A Review Of Governance And Tenure In Inland Capture Fisheries And Aquaculture Systems Of India

Being able to access fish and other aquatic resources in inland waters for nutrition and food security is essential for rural populations in many developing countries and inland fisheries contribute significantly to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, are tools allowing governments to strengthen governance and develop policies that secure equitable distribution of benefits and empower stakeholders. This document examines the tenure systems, rights and governance issues in the vast, diverse and complex inland fisheries of India. The objective is to highlight how inland fisheries have been changing and the associated challenges for governance and tenure. The legal and policy contexts, within which fishing in rivers, wetlands and estuaries takes place, are described as well as the diversity of fishing activities and practices in the different environments found in India, which include inland capture fisheries, culture-based fisheries and freshwater aquaculture systems. Multiple drivers of change that affect inland fisheries are discussed from within the fisheries sector and from wider social, economic and environmental contexts. The ways in which formal and informal institutional arrangements and customary access regimes interact with each other are highlighted. The potential outcomes of institutional change and emerging policies for ecological sustainability, economic equity and social justice are discussed, with a focus on capture fisheries within India’s inland fisheries.

The FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Circular C942 Revision 3 (C942 Rev. 3) updates and expands the scope of previous revisions of the circular. C942 Rev. 3 is an important baseline document, intended to assist in the global understanding of inland fisheries and inform dialogue on their current and future role. The third revision reviews the status and trends of inland fisheries catch at global, continental and subcontinental levels. It places inland capture fisheries in the context of overall global fish production, and calls attention to the importance of inland capture fisheries with respect to food security and nutrition and the Sustainable Development Goals. It quantifies global inland fisheries resources in terms of food production, nutrition, employment, economic contribution with respect to those countries/regions or subnational areas where they are important. A characterization approach to distinguish large-scale and small-scale fishing operations and their relative contributions is provided. The review provides estimated economic values of inland fisheries, as well as a valuation of potential replacement cost of these (in terms of dollars, other resources such as land and water, feeds). There is also an analysis of the extent and economic value of recreational inland fisheries. The contribution to employment and the gender differences related to this are quantified. The linkages between inland fisheries and biodiversity are also explored. C942 Rev. 3 discusses ways to measure and assess inland fisheries, in particular, how to establish more accurately inland fishery catches in the many situations where there are challenges to collection of catch statistics.

India has abundant water resources including rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, upland lakes, and floodplain wetlands covering over 5. [Author]8 percent of the country. [Author] These environments harbour a rich fish fauna of 1 035 species that constitutes the basis for the inland fisheries sector, which annually produces 2 144 452 tonnes of fish – if enhanced and culture-based fisheries are included – corresponding to 21 percent of total fish production. [Author] Rivers like the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Barak, alongside floodplain wetlands, play crucial roles, especially in the east and northeast. [Author] Lakes are abundant in upland areas. [Author] Reservoirs cover over 1 percent of India's land and hold untapped potential for fisheries development. [Author] Traditionally, fishing in inland water bodies has been a small-scale or subsistence activity. [Author] Fishing practices, crafts and gear used in inland fisheries are still traditional. [Author] Cooperative societies are present in reservoirs and wetlands giving fishers better bargaining power with traders and better prices for the fish. [Author] Inland fisheries are imperative for poverty alleviation, food security, gender empowerment, cultural services, ecosystem function, and biodiversity, and are important for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. [Author] Important threats to inland fisheries include water scarcity, habitat loss, pollution, climate change and invasive species. [Author] However, several major river conservation programmes have been initiated. [Author] The collection of inland fishery catch statistics remains weak and production appears to be significantly under-reported in many states. [Author] A simplified method for defining water bodies and estimating catch is proposed and all States have been advised to follow the same definition for water bodies. [Author]

Inhabitants of poor, rural areas in the Global South heavily depend on natural resources in their immediate vicinity. Conflicts over and exploitation of these resources whether it is water, fish, wood fuel, minerals, or land severely affect their livelihoods. The contributors to this volume leave behind the polarised debate, previously surround

This edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture highlights the vital role of fisheries and aquaculture in both food and nutrition security as well as economic expansion. The sector remains a major supplier of high-quality animal protein and supports the livelihoods and well-being of more than ten percent of the world's population. International trade in fish has reached new peaks as overall production has continued to rise. Yet, as the document underlines, an array of problems--ranging from the need for more effective governance to that of ensuring environmental sustainability--threatens to undermine the sector's valuable contribution to alleviating hunger and reducing poverty. Using the latest available statistics on fisheries and aquaculture, this edition presents a global analysis of the sector's status and trends.