011), but it is often the main component of their livelihood, which allows them to secure accessibility to food (Heck et al 2007;Béné et al 2009;Eide et al 2011). …”

Section: Sustainability Of Fisheries and Implications For Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting fish back on the menu

et al. 2015

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Fish provides more than 4.5 billion people with at least 15 % of their average per capita intake of animal protein.Fish's unique nutritional properties make it also essential to the health of billions of consumers in both developed and developing countries. Fish is one of the most efficient converters of feed into high quality food and its carbon footprint is lower compared to other animal production systems. Through fish-related activities (fisheries and aquaculture but also processing and trading), fish contribute substantially to the income and therefore to the indirect food security of more than 10 % of the world population, essentially in developing and emergent countries. Yet, limited attention has been given so far to fish as a key element in food security and nutrition strategies at national level and in wider development discussions and interventions. As a result, the tremendous potential for improving food security and nutrition embodied in the strengthening of the fishery and aquaculture sectors is missed. The purpose of this paper is to make a case for a closer integration of fish into the overall debate and future policy about food security and nutrition. For this, we review the evidence from the contemporary and emerging debates and controversies around fisheries and aquaculture and we discuss them in the light of the issues debated in the wider agriculture/farming literature. The overarching question that underlies this paper is: how and to what extent will fish be able to contribute to feeding 9 billion people in 2050 and beyond?

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Section: Sustainability Of Fisheries and Implications For Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting fish back on the menu

et al. 2015

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“…In West Africa, oyster exploitation was reported in many fisheries in Nigeria (Abowei and Hart, 2008;Ikpi and Offem, 2012), in the Volta River in Ghana (Ampofo-yeboah et al, 2009) and in the Pendjari River in Benin (Kiansi, 2011). Surprisingly, no data were reported on the population dynamics of the species probably facing heavy exploitation owing to steadily increasing fishing pressure (Heck et al, 2007). This information is of great importance to establish sound management strategies for species exploitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Moreover, empty shells are used as a source of calcium in poultry feed and in lime manufacturing (Ampofo-yeboah, 2000;Adjei-Boateng and Wilson, 2012). This region is facing an exponential demographic pressure with limited resources, which is threatening bivalve natural stocks (Heck et al, 2007). Therefore, assessment of the exploitation level of exploited stocks is of great importance to implement relevant management strategies of bivalve mollusks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population dynamics of freshwater oysterEtheria elliptica(Bivalvia: Etheriidae) in the Pendjari River (Benin-Western Africa)

Akélé

Agadjihouèdé

Mensah

et al. 2015

Knowl. Managt. Aquatic Ecosyst.

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Key-words:Etheria elliptica, freshwater oyster, Bivalvia, population dynamics, Benin Etheria elliptica (Bivalvia: Etheriidae) is the only freshwater oyster occurring in Africa. The current study provides the first data on the population structure, growth, age, mortality and exploitation status of this species in the Pendjari River. E. elliptica length-frequency data were collected monthly from January to December 2009 and analyzed with FiSAT software. Population parameters including the asymptotic length (L ∞ ) and growth coefficient (K) were assessed to evaluate the stock status. The recruitment pattern was modeled with a FiSAT routine. The asymptotic length (L ∞ ) was 14.75 cm, while the growth coefficient (K) was 0.38 year −1 . The growth performance index (ø ) reached 1.92. Specimens of Etheria elliptica reached a mean size of 4.66 cm and 6.41 cm at the end of one year and 1.5 years, respectively. We estimated total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M) and fishing mortality (F) to be 2.90 year −1 , 1.16 year −1 and 1.74 year −1 , respectively. The recruitment pattern was continuous over the year with one major peak event during the rainy season (July). The exploitation rate (E = 0.60) revealed that the freshwater oyster was probably facing overexploitation due to lack of a minimum limit size and also due to an increase in the harvesting effort. Therefore, efficient management methods were urgently required to conserve the species. The return of empty shells into the water to increase the recruitment surface, rotation planning among harvesting sites and the imposition of a minimum limit size were recommendations made in order to ensure the sustainable exploitation of wild stocks. RÉSUMÉDynamique des populations de l'huître d'eau douce Etheria elliptica (Bivalvia : Etheriidae) de la rivière Pendjari (Bénin-Afrique de l'Ouest) Mots-clés :Etheria elliptica, huître d'eau douce, bivalve, Etheria elliptica (Bivalvia : Etheriidae) est la seule espèce d'huître rencontrée dans les eaux douces en Afrique. La présente étude a fourni les premières données sur la structure de la population, la croissance, l'âge, la mortalité et le niveau d'exploitation de l'huître dans la rivière Pendjari (Bénin). Les données de fré-quence de taille de l'huître E. elliptica ont été recueillies chaque mois de janvier 2009 à décembre 2009 et analysées avec le logiciel FiSAT. Les paramètres de la population, y compris la longueur asymptotique (L ∞ ), le coefficient de croissance (K) et le modèle de recrutement ont été estimés pour évaluer l'état du stock.

