A desert in the delta: Participatory assessment of changing livelihoods induced by commercial shrimp farming in Southwest Bangladesh

In recent years, shrimp aquaculture, which is undertaken largely in the tropical countries, has experienced spectacular growth in response to expanding global demand and higher economic return. Shrimp exports bring substantial foreign exchange to the producing countries and also generate employment for various stakeholders related to this industry. Despite a number positive aspects (e.g., foreign exchange, employment and food) of shrimp farming, the industry has serious negative environmental impacts. Because of the degradation of natural resources, commercial shrimp farming imposes socio-economic costs on rural resource-reliant communities as their traditional means of food production and livelihoods are displaced. Bangladesh produces 2.5 percent of the global production of shrimp. The country earned about 400 million dollars (U.S.) from shrimp exports during 2004-2005, up from only US$3.17 million in 1971-72. Bangladesh is suffering because of unplanned expansion of this aquaculture and increasingly called as “a desert in the delta”. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of commercial saltwater shrimp farming on rural livelihood patterns in southwest Bangladesh using different Participatory Research methods. The authors suggest that vulnerabilities in livelihoods of the rural communities increased due to narrowing down agricultural production, income sources and natural supply of food. Other socio-economic impacts (e.g., landuse patterns, homestead and family structure, daily movement pattern and activities, drinking water, and law and order) also followed as a reaction to the changing ecological conditions. It is also found that economic benefits from shrimp cultivation to the communities was minimal or even negative due to the polarization and outflow of profits, which is augmenting the threat of poverty.     

Impacts of shrimp farming in Bangladesh: Challenges and alternatives

Shrimp farming is growing in Bangladesh due to suitable agro-climatic conditions, adequate water resources, cheap labour force, international donor agencies and the involvement of multinational corporations. Although it provides immediate economic benefits, contributes to poverty reduction and food security, as well as generates employment from seed collectors to exporters, it has also been facing a host of challenges. They hinder the sustainable development of this otherwise thriving sector. This paper aims to expound the hindrances and challenges for sustainable shrimp farming in Bangladesh by means of reviewing the available scientific literature. It finds that socioeconomic impacts such as traditional livelihood displacement, social unrests and market fluctuations are hindering the sustainable development of shrimp farming in Bangladesh. Similarly, environmental impacts such as mangrove degradation, salt water intrusion, sedimentation, pollution and disease outbreaks are found to be obstacles for the development of sustainable shrimp farming. Inappropriate management practices and inadequate plans regarding water quality, seed supply, irrigation facilities and fishery resources, added to institutional weaknesses, jeopardize the future growth of shrimp farming. Therefore, this paper shall provide substantial input to set the directions that research for alternatives can take and that can contribute to the sustainability of shrimp farming.     

Charting the territory: Exploring stakeholder reactions to the prospect of seafloor exploration and mining in Australia

Geological surveys of Australia’s marine territory have revealed significant potential for development of a marine resource industry. As onshore mineral deposits become harder to find, less accessible to their market and more challenging to extract, seafloor exploration and mining becomes an economically viable option. However, evidence from industry and environmental literature suggests that social acceptance will be important in determining the future of this industry in Australia. This paper reports on findings from research investigating the social viability of seafloor mining in Australia. A combination of interviews and focus groups were used to explore industry and community reactions to the possible development of seafloor mining in Australia. Although stakeholders’ reactions were variable, the majority of the participants were reluctant to see development of seafloor mining in Australia, primarily because of concerns about the industry’s potential environmental impact. All stakeholders sought further information about the benefits and costs associated with the industry suggesting that they did not yet have a fixed attitude towards the industry. Stakeholders favoured a precautionary approach towards the industry, supported by rigorous scientific analysis of the potential environmental impacts, transparent and socially responsive management processes and meaningful engagement with stakeholders.     

Fishing for the future: An overview of challenges and opportunities

This paper surveys the current state and major trends in global fisheries; the environmental and social dimensions of fisheries; and explains how the international community has tried to meet the policy challenges associated with oceans and fisheries. The ocean and the freshwater ecosystems of the world make significant contributions to people's well-being via the many vital social and environmental services they provide (for example, food and nutrition, employment and incomes, carbon cycling and sequestration). The impact that the increase in fishing since the 1950s has had on wild fish stocks, and the significant increase in aquaculture production in the 20th century, have resulted in severe environmental impacts. This has significant effects on marine ecosystems and the health of oceans. The erosion of the resource undermines communities' long-term interests, including food security, employment, and income. Attempts by the global community to address challenges of sustainable production by improving the governance and management of fisheries resources range from national management of fisheries resources, to regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) for international fisheries stocks. These attempts have not always successfully met the challenge of balancing current and future use of fisheries.     

