Farm Ponds For Water Fish And Livelihoods

Ponds add value to farming activities: water form pounds can serve domestic and livestock water supplies as well as irrigation for crops. Raising fish is an obvious use for a farm pound; it adds value to the water, and provides improved nutrition for farm families. This booklet provides basic and practical information on multiple-use smallholder farm pounds.

Between 1979 and 1990 five booklets in FAO's Better Farming Series dealt with freshwater fish farming in ponds, pens and cages. Written and illustrated by Tom Laughlin, with technical contributions from many FAO headquarters and field staff coordinated by the Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service, these booklets have been popular with aquaculture training and development staff as extension tools. Now compiled into the Handbook on small-scale freshwater fish farming, this wealth of simply presented and illustrated information becomes available in an improved format. Pond, pen and cage location, construction and management are covered in outlines that can be modified to suit local conditions. The handbook is primarily intended for extension workers, technicians and teachers, to help them in presenting their knowledge of freshwater fish farming to small-scale farmers. For example, the handbook can be used as a trainers' aid in conjunction with the five original booklets' which can be distributed among trainees. The simple English employed in the text lends itself to easy translation into other languages, while the diagrams can be easily reproduced or enlarged for screen projection. The handbook ends with a set of questions that could be used to test the comprehension of trainees.

This manual deals in two volumes with the practical aspects of management related to freshwater fish culture in earthen ponds. The first volume (FAO Training Series No. 21/1, 1996, ISBN 92-5-102873-7, US$51.00) explains how to manage the pond itself. This second volume deals with how to manage fish stocks and, as a whole, a fish farm. Fish handling, propagation, feeding, harvesting, grading and storage are explained in simple terms, as well as the prevention and treatment of simple fish diseases and the monitoring of fish farm activities.

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Authors of v. [1]: A.G. Coche, J.F. Muir, T. Laughlin.

Inland fisheries are vital for the livelihoods and food resources of humans worldwide but their importance is underestimated, probably because large numbers of small, local operators are involved. Freshwater Fisheries Ecology defines what we have globally, what we are going to lose and mitigate for, and what, given the right tools, we can save. To estimate potential production, the dynamics of freshwater ecosystems (rivers, lakes and estuaries) need to be understood. These dynamics are diverse, as are the earths freshwater fisheries resources (from boreal to tropical regions), and these influence how fisheries are both utilized and abused. Three main types of fisheries are illustrated within the book: artisanal, commercial and recreational, and the tools which have evolved for fisheries governance and management, including assessment methods, are described. The book also covers in detail fisheries development, providing information on improving fisheries through environmental and habitat evaluation, enhancement and rehabilitation, aquaculture, genetically modified fishes and sustainability. The book thoroughly reviews the negative impacts on fisheries including excessive harvesting, climate change, toxicology, impoundments, barriers and abstractions, non-native species and eutrophication. Finally, key areas of future research are outlined. Freshwater Fisheries Ecology is truly a landmark publication, containing contributions from over 100 leading experts and supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. The global approach makes this book essential reading for fish biologists, fisheries scientists and ecologists and upper level students in these disciplines. Libraries in all universities and research establishments where biological and fisheries sciences are studied and taught should have multiple copies of this hugely valuable resource. About the Editor John Craig is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Fish Biology and has an enormous range of expertise and a wealth of knowledge of freshwater fishes and their ecology, having studied them around the globe, including in Asia, North America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. His particular interests have been in population dynamics and life history strategies. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and the Royal Society of Biology.