Paradigm shifts in fish conservation: moving to the ecosystem services concept

Various factors constrain the existence and development of inland fishes and fisheries, such as pollution, habitat degradation, alien invasive species, local user conflicts, low social priority and inadequate research and funding. In many cases, however, degradation of the environment and loss of aquatic habitat are the predominant concerns for the conservation of freshwater aquatic biota. The need for concerted effort to prevent and reduce environmental degradation, as well as protection of freshwater fishes and fisheries as renewable common pool resources or entities in their own right, are the greatest challenges facing the conservation of fishes in inland waters. Unfortunately, traditional conservation practices such as regulation of exploitation, protected areas and habitat restoration have failed to arrest the alarming increase in number of threatened freshwater fish species worldwide. This paper examines the shifting paradigm of fisheries management from rule-based regulation, through fishery enhancement towards the ecosystem approach to fisheries, with reference to inland waters, and how the emerging concept of ecosystem services coupled with traditional fish conservation management practices, institutional restructuring and integrated management planning should provide a more sustainable thrust to formulation and promotion of fish conservation initiatives.     

Status of research on Yangtze fish biology and fisheries

The Yangtze is the largest river in China and the third largest river in the world. Being pregnant with plentiful fish resources, it is not only the representative of the areas with biological diversity, but also a cradle of freshwater fisheries in China. In the Yangtze, at present, the fishery resources are seriously depleted; the fishery yield by fishing is significantly reduced; significant changes have occurred on the structure of fish community, with decrease in migratory fish species, reduction in the quantity of the populations of rare, peculiar and economically important fish species and increase in the number of exotic fish species, and severe trend in fish stunting. Habitat fragmentation and shrinkage, resources overexploitation, water pollution and invasion of exotic species are the main causes for threatening fish stocks in the Yangtze River. Since 1950’s, a lot of scientific researches have been conducted on biology of fishes from the Yangtze River and its fisheries to provide scientific basis for their protection. In recent years, measures such as closed spring, fish reserves, artificial enhancement & release, ecological rehabilitation, fishery management and international cooperation have played important roles. Nevertheless, researches on fishes from the Yangtze cannot adequately meet the demand for their protection. Especially, those in the aspects of population ecology of Yangtze fishes, species endangerment mechanism, ecological effects of large hydraulic projects and protection strategy are not deep enough. It is recommended that scientific researches should be conducted in comprehensive survey of Yangtze fish resources, fish endangerment mechanism, techniques in artificial enhancement and release of key species, risk assessment of exotic species, ecological rehabilitation of major fisheries functional zones, etc.     

Evolutionary adaptations by fish to ecotonal complexity in spatially variable landscapes — a perspective

In most types of freshwater ecosystems fish diversity depends greatly on land/inland water ecotones. So, to maintain biodiversity of fish communities in inland waters, management and restoration of aquatic terrestrial ecotones will be an important tool. However, to provide a scientific background for such conservation activities, it will be desirable to test the importance of different types of ecotones in structuring and maintaining the genetic diversity of fish populations. The relevance of population genetics data to ecotone studies can only be understood in an ecological context as evolution is a function of environment. We suggest that as ecotone complexity increases opportunities for survival of individuals, improving trophic conditions and spatial habitat heterogeneity, so the population size and variation increase with increased genetic diversity and vulnerability to environment changes decreases.     

Managing conflicts arising from fisheries enhancements based on non‐native fishes in southern Africa

Southern Africa has a long history of non‐native fish introductions for the enhancement of recreational and commercial fisheries, due to a perceived lack of suitable native species. This has resulted in some important inland fisheries being based on non‐native fishes. Regionally, these introductions are predominantly not benign, and non‐native fishes are considered one of the main threats to aquatic biodiversity because they affect native biota through predation, competition, habitat alteration, disease transfer and hybridization. To achieve national policy objectives of economic development, food security and poverty eradication, countries are increasingly looking towards inland fisheries as vehicles for development. As a result, conflicts have developed between economic and conservation objectives. In South Africa, as is the case for other invasive biota, the control and management of non‐native fishes is included in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act. Implementation measures include import and movement controls and, more recently, non‐native fish eradication in conservation priority areas. Management actions are, however, complicated because many non‐native fishes are important components in recreational and subsistence fisheries that contribute towards regional economies and food security. In other southern African countries, little attention has focussed on issues and management of non‐native fishes, and this is cause for concern. This paper provides an overview of introductions, impacts and fisheries in southern Africa with emphasis on existing and evolving legislation, conflicts, implementation strategies and the sometimes innovative approaches that have been used to prioritize conservation areas and manage non‐native fishes.     