Response of intertidal macrobenthic communities to long term human induced changes in the Eo estuary (Asturias, Spain): implications for environmental management

Long term macrobenthos data together with physical habitat parameters were analysed to investigate spatial and temporal changes at an estuary under different anthropogenic pressures, mainly increasing shellfish farming. The aim was to assess the possible impacts of these pressures on the macrobenthic communities by comparing a period before and after changes in these pressures. Benthic samples were seasonally collected in 1990 (before major anthropogenic changes), 2000 and 2005 at the same sampling stations located on three different habitats in the Eo estuary (Northern Spanish coast). Multivariate and univariate methods were used to assess spatial variability of benthic assemblages and to compare community changes over time. Data from 1990 was assumed as the reference situation to appraise the subsequent impacts. We observed a significant spatial variability of the benthic assemblages in the system as a function of habitat heterogeneity in relation to sediment composition, presence/absence and density of seagrasses, and hydrodynamic regime. Changes were detected in the community composition at all sites during this 15 year period. The extent of changes was related to initial community conditions, rather than the intensity of the pressure. The results suggest that the responses of the benthic communities to human induced perturbations occurring in the system are largely dependent on its intrinsic buffer capacity, and that these communities have been able to cope with an increasing environmental stress (organic enrichment). In conclusion, to keep shellfish farming at a sustainable level without undesirable impacts, the disturbance intensity must be kept below the system carrying capacity. This will allow natural communities to cope with pressures and thus avoid further deterioration in ecological quality.     

Business or leisure? Economic development and resource protection—Concepts and practices in sustainable ecotourism

Ecotourism has proven to be an effective concept in the sustainable utilization of natural resources and development of various communities. Often regarded as an economic justification for resource conservation, ecotourism is providing a concept that is easily understood and appreciated by local communities and stakeholders.However, ecotourism is still a business methodology that can be subjected to misunderstanding, abuse and misrepresentation which could also lead to negative environmental and sociocultural impacts.Thus, environmental concepts coupled with social, cultural, and economic considerations should be developed and practiced by institutions wishing to utilize ecotourism as a conservation tool. These concepts would include optimizing the environmental and socioeconomic benefits while at the same time, prevent or minimize compromising the ecological and social values in the destinations. Some of the often-cited concepts include the determination of carrying capacity and the prevention of economic leakage supposedly brought in by the tourism industry. Also introduced in the paper is the concept of the firewalls of ecotourism wherein the introduction of different protection and conservation components is instituted in the operation of ecotourism sites.Ecotourism has been helping save whales, dolphins, birds, turtles and fragile ecosystems. This is made possible by the fact that ecotourism provides the tangible economic aspect of conservation. However, the same recreation industry can also undo the gains of true ecotourism development through irresponsible tourism development and lack of conceptual frameworks to help guide the destination managers. To help drive sustainable resource utilization through ecotourism, there is a consistent need to develop and apply concepts and practices designed to help protect the resources from the potential impacts of the travel industry.     

Alaskan fishing community revenues and the stabilizing role of fishing portfolios

Fishing communities are subject to economic risk as the commercial fisheries they rely on are intrinsically volatile. The degree to which a community is exposed to economic risk depends on a community׳s ability to confront and/or alter its exposure to volatile fishery conditions through risk-reduction mechanisms. In this article, economic risk – as measured by community-level fishing gross revenues variability – is characterized across Alaskan fishing communities over the past two decades, and exploratory analyses are conducted to identify associations between community attributes and revenues variability. Results show that communities’ fishing portfolio size and diversification are strongly related to fishing revenues variability. Communities with larger and/or more diverse fishing portfolios experience lower fishing revenues variability. Portfolio size and diversification appear to be related to the number of local fisheries, indicating that communities’ portfolios may be constrained to the set of local fisheries. Hotspots of relatively higher fishing revenues variability for communities in north and west Alaska were identified, mirroring the spatial distribution of fishery-specific ex-vessel revenues variability. This overall pattern suggests that a community׳s fishing portfolio – and hence its exposure to risk – may be “predetermined” by its location, thereby limiting the policy options available to promote economic stability through larger and/or more diverse fishing portfolios. For such communities, diversifying income across non-fishing sectors may be an important risk reduction strategy, provided any potential negative cross-sector externalities are addressed.     