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“…In contrast, for the poor of developing countries, wild caught fish provide one of the very few options for eating animal protein. In Africa, 200 million people obtain between 22 and 70% of their dietary animal protein from fish, while in developing countries, the average is 13% (Heck et al 2007). Add to this the vital role of fish in providing the poor with micronutrients and essential fatty acids, and the importance of sustaining fish stocks as a source of food and nutrition for the poor stands out.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While average global fish consumption rose from 12 to 16 kg/year between 1973 and 1997, it fell in SSA from 9 to 6.6 kg/year (Heck et al 2007). Looking forward, demand will increase as population grows.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The End of the Line: Who is Most at Risk from the Crisis in Global Fisheries?

Hall

Dugan

Allison

et al. 2010

AMBIO

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The crisis of global overfishing has been widely covered in both the scientific literature and the popular media over the last decade. However, with his recent film The End of the Line (Murray 2009), Rupert Murray tells the story with unprecedented power. Heralded as the ''Inconvenient Truth'' for fisheries-a reference to David Guggenheim's influential film on the perils of climate change-The End of the Line provides a rich, well-argued and sobering picture of how people, the oceans' top predator, have brought many of the worlds fisheries to collapse.Based on the book of the same name by Clover (2004), the film moves through the value chain from up-market sushi restaurants in London, to global supermarket chains, and down through fish markets to industrial fishing vessels on the seas. Its dominant narrative is one of corporate plunder, governance failure and iniquity. In the words of one reviewer, the film ''chronicles the marine Armageddon perpetrated in the name of consumer choice by big businesses over the last half century''. The case is well made by Clover who appears in the film, complemented by superb underwater footage, and ably supported by several scientists who also feature. Drawing on several influential articles from the past few years (Pauly et al. 1998;Worm et al. 2006;Hilborn et al. 2005), Daniel Pauly, Boris Worm and Ray Hilborn very effectively translate the science behind the story into compelling mental images. There are lessons for all researchers in their performances about how to translate the messages of science in digestible form.If ever there was a vehicle for coalescing public opinion to influence fisheries policy and consumer choice in the industrialized countries whose fleets have driven these problems, this film is it. Murray and Clover deserve enormous credit for communicating important messages in a balanced and compelling way. However, there are important dimensions to the fisheries story, which the film only touches upon, and yet deserve far more attention. Central among these is the consequence of overfishing for the world's poor. While it is important to educate affluent consumers and structure management of the world's large-scale commercial fisheries and trade systems to foster sustainability in our oceans, this needs to be accompanied by efforts to maintain the world's smallscale fisheries that provide food and income for the vast majority of producers and consumers in the world.Of the 70% of the world's total fish catch that comes from developing countries, over a half of this comes from smallscale fisheries (FAO 2008). These fisheries too are collapsing-a major problem for the 22-24 million full-or parttime fishers in developing countries who depend upon them, and the 68-70 million people who work in postharvest (Anonymous 2008). With 90-95% of the catch destined for local domestic markets, the fish supply crisis here will also have far more profound consequences than the omission of bluefin tuna from the sushi bars of Tokyo or Paris, or North Sea cod from supermarket she...

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Investing in African fisheries: building links to the Millennium Development Goals

Cited by 54 publications

References 25 publications

Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting fish back on the menu

Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting fish back on the menu

Population dynamics of freshwater oysterEtheria elliptica(Bivalvia: Etheriidae) in the Pendjari River (Benin-Western Africa)

The End of the Line: Who is Most at Risk from the Crisis in Global Fisheries?

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