Intensification of Reservoir Fisheries in Tropical and Subtropical Countries

By now, most marine and inland fishery resources have been fully exploited or overexploited. To keep up with the growing demand for fish, only a few avenues for increasing fish production remain open. One of these is the intensification of fisheries in inland waters, such as reservoirs, lakes and small water bodies. Fish species transfer and culture-enhanced fisheries based largely on exotic species, mainly tilapias and cyprinids, is the current common strategy for increasing fishery benefits from tropical and subtropical inland water bodies. The growing human population and rising expectations require a steady growth in the number of reservoirs, both large and small. The development of cage and pen culture, especially in Asia, has substantially increased the reservoir fish production there. In Latin America, tilapias are the mainstay of many reservoir fisheries. By the year 2025, an additional 62 million tonnes of aquatic products will be required to maintain the present consumption of 19.1 kg/person. Much of it will have to come from inland waters, including reservoirs and small water bodies.     

水生植物在渔业生态养殖中的开发应用(综述)

阐述水生植物的生态功能特性与生态修复原理,以及近年来水生植物在渔业生态养殖中作为水产动物绿色饲料与病害生态防治环境友好药物的来源、有害有毒藻类控制的化感解毒生物资源、污水生物净化与渔业水域生态修复的开发应用。同时就水生植物在水产生态养殖与渔业水域环境修复开发应用中存在的问题进行探讨,并提出相应的建议。     

Ecological, environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the Lake Victoria's introduced Nile perch fishery in relation to the native fisheries and the species culture potential: lessons to learn

Inland fishery ecosystems in Africa are characterized by patterns of overexploitation, environmental degradation and exotic species introductions. Ecological complexity and diversity of aquatic habitats dictate that fishes in general are not evenly distributed in a water body. However, fisheries management regimes tend to ignore this basic principle, assume generalized conditions in a water body, and focus more on ‘desired’ objectives such as maximizing catch. The result is to disregard fish habitat boundaries and anthropogenic influences from the catchment that influence fish production. Overexploitation and environmental degradation disrupt sustainable socioeconomic benefits from the fisheries, create uncertainty among investors, but leave some managers calling for more information with the expectation that the fisheries will recover with time. Open access to the fisheries and full control of fishing effort remain challenges for managers. Exotic species introductions and fish farming can increase production, but such interventions require firm commitment to sound ecological principles and strict enforcement of recommended conservation and co‐management measures in capture fisheries. The general tendency to downplay fishing effort issues, other ecosystem values and functions or rely on temperate fisheries models until a new cycle of overexploitation emerges, characterizes many management patterns in inland fisheries. Aquaculture is not an option to challenges in capture fisheries management. Aquaculture should be developed to increase fish production but even this practice may have negative environmental impacts depending on practice and scale. Decades of information on Lake Victoria fisheries trends and aquaculture development did not stop the collapse of native fisheries. The successfully introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) has shown signs of overexploitation and aquaculture has again been considered as the option. By reviewing significant trends associated with Nile perch and its feasibility in aquaculture this paper uses Lake Victoria to illustrate ‘special interest management’ targeting selected species of fish rather than the fisheries.     

Stock assessment in inland fisheries: a foundation for sustainable use and conservation

Fisheries stock assessments are essential for science-based fisheries management. Inland fisheries pose challenges, but also provide opportunities for biological assessments that differ from those encountered in large marine fisheries for which many of our assessment methods have been developed. These include the number and diversity of fisheries, high levels of ecological and environmental variation, and relative lack of institutional capacity for assessment. In addition, anthropogenic impacts on habitats, widespread presence of non-native species and the frequent use of enhancement and restoration measures such as stocking affect stock dynamics. This paper outlines various stock assessment and data collection approaches that can be adapted to a wide range of different inland fisheries and management challenges. Although this paper identifies challenges in assessment, it focuses on solutions that are practical, scalable and transferrable. A path forward is suggested in which biological assessment generates some of the critical information needed by fisheries managers to make effective decisions that benefit the resource and stakeholders.     

