Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal

Fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK) can be used to reconstruct or supplement long-term trends in heavily exploited population or poorly assessed species with low biomass. We used historical memories of small-scale fishers to understand their perceptions of changes in catch trends in marine fis...

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Main Authors: Ullah, Md. Hadayet, Abdul, Wahab, Rahman, Mohammad, Al, Shaheed, Uttam, Kumar, Rahman, Muhammad, Souhardya, Sazeed, Kabir, Ilias, Hossain, Md. Monayem, Rahman, Md. Bokthier, Chishty, Sk Md Saeef
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Frontiers Media 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/137682
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author Ullah, Md. Hadayet
Abdul, Wahab
Rahman, Mohammad
Al, Shaheed
Uttam, Kumar
Rahman, Muhammad
Souhardya, Sazeed
Kabir, Ilias
Hossain, Md. Monayem
Rahman, Md. Bokthier
Chishty, Sk Md Saeef
author_browse Abdul, Wahab
Al, Shaheed
Chishty, Sk Md Saeef
Hossain, Md. Monayem
Kabir, Ilias
Rahman, Md. Bokthier
Rahman, Mohammad
Rahman, Muhammad
Souhardya, Sazeed
Ullah, Md. Hadayet
Uttam, Kumar
author_facet Ullah, Md. Hadayet
Abdul, Wahab
Rahman, Mohammad
Al, Shaheed
Uttam, Kumar
Rahman, Muhammad
Souhardya, Sazeed
Kabir, Ilias
Hossain, Md. Monayem
Rahman, Md. Bokthier
Chishty, Sk Md Saeef
author_sort Ullah, Md. Hadayet
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK) can be used to reconstruct or supplement long-term trends in heavily exploited population or poorly assessed species with low biomass. We used historical memories of small-scale fishers to understand their perceptions of changes in catch trends in marine fisheries over the last 20 years. The study aimed at evaluating how fishers could provide consistent and reliable data on major fish species/groups comparable with official catch data and to explore the potential of increasing their participation in fishery management. We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews with experienced fishers and stakeholders, using a structured template related to the catch and effort data. Using FGD data, we systematically compared changes in fish catch rates and effort over time and space. Data were collected on major groups of species that had reasonable landing over time. Overall, the analysis revealed changes in catch rate, monthly landings per landing center, factors that likely influence the catch trends, and the spatial expansion of fisheries. Our study provides insight into species’ abundance over time. Fishers’ LEK shows declining catch rates for major species and groups, but monthly harvests at landing centers have increased over two decades because of increased fishing efforts. Small-scale fishers are catching more fish from deeper waters over time, indicating a geographical expansion and/or development of fisheries beyond traditionally exploited areas. Such expansions of nearshore fisheries may result from the overfishing of nearby areas. On the contrary, this could be viewed as a positive indication of the potential for growth and development of small-scale fisheries in the region, especially in the context of the blue economy. The agreement between official statistics and fishers’ data on species catch trends over time suggests that fishers have a good understanding of their fishing system. This indicates that fishers’ knowledge could be invaluable, especially in data-poor areas. LEK integration into policy and management is thus expected to facilitate the efficient management of small-scale fisheries.
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id CGSpace137682
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
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spelling CGSpace1376822025-12-02T10:59:51Z Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal Ullah, Md. Hadayet Abdul, Wahab Rahman, Mohammad Al, Shaheed Uttam, Kumar Rahman, Muhammad Souhardya, Sazeed Kabir, Ilias Hossain, Md. Monayem Rahman, Md. Bokthier Chishty, Sk Md Saeef bangladesh conservation bay of bengal fishing capacity fish artisanal fisher’s local ecological knowledge small-scale fishery cpue (catch per unit effort) Fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK) can be used to reconstruct or supplement long-term trends in heavily exploited population or poorly assessed species with low biomass. We used historical memories of small-scale fishers to understand their perceptions of changes in catch trends in marine fisheries over the last 20 years. The study aimed at evaluating how fishers could provide consistent and reliable data on major fish species/groups comparable with official catch data and to explore the potential of increasing their participation in fishery management. We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews with experienced fishers and stakeholders, using a structured template related to the catch and effort data. Using FGD data, we systematically compared changes in fish catch rates and effort over time and space. Data were collected on major groups of species that had reasonable landing over time. Overall, the analysis revealed changes in catch rate, monthly landings per landing center, factors that likely influence the catch trends, and the spatial expansion of fisheries. Our study provides insight into species’ abundance over time. Fishers’ LEK shows declining catch rates for major species and groups, but monthly harvests at landing centers have increased over two decades because of increased fishing efforts. Small-scale fishers are catching more fish from deeper waters over time, indicating a geographical expansion and/or development of fisheries beyond traditionally exploited areas. Such expansions of nearshore fisheries may result from the overfishing of nearby areas. On the contrary, this could be viewed as a positive indication of the potential for growth and development of small-scale fisheries in the region, especially in the context of the blue economy. The agreement between official statistics and fishers’ data on species catch trends over time suggests that fishers have a good understanding of their fishing system. This indicates that fishers’ knowledge could be invaluable, especially in data-poor areas. LEK integration into policy and management is thus expected to facilitate the efficient management of small-scale fisheries. 2024-01-14T13:45:32Z 2024-01-14T13:45:32Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/137682 en Open Access application/pdf Frontiers Media Md. Hadayet Ullah, Wahab Abdul, Shaheed Al, Kumar Uttam, Muhammad Rahman, Sazeed Souhardya, Ilias Kabir, Md. Monayem Hossain, Md. Bokthier Rahman, Sk Md Saeef Chishty. (14/4/2023). Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10.
spellingShingle bangladesh
conservation
bay of bengal
fishing capacity
fish
artisanal
fisher’s local ecological knowledge
small-scale fishery
cpue (catch per unit effort)
Ullah, Md. Hadayet
Abdul, Wahab
Rahman, Mohammad
Al, Shaheed
Uttam, Kumar
Rahman, Muhammad
Souhardya, Sazeed
Kabir, Ilias
Hossain, Md. Monayem
Rahman, Md. Bokthier
Chishty, Sk Md Saeef
Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal
title Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal
title_full Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal
title_fullStr Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal
title_full_unstemmed Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal
title_short Local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal
title_sort local ecological knowledge can support improved management of small scale fisheries in the bay of bengal
topic bangladesh
conservation
bay of bengal
fishing capacity
fish
artisanal
fisher’s local ecological knowledge
small-scale fishery
cpue (catch per unit effort)
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/137682
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