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The study assesses the significance of environmental uncertainty and its effects on fishing strategies of small-scale fishermen in Ende, Flores, Indonesia. Periodic environmental cycles such as the moon phase can have important effects on fishing strategies by regulating the behavior of stocks and tides. Traditional lunar calendars are used by subsistence fishermen to decide when and where to go fishing. Environmental uncertainty, specifically unprecedented changes in oceanographic and atmospheric conditions, is threatening the predictability of traditional systems of ecological knowledge.

Methods included ethnographic and observational techniques. Interviews (n = 58) and surveys (n = 132) are qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. A combination of standard statistical tests, multilevel models, and cluster analysis is applied to long-term repeated observations of fishing events (n = 2,633).

Endenese fishermen emphasized the importance of the traditional lunar calendar to allocate their effort in interviews and surveys. This belief does not coincide with observed behavior. Contrary to expectations from the traditional calendar, the lowest probability of fishing happens in the intermediate phases, with fishing also occurring during the full moon. Differences between individuals play an important role in explaining variability in returns. Finally, based on the consideration of variability, three different fishing strategies are identified that suggest an effect of environmental uncertainty in effort regulation.

The paper underlines the importance of studies of variability to identify behavioral flexibility and adaptation. Results emphasize the value of considering individual traits in the analysis of subsistence practices.

Purpose – The chapter compares gift and market exchange in Hawaiian and New Zealand fisheries.Methodology/approach – The chapter draws upon a combination of original ethnographic fieldwork and literature pertaining to fisheries in both New Zealand and Hawaii.Findings – The privatization of fishing rights in New Zealand, in conjunction with a social policy directed toward Maori addressing colonial dispossession, has resulted in the dominance of market exchange, the creation of a purified version of indigenous gift exchange, and the attempted elimination of any hybrid activities. This has not been a positive outcome for the majority of coastal Maori. Fisheries development in Hawai’i has taken a different path. The flexibility that inheres in Hawaiian fisheries enables ongoing participation in both gift and cash economies.Originality/value – Over the last few decades western economies have witnessed a rapid extension of market approaches to many commonly owned environmental goods, a movement which has been entrenched as global policy orthodoxy. The social consequences of this development have been under researched. This chapter challenges the neoliberal model of using market mechanisms and property rights as “the way to do” natural resource management.

Purpose – This chapter examines the literature on the dangers of methylmercury exposure and the 2004 Food and Drug Administration/Environmental Protection Agency (FDA/EPA) Advisory on fish consumption. It analyzes the extent to which particular groups of people living in the United States are vulnerable to toxic food consumption and the extent to which the advisories put them at risk.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a review of the literature related to methylmercury. In addition, they used archival information from government documents. They also analyzed the fish advisories and educational information posted on websites of each state's Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

Findings – Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin that can seriously affect fetal brain growth and development. Although the federal government promotes canned tuna as an inexpensive, beneficial protein source, recent reports indicate that a large proportion of America's favorite fish contains unsafe levels of methylmercury. Populations at risk for overconsumption include minorities and low-income groups, particularly recipients of federal subsidies such as WIC.

Practical implications – The FDA uses a “nuanced” message to offer consumers information about both the risks and benefits of eating fish. However, the advisory is not widely distributed and information on mercury levels in fish is not available at the point of sale. Minority populations are less likely to be aware of fish advisories and to change consumption habits. Thus, the target population remains largely uninformed and possibly misled about the risks and benefits of eating canned tuna.

Social implications – Based on new data, the federal government should recognize mercury as a hazard, update its consumption guidelines, and better monitor the mercury content in canned tuna. Outreach and educational programs should target minority and at-risk groups. The authors recommend an alternative precautionary approach in dealing with the health threats posed by methylmercury in tuna fish.

Saroma Lake is the largest lagoon in Japan, situated at latitude 44°05′07″ and 44°11′58″ north and longitude 143°40′06″ and 143°58′14″ east (Fig. 3.1). It is located in the northeast of Hokkaido along the Okhotsk sea. The size and circumference of the lake area is around 151km² and 91km, respectively. The pear-shaped lagoon is around 25.7km long and around 9.5km wide. The lake has semiclosed estuaries with sea mouths between Okhotsk sea and lake. In the lake, two artificial sea mouths have been excavated, where the water exchange can be maintained. These are around 300 and 50m wide. Approximately 90 percent of the total inflow from the sea to the lake passes through the former mouth, which was opened in 1927. The salinity level in Saroma Lake is almost similar to that of the Okhotsk sea due to the active tidal water exchange through the two mouths. An average water depth in Saroma Lake is 14m, approximately 18m deep at the deepest point. The lake receives fresh water from 13 rivers, particularly two principal streams (i.e., River Saromabetsu and Baro), where a large quantity of freshwater and subsequent sediments and nutrients are supplied into the lake.