Alien fish species in Indian inland wetlands: current status and future challenges

Although wetlands are well-recognized for their biological, ecological, cultural, hydrological, recreational, socio-economic and educational values, still they are facing severe anthropogenic pressure in the form of habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation of resources and the invasion of alien species. India is bestowed with several natural and man-made wetlands which support rich aquatic biodiversity with high degree of endemism, especially fish diversity. Zoological Survey of India reported that, inland wetlands alone support 1027 species of fishes with more biological, nutritional and economic values. However, for the past three centuries Indian wetlands are witnessing continuous introduction of exotic fishes. According to available reports, 31 aquaculture species, 600 ornamental varieties and 2 species of larvicidal fish have been introduced. Surfacing reports confirmed that among the introduced fishes nearly 55 fish species established a sustainable reproductive population in several inland wetlands (i.e. wild) including in the biodiversity hotspots. Among the 55 the National Biodiversity Authority of India has declared 14 species as invasive. Though, there are no comprehensive studies available in India about the impacts of invasive alien species on its ecosystem and food security. In addition, researchers are of the opinion that the ongoing climate change, river linking projects, Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) project and ornamental trade will exacerbate the invasive issues in future. India is thus in a position to develop new robust policy and research guidelines on the exotic species issues. Cooperation among different stakeholders and common public is the need of the hour, else India will lose its unique aquatic diversity and also face huge socio-economic problems.

     

淡水鱼类功能多样性及其研究方法

目前,群落功能多样性备受生态学界关注,被认为是能解决生态问题的一种重要途径。我国对于群落功能多样性主要集中在植物群落和微生物群落,而在鱼类群落方面的研究几乎是空白。我国鱼类资源正面临着严重威胁,包括水坝建设导致的鱼类通道受阻、水库形成造成鱼类产卵场功能消失、过度捕捞、水质恶化和富营养化加重、外来种入侵等因素,导致渔业资源急剧衰退,水生生态系统功能下降。以淡水鱼类群落为例,对鱼类功能多样性的数据获取及处理分析与评价、测定指标及计算方法与研究难点等进行综述,以期为鱼类资源保护提供新的理论依据和切入点。     

环境DNA技术在鱼类生态学中的应用研究进展

全球渔业衰退是21世纪人类面临的重要挑战之一。为了有效地遏制鱼类资源的衰退,精确的鱼类生态调查是其首要任务。传统的鱼类监测以渔获物采集与形态学鉴定为主,往往耗时耗力且效果不佳,已无法满足现阶段大尺度上的精确调查。环境DNA （eDNA）技术作为一种近年来新兴的鱼类生态调查方法,其与传统方法相比具有灵敏度高、经济高效、采样受限小且对生态系统无干扰的优势,目前其已被广泛地应用于鱼类物种监测、多样性调查、生物量评估以及繁殖活动监测等方面的研究。然而,eDNA技术在鱼类生态学研究的具体应用中暴露出的一些问题将会影响其监测结果的精确性,诸如操作流程的不规范、基因数据库的不完善以及eDNA在环境中生态学过程的不明确等。鉴于上述原因,首先对eDNA技术的发展历程、分析流程以及eDNA技术在鱼类生态学研究领域中的研究进展进行了综述,而后着重分析了eDNA技术的发展当前所面临的困难与挑战,并提出了相应的解决方案,最后对eDNA技术未来在鱼类生态学研究领域中的发展趋势做出了展望。通过本研究,以期能够为eDNA技术在鱼类生态学领域中的准确应用提供理论基础。     

SITUATIONS AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES OF FISH RESOURCES IN THE YANGTZE RIVER BASIN北大核心CSCD

The Yangtze River basin harbors a high degree of fish diversity, with 378 fish species distributing in the mainstream and its attached waters, and 149 of these species are endemic to this river. Meanwhile, the Yangtze River is an important fishery ground in China, contributing more than 60% of the total catch of freshwater fishery. Therefore, the Yangtze River plays important roles in both biodiversity conservation and capture fisheries. However, due to the increasing human activities in the past decades, fish resources in the Yangtze River have declined sharply. Firstly, more and more species have been assessed as threatened and the endangerment categories of many species have been upgraded. Secondly, the population size of many iconic species, such as Acipenser sinensis, the four famous Chinese carps and Coreius guichenoti, have declined continuously. Thirdly, the miniaturization tendencies of major fishing targets have become more and more obvious. Last but not the least, the total fishery catch reduced significantly. Overfishing, water projects construction, enclosing-lake cultivation, water pollution and alien invasion were the main reasons contributing to these changes. In most situations, these factors interacted together, which imposed more damage to the fish resources and increased the difficulty of conservation. In order to protect the fish resources in the Yangtze River effectively, following conservation strategies are suggested: establishing specialized nature reserve, banning commercial fishing completely, implementing river ecological restoration, strengthening scientific research and establishing comprehensive regulation mechanism. © 2019, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.     