The bottom line: An investigation of the economic,cultural and social costs of high seas industrial longline fishing in the Pacific and the benefits of conservation

High sea industrial longline fishing can be understood as a case study of the cultural, economic, environmental and social impacts of unsustainable fishing technology. While much attention has been attributed to the impact of industrial longlines on the marine ecosystem, little is known about the impact of longline fishing on local food security, employment, cultural belief systems and traditions, revenue generation from marine tourism and climate change. New data demonstrate that the contributions of Marine Protected Areas, marine tourism and recreational fishing to local coastal economies dwarf the contributions of longline fishing. When combined with the impact of overfishing on coastal fishing communities and fish consumers, policies promoting sustainable fisheries must be expanded to take these other factors into account along with issues of biodiversity.     

The bottom line: An investigation of the economic, cultural and social costs of industrial longline fishing in the Pacific and the benefits of sustainable use marine protected areas

Industrial longline fishing can be understood as a case study of the cultural, economic, environmental and social impacts of unsustainable fishing technology. While much attention has been attributed to the impact of industrial longlines on the marine ecosystem, little is known about the impact of longline fishing on local food security, employment, cultural belief systems and traditions, revenue generation from marine tourism and climate change. New data demonstrate that the contributions of Marine Protected Areas, marine tourism and recreational fishing to local coastal economies dwarf the contributions of longline fishing. When combined with the impact of overfishing on coastal fishing communities and fish consumers, policies promoting sustainable fisheries must be expanded to take these other factors into account along with issues of biodiversity.     

Fishermen perception on resources management and aquaculture development in the Mecoacan estuary,Tabasco, Mexico

The southern Mexican states on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico produce approximately 85% of the total national oil production. The region has also attracted attention due its important economic influence in terms of fisheries, aquaculture and agriculture, and for its ecosystem diversity. The justification for more integrated approaches to aquaculture development is significant, as coastal aquaculture has brought economic and employment benefits to both national economies and coastal people. The aim of this study is the analysis of Mecoacan fishing communities’ perception on coastal resources management and to assess group awareness of the potential benefits and impacts of coastal aquaculture. Although aquaculture practices have been implemented as an alternative to fishing and to improve current levels of fisheries production, the results showed that conditions within Mecoacan fisheries have deteriorated significantly, as collective aggregation is not producing a positive outcome for the local communities. However, fishermen regarded the restructuring of fishing organisations as a means of integrating employment and income generation alternatives such as aquaculture practices. Therefore, a key to success will be to demonstrate the ability of good coastal management to promote capacity building within coastal communities in the context of a participatory intervention strategy through formal and informal organisations.     

Diversity in narratives to green the Norwegian salmon farming industry

Despite being an economic success and generating considerable profit, the Norwegian salmon farming industry face environmental challenges that need to be solved. Since 2014, all new licenses to farm salmon are labelled either “light-green”, dark-green” or “development licenses”. The industry is nevertheless characterized by the open net-pen as a hegemonic technology, and is susceptible to both cognitive and political lock-in. In the article, it is defined which narratives on “greening criteria” that are dominant and an analysis is presented on how narratives influence new licenses for salmon farming. The data is derived from 52 qualitative interviews and a broad qualitative analysis of trends and debates in the industry. From the perspective of evolutionary economic geography and the sub-concept path dependency, narratives on greening criteria for future salmon farming are divided in three categories: path extension, modest path renewal and strong path renewal. The findings reveal that although most licenses are linked to mere path extension, development licenses might disrupt this trend.     

