Analyses of Protection and Conservation According to the Fish Act 1950 in Bangladesh’s Kaptai Lake Fisheries Management

Kaptai Lake (KL), the largest inland watershed in Bangladesh (ca. 700 km2) and one of Southeast Asia’s largest artificial reservoirs, features an abundant variety of indigenous fishery species. Moreover, it provides a plethora of ecological benefits to society. Nevertheless, the KL is suffering from multidimensional natural and anthropogenic stressors that threaten these wetlands’ sustainability. Though the legal framework assures sustainable conservation of fisheries resources, the implementation scenarios of fisheries laws, regulations, and policies in the KL wetland are insufficient. This study aimed at assessing the fisher’s perception of the regulation implementation efficiency of the Protection and Conservation Fish Act of 1950, while analyzing the effectiveness of the legal framework in the context of biodiversity conservation and the management sustainability of KL. By integrating qualitative and quantitative data collected through participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools viz. 225 interviews with fishers, four focus group discussions, and 12 key informant interviews, the investigation was performed in four selected areas in KL. The findings show that fishers routinely disregard laws and restrictions of the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act 1950 due to various socioeconomic and political forces. Although the annual fish harvest rate from KL appears to be increasing, the lake is losing its charismatic biological diversity primarily due to inappropriate and ineffective enforcement of fishing regulations. Many fishers believe that they still follow the act’s significant laws and regulations while being involved in several destructive and prohibited fishing practices. There is a link between community awareness, the scope of the act’s provisions, the effectiveness of its enforcement, and the strength of its execution. One of the leading causes of biodiversity loss in the KL is inadequate and ineffective fishing regulations. Improvement in the enforcement of the fishing act may be the prominent option to ensure better biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of this wetland. This result calls for functional and policy attention to revising the regulations to account for socioeconomic and political elements contributing to environmental degradation. This study also highlights the urgent need for transdisciplinary collaboration initiatives and synchronous cooperation among the agencies in order to effectively implement the fishing laws and contribute to better conservation and sustainability of the Kaptai lake fisheries resources.

The Purse Seine Fleet Compliance strategy to Fishing Regulations at Nizam Zachman Fishing Port, Jakarta

Importer countries of Indonesian fishery products, such as European Union countries (EU) and the United States (USA), are very concerned about the treacebility of fishery products, which lead to some rejection of fishery products obtained from illegal, unreported and unregulated activities (IUU Fishing) in NZFPJ. Approximately 231 vessels, 121 of it are purseiners, conducted fishing operations outside permitted fishing areas and at least 42 vessels were moored outside their assigned fishing ports. Considering the number of violations, this study is aiming at formulating strategies to improve compliance level of fishing vessels. Data from the case study were analyzed using Strengths Opportunities Weaknesses Threats (SWOT) method and Quantitative Strategic Planning Management (QSPM). The results showed that strategies to improve the compliance of purseiners to fishing regulations in NZFPJ are by developing an integrated fishing vessel monitoring system with relevant agencies conducting law enforcement in the field of marine and fishery. In addition, reward and punishment scheme along with education for fishermen and businessmen are required to improve awareness. Lastly, there is need to provide facilities and training to support the monitoring activities. Keywords: IUU fishing, NZFPJ, inspection.

AU AIM Strategy and the Fragmentation of IUU Fishing Regulations in Africa: the Case of West Africa

In Africa, the west suffers the most from Illegal, Unreported, and unregulated fishing which necessitated national, regional, and continental efforts to put in place legal mechanisms to halt the situation. This resulted in the fragmentation of rules dealing with IUU, with AU’s 2050 African Maritime Strategy and the Lomé Charter being the grand Continental ones. This article will provide a brief assessment of the legal mechanisms of the African Union vis-à-vis the rules of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the fragmentation or harmonization of those rules. The paper argues that fragmentation of rules at regional and sub-regional levels is not necessarily counterproductive as long as all parties coordinate by focusing on filling existing gaps rather than allowing overlaps.

Policing Work: Emotions and Violence in Institutional Work

We merge research on institutional policing with the growing interest in violence in organization studies to explore how citizen enforcement of regulations can evoke emotion and even, under certain circumstances, turn violent. We draw on long interviews to explore how fly fishing guides enforce catch-and-release fishing regulations in the absence of the state. Our primary theoretical contribution is the development of the policing work construct, including a typology of different policing tactics. Therein, we unpack how emotional thresholds explain shifts away from peaceful enforcement tactics fostered by everyday emotions and towards violent tactics reinforced by extraordinary emotions and a desire for vengeance. We also reflect on the constitutive role of violence in policing work, shedding light on vigilantes as a veiled yet crucial line of defense for enforcing institutions. Finally, we show that institutional custodianship can be claimed by ordinary citizens, motivated by their deep connection to and guardianship of an institution’s integrity.

Artisanal fisherfolk’s Local Ecological Knowledge on catfish and fishing legislations: a necessary dialog

The presence of catfish of the Ariidae family in the list of endangered species of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), as from 2014, led to forbidding fishing two species of this family. Thus, artisanal fisherfolk lost a significant part of their income, causing conflicts between them and the fishing authorities in RS. This work aims mainly to understand the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of the artisanal fisherfolk of the North Coast of RS regarding the ecology and taxonomy of catfish of the Ariidae family, seeking to relate it to the establishment of the fishing regulations in force in the State. 33 semi-structured interviews were made with artisanal fisherfolk. The interviewees perceive differences among the region ethnospecies; hardly ever are they consulted during the fishing regulations establishment process. Considering the aforementioned aspects, the artisanal fisherfolk LEK on catfish can be an important tool in the participatory management of catfish fishing.