水生态保护目标制定的理论与应用

我国目前处于生态环境管理的转型期,尚未形成统领水生生物、生物栖息地、水质与水量等要素的水生态保护体系。在总结相关水生态研究成果的基础上,梳理形成了基于水生态系统时空尺度和状态梯度效应理论的水生态保护目标制定构想与方法,分析了淡水生物完整性对自然地理要素、水环境压力、栖息地质量的响应机制,提出以水生态“功能分区-状态评价-问题诊断-目标预设-可达性评估-目标确定”为主线的水生态保护目标制定技术体系,研发了生物完整性评价、水生态保护目标预设和可达性分析等技术方法。以江苏省常州市为典型水生态功能区应用案例,验证了技术体系的适用性与可行性,取得良好的应用效果。水生态保护目标制定理论和方法方面的研究探索可为全国相关工作提供参考依据。     

CURRENT STATUS AND CONSERVATION PLANNING OF FISH BIODIVERSITY IN THE UPPER YANGTZE RIVER BASIN IN THE CONTEXT OF HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT北大核心CSCD

Nearly 90% of the hydropower resources in the Yangtze River basin are concentrated in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The cascaded hydropower dams and river channelization have caused habitat fragmentation and loss of fish diversity, which has aggravated the contradictions between hydropower development and environmental protection. This paper collected data on aquatic reserves (i.e. natural reserves and aquatic germplasm resources conservation zones) and cascade dams in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and vectorized the data in ArcGIS. Taking into account the diversity, richness and distribution of fish, we analyzed the changes in fish resources and the problems in the construction and management of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Therefore, several strategies have been proposed to reduce the conflicts between hydropower development and aquatic ecosystem protection, including conducting reserve census, evaluating management effectiveness of the protected areas for spatial optimization of the reserve networks, implementing the ecological restoration of essential fish habitats, implementing the rescue action plan for the upper Yangtze endangered endemic fish, establishing an efficient ecological compensation mechanism, and strengthening scientific monitoring and related research. These recommendations will provide a scientific basis for the coordinated development of hydropower exploitation and river ecological protection in the upper Yangtze River. © 2019, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.     

天鹅洲故道水生态研究进展

20世纪90年代初, 湖北长江天鹅洲故道水质良好, 鱼类资源丰富, 被认为是建立长江豚类半自然保护区和四大家鱼种质资源生态库的理想场所, 而对之开展了水生态研究, 之后由于成功实现了长江江豚的迁地保护而受到越来越多的关注。学者们从水质和沉积物等环境因素, 浮游植物、浮游动物、底栖动物和高等水生植物等生物因素, 水体初级生产力、渔产潜力和鱼类等资源因素多角度开展了天鹅洲故道水生态研究。天鹅洲故道水质呈恶化趋势。浮游植物数量增加了2个数量级, 且从单细胞个体转变为多细胞群体, 同时带有胶被的蓝藻在种类和密度上占有绝对优势; 浮游动物优势种呈小型化趋势; 底栖动物密度有所下降; 高等水生植物呈逐渐衰退趋势。鱼类资源量呈下降趋势。根据水质化学和生物学评价结果, 结合天鹅洲故道受人类活动的影响, 本文指出故道与长江阻隔、渔业活动和环境污染是天鹅洲故道水生态面临的主要问题, 其通过水质、饵料和栖息地等方面影响长江江豚的可持续性生存。同时, 提出5个方面的建议: 首先, 实施通江工程, 恢复故道水文特征, 提高故道理化环境异质性; 其次, 控制外源和内源营养负荷, 提高故道水体水质; 然后, 持续监测水质、沉积物和水生生物状况, 建立故道水生态数据库; 再次, 实施生态修复工程, 提高水生生物多样性; 最后, 规范渔业活动, 优化故道渔业资源, 为保护天鹅洲故道水环境质量和水生态健康, 维持江豚可持续生存提供依据。     

A brief history of aquatic resource use in medieval Europe

Humans have exploited European aquatic resources since at least the Palaeolithic, but during the Middle Ages rising human populations and demand initiated great changes in many fisheries. To help understand the past and present of the Wadden Sea, this paper sets the main developments of medieval fisheries in the context of changing larger European social and aquatic environments ca. 500–1500 A.D. Anthropogenic influences on fish populations and aquatic habitats interacted with natural environmental variations. Both nutritional and cultural needs shaped human consumption of aquatic organisms. Many fisheries met the demand for food by economic reorientation from subsistence to artisanal and then even fully commercial purposes. Exploitation slowly shifted from limited or deteriorating local inland and inshore fish populations to frontier, commonly marine, and increasingly pelagic resources. Some inland regions developed aquaculture to enhance local supplies of fresh fish. General processes are illustrated by case studies of selected indicator species from freshwater and marine habitats generally pertinent to the region surrounding the Wadden Sea. Anadromous salmon (Salmo salar) and sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) were negatively affected by overfishing and by unintentional human alteration of critical habitat. Habitat preferences of catadromous eel (Anguilla anguilla) and exotic carp (Cyprinus carpio) let these species gain from medieval human activities. In the case of herring (Clupea harengus), Europes largest early commercial marine fishery, technological innovations which raised production and consumption played off against long-term consequences of intensely exploiting sensitive natural systems.     