Small versus large-scale,multi-fleet fisheries: The case for economic,social and environmental access criteria in European fisheries

Overfishing is a major problem in global fisheries, plaguing 32% of stocks around the world and a massive 72% in the EU. Despite this, access to public fish resources in the EU and its member states are granted without any social or environmental conditions. Without these, the process of allocating quotas – essentially determining the future health of marine resources and the fishing industry – is blind to virtually all of the impacts of fisheries. Here, the United Kingdom's North Sea cod fishery is studied, comparing the social, environmental and economic impacts of trawlers and gillnets, the two major fishing gears targeting cod in this area. Comparisons are also made on a vessel-length basis to address recent debate concerning the benefits of small-scale fisheries. The results show that, for each tonne of cod landed in these fisheries, all trawlers have impacts that are more costly than the value of their landings. There are also vessel length-specific differences, with the largest trawlers the most destructive (−£1992/tonne and −£2.50/fish). Gillnets, on the other hand, generate positive value to society (+£865/tonne and +£2.16/fish). Despite these impacts, gillnets land only 1% as much cod as trawlers do. The results support the policy implementation of access criteria into the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, to ensure fishermen generate positive outcomes for society and to provide incentives that align fishermen's interests with conservation objectives.     

Molecular and biochemical tricks of the research trade: -omics approaches in finfish aquaculture

Profitability of fish farming can be undermined by a suite of biological constraints. Effects of these constraints on the biology of the animal, the functioning of a tissue, or the quality of the final filleted product can be detected with very sensitive hi-tech approaches, grouped by the term ‘-omics’. These -omics technologies further present powerful tools for the genetic selection of diverse traits and, as such, will contribute substantially to the future development of the aquaculture sector. Sustainability issues of importance to the industry, such as environmental impacts, use of therapeutants, fish health management and fishmeal replacement, can again be aided, at least in part, through the effective use of -omics technologies. It thus appears that -omics technologies may be a key tool for the responsible growth of intensive aquaculture in the 21st century. In this paper we review the current status of -omics technologies and the potential for application within the aquaculture industry.     

Integrated ocean management and the collaborative planning process: the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) Initiative

In its capacity to lead and facilitate the development and implementation of integrated management plans under the 1997 Oceans Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is working with a range of stakeholders through a collaborative process—the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) Initiative—to develop and implement an integrated ocean management plan for the eastern Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia. Stakeholders include federal and provincial departments, aboriginal communities, municipal and local planning authorities, ocean industry and resource use sectors, coastal communities, environmental interest groups, and university researchers. This large ocean management area possesses important living and non-living marine resources, high biological productivity and diversity, and increasing levels of multiple use and competition for ocean space and resources. The ESSIM vision is to achieve environmental, economic, social/community, and institutional sustainability in the eastern Scotian Shelf.The ESSIM Initiative is building a collaborative planning process that involves all interested and affected parties. Ongoing information sharing and dialogue with stakeholder groups is providing capacity building and important input to current proposals for a collaborative planning structure and the ocean management plan. A joint federal-provincial working group has been established to move the Initiative forward within government and to address policy and regulatory coordination for ocean management. The future ocean management plan will include a balanced set of environmental, social, economic and institutional objectives, indicators and management strategies, as well as spatial and temporal planning approaches to address multiple ocean use.This article provides an overview of the ESSIM Initiative, including an assessment of ocean use, ecosystem understanding, and ocean management and planning requirements. The design of a collaborative management and planning structure and process will be discussed, as well as the key elements of the future integrated ocean management plan.     

Salmon aquaculture and coastal ecosystem health in Chile: Analysis of regulations,environmental impacts and bioremediation systems

In 2007 salmon, mollusk and seaweed aquaculture production in Chile totaled 904 thousand tonnes, making the nation the leading marine aquaculture producer in the western world. Salmonids grown in open cage net pens account for over 73% of the production. This review summarizes the current status of Chilean aquaculture and proposes the establishment of new regulations and monitoring programmes that encourage and accommodate emerging bioremediation technologies. In contrast to a rapidly expanding, well-financed and technologically advanced industry, the regulatory structure in Chile is outdated and based on insufficient science. The number of publications on the environmental impacts of salmon aquaculture in Chile is low relative to its production level. Nevertheless, the impacts of organic and inorganic waste on benthic communities, pelagic organisms and bird populations are documented. The technology to reduce these impacts using integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) strategies exists, but has not been implemented at commercial scales. We call on the government and industry to support the creation of a well-financed and politically independent agency responsible for developing and enforcing science-based environmental regulations in Chile. The agency's immediate goal should be to fund research required to develop a transparent, ecosystem-based regulatory framework that promotes IMTA. Monitoring programs and licensing procedures must consider the impacts of individual sites and the cumulative impacts from multiple sites across a wide range of spatial scales. Before such changes are realized, environmental threats and human health risks will remain unacceptably high and salmon farming in Chile will not meet any reasonable definition of sustainability.     

Considering community allocations: Power and the politics of enclosure in the Gulf of Alaska

In 2012, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council initiated the process of designing a new management structure for the Gulf of Alaska trawl groundfish fleet. The new program is currently structured as a catch share program and driven by the need to end the ‘race for fish’ and provide the trawl fleet with the tools to reduce bycatch. To date much of the discussion among policy makers and stakeholders has centered on community protection measures and how best to avoid the negative social and economic impacts of catch share programs including impacts to crew, consolidation and the flight of quota and resource wealth from Gulf of Alaska fishery dependent communities. This paper examines how community protection measures related to the distribution of benefits and access to fishery resources are considered and challenged in the North Pacific today. Special attention is given to the ongoing debate surrounding the potential inclusion of an initial allocation to place-based Gulf of Alaska communities via a Community Fishing Association. As part of this effort, this paper examines the political space and underlying power dynamics in which consideration of alternatives to the commodification of fishing rights occurs.     

Marine dependent livelihoods and resilience to environmental change: A case study of Anguilla

There is increasing concern over the consequences of environmental change for people and communities that depend on already fragile marine resources, given the mounting evidence of sustained over-exploitation and climate change impacts on marine systems. In order to explore the potential social resilience of marine-dependent livelihoods to environmental change, interviews with fishers and marine-based tourism operators in the Caribbean island of Anguilla were undertaken, to identify the impacts of hurricane events on marine livelihoods, the perceptions of resource-users and their potential adaptability to future change. For both sectors of resource-users, there is evidence that they have diversified livelihoods to achieve financial security, which may provide resilience to future climate related impacts or resource variability. In addition, specific behavioural changes that have been developed following previous hurricane events, e.g. removal of fish pots during hurricane months, or bringing boats to shore, indicate fishers' flexibility to changing conditions. However, strong personal and cultural attachment to occupations, particularly among fishers, may hinder resilience. Additionally, the reliance of all of these marine resource-users on the climate-dependent tourism industry may undermine their capacity to cope with future environmental change. Many of these problems are common throughout the Caribbean, as thousands of marine-dependent livelihoods are vulnerable to marine degradation and climate change impacts. Urgent attention is therefore required to support the development of adaptive, sustainable management of marine resources that may enhance resilience to environmental change.     

Social acceptability of marine aquaculture: The use of survey-based methods for eliciting public and stakeholder preferences

The social acceptability of aquaculture is linked to its perceived environmental impact, and this clearly poses a challenge to policy makers in deciding what weight to attach to such a concern within a governance framework for the industry. Using salmon farming in Scotland as a case study, we have developed a survey-based approach to evaluating public and stakeholder attitudes towards the environmental performance of aquaculture. The survey of the general public finds marked regional variations in attitudes towards salmon farming, while the results of the stakeholder survey raise issues over how far the preferences of particular interest groups are truly representative of the community as a whole.     

Why local people do not support conservation: Community perceptions of marine protected area livelihood impacts,governance and management in Thailand

Conservation success is often predicated on local support for conservation which is strongly influenced by perceptions of the impacts that are experienced by local communities and opinions of management and governance. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are effective conservation and fisheries management tools that can also have a broad array of positive and negative social, economic, cultural, and political impacts on local communities. Drawing on results from a mixed-methods study of communities on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, this paper explores perceptions of MPA impacts on community livelihood resources (assets) and outcomes as well as MPA governance and management. The area includes 17 National Marine Parks (NMPs) that are situated near rural communities that are highly dependent on coastal resources. Interview participants perceived NMPs to have limited to negative impacts on fisheries and agricultural livelihoods and negligible benefits for tourism livelihoods. Perceived impacts on livelihoods were felt to result from NMPs undermining access to or lacking support for development of cultural, social, political, financial, natural, human, physical, and political capital assets. Conflicting views emerged on whether NMPs resulted in negative or positive marine or terrestrial conservation outcomes. Perceptions of NMP governance and management processes were generally negative. These results point to some necessary policy improvements and actions to ameliorate: the relationship between the NMP and communities, NMP management and governance processes, and socio-economic and conservation outcomes.