Purpose – This chapter focuses on ways urban – and other non-local – pressures have influenced a rural archipelago area by studying changes in fisheries-related livelihoods, use of natural resources and regulatory regimes.

Design/methodology/approach – The material for this chapter comprises mainly of structured and semi-structured interviews with fishers and other stakeholders in the Archipelago Sea and in the Åland Islands, SW Finland. A governance approach is used, taking into account the interactive social, economic and ecological systems embedded in institutions, social networks and cultures.

Findings – The economic importance of traditional fishing livelihood has diminished, but fishing still holds a strong position in the culture and life mode of the local people in the studied archipelago areas. In families selling fish, this income stands typically for a part of the household income and especially wage work has become an important income source in the pluriactivity. Providing services for the tourists and summer cottage dwellers is a potentially growing source of livelihood. The increased recreational use of the Finnish Archipelago Sea has changed the ownership structure of the land area, mostly due to the popular summer cottage dwelling. New public fishing rights for (often urban) recreational fishers have narrowed the scope of the local decision-making and aroused resistance among the local archipelago people.

Originality/value – Rural–urban relations and governance aspects have been rarely studied in relation to the use of natural resources. This chapter gives new insights into the multifaceted roles of new urban influences in rural settings.

Our planet's essential goods and services emanate from the functions of biological diversity. An ecological sphere rich in variety and endowed with highly productive ecosystem services in which fishery resources are present provides attractive benefits. Fishery resource is the primary form of people's livelihood for survival, especially in coastal areas. It is a major source of food protein for human beings representing at least 15 percent of the average per capita animal protein intake of more than 2.9 billion people [Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2009]. Significant demands for fishery resources create employment opportunities for many people around the world (FAO, 1995). Indeed, the number of fishers, including aquaculturists, has grown faster than the world's population and faster than employment in traditional agriculture during the past three decades (FAO, 2007a, 2009). In 2004, an estimated 51 million people were making their entire or partial living from fish production and capture (Pomeroy & Rivera-Guieb, 2006), the great majority of these in Asian countries (FAO, 2007a, 2009). According to FAO (2009), it has been estimated that for each person employed in the fishery primary sector, there could be four employed in the secondary sector (including fish processing, marketing, and related service industries). The estimated total population employed in the entire fish industry is approximately 204 million people. The total amounts of fish landing, including aquaculture, have maintained an upward trend, as shown in Fig. 1.1. To a large extent, advanced fishing technology that is efficiently and effectively capable of catching or harvesting fishery resources attracted a large number of fishers and has contributed to an increase in fish landing quantity.

From a historical viewpoint, decline of fishery resources were commonly identified in all three case studies. The reasons behind the decrease of fishery resources differ, depending on varying extent of socioeconomic and political features as well as of the natural environment. The book reviews the underlying causes learned from each case study experience, and put together a set of environmental issues for lagoon fisheries management that be addressed.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) requires all members to avoid subsidy policies and financial measures that weaken sustainability in fishing and instead divert public spending in such a way that it is more beneficial to fisheries sectors. This paper aims to argue that the WTO fisheries subsidies rules can be considered as a mechanism not only for achieving fisheries sustainability but also for supporting food security in Indonesia.

The methodology of this study consists of descriptive and analytical legal research that identifies the relation between fisheries subsidies and food security policies in Indonesia.

Fisheries subsidies policies in Indonesia focus on government support for small-scale fishers not only to promote fishing sustainability and marine resource protection but also to improve their ability to participate in food security strategies.

The elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies could be regarded as a mechanism for not only preserving and sustaining marine resources but also achieving food security in other developing countries.

The author’s knowledge of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is valuable in elaborating a new paradigm on how the WTO is achieving SDG 14 (Life below Water) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) in parallel by analysing Indonesia’s efforts to implement the AFS while also allocating public spending to fisheries sectors to accommodate food security.

This study aims to explore marketing strategies that UK fish farming businesses can use to gain a competitive advantage. The marketing strategies examined include product branding and core competencies, sales promotion, market positioning and segmentation.

A survey through an online questionnaire was mailed to five randomly selected trade associations of UK fish farming businesses and distributed to their registered members, of which 200 responded. Both male and female genders with different age groups and levels of experience in the UK fish farming business participated. In addition, ten articles were sampled for a systematic review.

Results show that UK fish farming businesses could increase sales by using ecolabels in product branding to attract premium prices, build consumer confidence and using high-quality packages for fish products will keep fish fresh for a longer period.

The scope of this research is limited to the UK. The findings cannot be generalised and used for other jurisdictions because of variable economic and market conditions.

A significant recommendation from this case study is that fish farming businesses need to be creative and innovative in ways such as leveraging branding, sales promotions and core competencies to win the trust and confidence of consumers. Most importantly, each fish farming business should know the specific marketing strategy that works for them; this case study shows that not all branding and sales promotion techniques enhance competitiveness. The scope of this research is limited to the UK. The findings cannot be generalised and used for other jurisdictions because of variable economic and market conditions.