Species composition,trend of biodiversity variation and conservation of the fish in Lijiang River (in China)

In the present study, diversity investigations were conducted for fish species in Lijiang River main stream and its four tributaries for four times seasonally during the period from April 2013 to January 2015. Based upon the 19763 fish samples collected, a total of 91 species and subspecies belonging to five orders, 17 families and 65 genera, had been recorded. According to the method of inland water fishery natural resource investigation, by means of mathematics statistics and species diversity index to analyze data, studied the fish biodiversity characteristics and trend of biodiversity variation. On the basis, we found the reasons of exhaustion of fish resources and provided the scientific basis to protect and repair the aquatic ecosystem of Lijiang River. The research demonstrated that the diversity index of fish species in Lijiang River was at a high level, but due to the superposition of various risk factors, including overexploitation, water pollution, habitat alteration, etc., increasing exhaustion of fish stocks and decreasing significant of fish species diversity. It was urgent to take measures to protect and restore the aquatic ecosystem of Lijiang River.     

东苕溪中下游河岸类型对鱼类多样性的影响

河流修复工程被美国《科学》杂志列入2000年最具发展潜力的六大领域之一,河流修复工程对水生生态系统的影响也成为各国科学家的研究热点。本文以东苕溪中下游河段为对象,研究4种不同河岸类型（自然河岸 水生植物（A）、自然河岸 无水生植物（B）、人工河岸 水生植物（C）、人工河岸 无水生植物（D））对鱼类生物多样性的影响。本次调查共采集鱼类标本499尾,经鉴定为32种,隶属于7目10科24属。鱼类生物多样性结果显示A、B的物种丰度和Shannon-Wiener指数与D存在显著差异（P<0.05）; A的优势度指数与D存在显著性差异（P<0.05）; A、C的均匀度与D存在显著性差异。鱼类群落NMDS排序与相似性分析（ANOSIM）显示D与A、B、C能完全分开,且D与A、C存在显著性差异（P<0.05）,其中A与C存在显著性差异。因此,河流修复工程中水生植被的恢复对于水生生物多样性的维持至关重要,且恢复水生植被的河流修复工程会减少该工程对鱼类群落结构和生物多样的负面影响。     

“Fish Rescue us from Hunger”: the Contribution of Aquatic Resources to Household Food Security on the Rufiji River Floodplain,Tanzania, East Africa

Inland fisheries are essential to nutrition and food security in developing countries but remain undervalued. Worldwide, studies of aquatic resource consumption are rare. We use data from a monthly survey of 40 households in a Tanzanian village over 1 year combined with qualitative methods to analyse consumption of animal aquatic resources across wealth, seasons, fishing vs. non-fishing, and male- vs. female-headed households. We find that local freshwater fish are the most frequent source of animal protein, consumed on 57% of survey days. Wealth matters, with better-off households eating fish more often and in larger daily quantities on average. Middle-ranked households catch and sell fish more often, but all households double their consumption on average on days they catch rather than purchase fish. Female-headed households rely on gifts to increase consumption. Our results emphasise the need to preserve the livelihood functions of inland fisheries in the face of increasing threats.     

Temperature-dependent growth rates of larval midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) from a southeastern U.S. stream

Inland aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity in Asia represent a wide spectrum along a complex continuum of interacting ecological, economic, socio-cultural and political gradients all of which determine their present and future. Whereas the diversity of biophysical environments ensures a rich inland aquatic biodiversity, their present status has been greatly influenced by human societies that have depended on them for millennia. Besides high population densities and developmental pressures, socio-cultural factors, economic considerations and various policies concerning land and water resources are major factors responsible for the degradation of habitats and loss of biodiversity. The looming global climate change may only worsen the situation unless remedial measures are taken on a large scale and urgently. The future of aquatic biodiversity in Asian countries will depend upon a radical change in national policies on water, and upon research that can support the development of appropriate policies.