This document discusses applying an ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture. It proposes using an agro-ecosystem framework to integrate aquatic production systems like fisheries and aquaculture. This would involve delineating system boundaries, assessing how stakeholders value aquatic resources, and identifying development options under different conditions like rainfed or irrigated areas. Applying this agro-ecosystem approach could help with inter-sectoral integration, stakeholder participation, incentives, knowledge sharing, and estimating carrying capacities to promote sustainable aquatic production systems.

1. Fisheries in an agro-ecosystems
approach
Martin van Brakel & Sophie Nguyen-Khoa

2. Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries
Fisheries governance framework
• based on both conventional fisheries management and
ecosystem management
Purpose
“to plan, develop and manage fisheries in a manner that
addresses the multiple needs and desires of societies,
without jeopardizing the options for future generations to
benefit from the full range of goods and services provided
by fisheries”.

3. Modern fisheries management
• strongly based on ecosystem theory
• sectoral, vertically integrated
• focuses primarily on fishing activity and target fish
resources
Ecosystem management
• area based
• loosely cross-sectoral
• focuses on habitats and ecosystem integrity.

4. Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries
• Originally formulated in relation to marine capture fisheries,
the concept is relevant to inland fisheries (FAO, 2005)
where it requires:
• definition and scientific description of the ecosystem in
terms of scale, extent, structure and functioning
• assessment of its state in terms of health or integrity as
defined by what is acceptable to society
• assessment of threats
• maintenance, protection, mitigation, or rehabilitation using
adaptive management strategies (Garcia et. al., 2003).

5. Ecosystem approach to aquaculture
More clearly expressed in a holistic
“ecosystem approach” to development:
“An Ecosystem Approach for Aquaculture (EEA) is a
strategy for the integration of the activity within the wider
ecosystem in such a way that it promotes sustainable
development, equity, and resilience of interlinked social and
ecological systems” (Soto et. al., 2007).

6. Fisheries “vs.” Aquaculture?
Capture fisheries Aquaculture
Natural resources management Farming systems management
Greater control of the resource

7. Agro-ecosystems & fisheries
• (part of) a framework for integrated assessment which:
• requires clear vision of agro-ecosystems boundaries
• Involves assessment of the different scales and options of
fisheries and aquaculture among social groups
• includes explicit analysis of how different stakeholders
value fisheries and aquaculture differently

8. Agro-ecological basis and ‘scale’
(i) Identification of agro-ecosystems ‘boundaries’ (seasonal
floodplains, rain-fed or irrigated farming systems etc.) of
importance to inland fisheries and / or aquaculture
(ii) Valuation of (agro-) ecosystems goods & services from
fisheries and aquaculture
(iii) