Work

Conservation Concerns of Small-Scale Fisheries: By-Catch Impacts of a Shrimp and Finfish Fishery in a Sri Lankan Lagoon

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: By-catch is considered a significant problem in large-scale fisheries yet in small-scale fisheries (SSF), employing >99% of the world's fishers, there is limited quantitative understanding of by-catch, and catches in general. We provide an assessment of by-catch from fishing gears (fyke, trawl, set trammel & drift trammel nets) commonly used in small-scale fisheries across the globe, using a representative Sri Lankan case study and placing this in the context of local resource use patterns. We reveal evidence of how SSF generate significant finfish by-catch with potentially significant ecological impacts. Fishers targeting shrimp (fyke, trawl and drift trammel nets) caught more non-target species than global averages (44%, 44% and 67% by weight respectively). Fishers targeting finfish (set trammel nets) caught fewer non-target species. We found that by-catch depends more on target species and gear type, supporting suggestions that SSF are not “inherently more sustainable” than their large-scale counterparts and a collective effort is required for an improved understanding of the impacts of SSF. This study highlights an additional issue of valuable food fish discards, raising questions about fisheries exploitation in the context of food security in areas where poverty and food insecurity are prevalent.

Source: Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00052

Authors: Benjamin L. Jones, Richard K. F. Unsworth, Susantha Udagedara, Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth

Institutions: Project Seagrass, Cardiff University, Swansea University, Blue Resources Trust

Language: English

Topic: Marine and fisheries research

Subfield: Aquatic Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Life below water

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801