The Contribution of Nearshore Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) to Food Security and Livelihoods in Solomon Islands

Abstract

Fish aggregating devices, or FADs, are used widely in developing countries to concentrate pelagic fish, making them easier to catch. Nearshore FADs anchored close to the coast allow access for rural communities, but despite their popularity among policy makers, there is a dearth of empirical analysis of their contributions to the supply of fish and to fisheries management. In this paper we demonstrate that nearshore FADs increased the supply of fish to four communities in Solomon Islands. Estimated total annual fish catch ranged from 4300 to 12 000 kg across the study villages, with nearshore FADs contributing up to 45% of the catch. While it is clear that FADs increased the supply of fish, FAD catch rates were not consistently higher than other fishing grounds. Villages with limited access to diverse or productive fishing grounds seemingly utilized FADs to better effect. Villagers believed FADs increased household income and nutrition, as well as providing a source of fish for community events. FADs were also perceived to increase intra-household conflict and reduce fishers' participation in community activities. FADs need to be placed within a broader rural development context and treated as another component in the diversified livelihoods of rural people; as with other livelihood options they bring trade-offs and risks.

Strengthening the resilience of small-scale fisheries: A modeling approach to explore the use of in-shore pelagic resources in Melanesia

“…The three main 6 national market were also assessed through a 4 weeks observation, asking cost and price A maximum fishing effort of 90 hours/month was introduced to reflect the maximum number of hours each fisher can engage in fishing activities per month, while still contributing to other important social and livelihood activities (family, gardening, social interactions, etc.). This limitation is in line with figures proposed by Albert et al (2014). On the other hand, fishing effort is never equal to zero because of residual or illegal fishing happening even during temporary or permanent fishery closures.…”

“…Since alpha is equal to 60% in this study, a small change in the alpha would prevent a poverty situation while continuing to supply all people connected to a fisher social network. Yet, Albert et al (2014) shows how much the household and community lifestyle can be seen as threatened when more individual fishing enterprise favor cash rather than subsistence.…”

Reaping the reef: Provisioning services from coral reefs in Solomon Islands

“…To negate potential issues that come as Solomon Islands is further integrated into the global economy, there is a need for sustainable livelihood diversification strategies. Nearshore fish aggregating devices [62], seaweed farming [63], aquaculture [64], agroforestry [65] and sustainable forestry [66] have, among others, shown potential in rural Solomon Islands. Economic valuations can provide communities with assistance in choosing these activities [16], yet it is imperative that these opportunities are considered in wider development planning of communities and national governments to recognize benefits and tradeoffs, including those which disproportionately affect some members of society, such as the coral harvesters referred to in this study, and to be able to plan for these accordingly.…”

The Value of Tropical Biodiversity in Rural Melanesia

“…Fishers interviewed by Roeger et al (2016) claimed that the small pelagic fishery was not only higher yielding than the reef-fish fishery but also showed no sign of decline. There are many indications that as human populations and market pressures increase, coastal people in Melanesia will increasingly shift fishing effort away from species-rich, but low-productivity reef-associated fisheries to highproductivity pelagic fisheries comprised of a handful of species (Albert et al 2014;Albert et al 2015a).…”