Doctoral Dissertation Research: Small-Scale, Subsistence Fishing as a Potential Threat to Biodiversity in an African Great Lake

东非大湖是地球上一些最多样化的动物群落的家园，作为世界上最贫穷地区之一的蛋白质和就业来源，它们具有巨大的重要性。马拉维湖是世界上鱼类种类最多的湖泊。在湖中的500多种生物中，95%是其他地方找不到的。马拉维慈鲷是已知的脊椎动物种群的最好例子之一，这是一个在很短的进化时间内辐射的密切相关的物种群。马拉维是世界上最不发达的国家之一，控制着马拉维湖一半以上的海岸线。渔业是一个重要的食物来源，提供了马拉维约75 / 4的动物蛋白消费，近25万人从事渔业或相关的加工和贸易活动。马拉维湖鱼类群落面临的威胁包括土地退化导致的沉积、外来物种的引入和过度捕捞。保护马拉维湖生物多样性的计划必须考虑到周围人类社区的需要。这个博士论文研究项目将审查在手工捕鱼部门内进行参与性管理的努力，这些部门使用小型设备，利用部分或全部渔获物维持生计，并通过当地市场分销网络进行交易。该项目将强调社会学和渔业数据的收集。在与湖周围渔业社区各利益相关者团体成员的小组会议期间进行的访谈和讨论将提供有关渔业在当地村庄经济中的作用、鱼类种群和捕捞方法的变化以及传统渔业监管方法的信息。该项目还将包括评估社区对渔业状况和社区管理水生资源的能力的看法。每个村庄使用的渔场将根据每种渔具类型或捕鱼方法绘制地图。将对渔获物组成进行详细分析，以说明在何处、何时、用何种渔具捕获了哪些物种。将在一个公众可达的海滩和附近一个捕鱼量低得多的私人拥有的海滩集中比较鱼类的生境和分布。这个项目将对渔获量组成的地理和捕鱼活动的其他方面提供有价值的新见解，从而对鱼类资源的利用与生物多样性之间的关系进行分析。这将加强基本的理解，并为那些寻求制定可持续渔业管理战略的人提供宝贵的新见解。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

The East African Great Lakes are home to some of the most diverse animal communities on the Earth, and they hold immense importance as sources of protein and employment in one of the world's poorest regions. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world. Of the more than 500 species in the lake, 95 percent are found nowhere else. The Malawian cichlids are one of the best examples known of a vertebrate species flock, a closely related grouping of species which radiated over a very short evolutionary time period. One of the world's least-developed nations, Malawi, controls more than half the shoreline of Lake Malawi. Fishing is an important source of food, providing about 75 three-quarters of the animal protein consumed in Malawi, with almost a quarter million people involved in fishing or related processing and trading activities. Threats to the fish community in Lake Malawi include sedimentation due to land degradation, the introduction of exotic species, and overfishing. Plans for conservation of biodiversity in Lake Malawi must take into account the needs of the surrounding human communities. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine efforts at participatory management within the artisanal fishing sector, which uses small-scale equipment, which uses some or all of the catch for subsistence, and which trades through local market-distribution networks. The project will emphasize the collection of sociological and fisheries data. Interviews and discussions during group meetings with members of various stakeholder groups in fishing communities around the lake will provide information about the roles of fishing in the local village economy, change in fish stocks and fishing methods, and traditional methods of fisheries regulation. The project also will include an assessment of community perceptions of the status of the fishery and of the capacity for community management of aquatic resources. Fishing grounds used by each village will be mapped for each gear type or fishing method. A detailed analysis of catch composition will be conducted in order to describe which species are being caught where, when, and by which gear. A focused comparison of fish habitats and distributions will be undertaken both at a publicly accessible beach and at a nearby privately owned beach where fishing effort is much lower. This project will provide valuable new insights into the geography of catch composition and other aspects of fishing activity, thereby providing an analysis of the relationship between the use of fish resources and biodiversity. This will enhance both fundamental understandings and provide valuable new insights for those seeking to develop sustainable fisheries-management strategies. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.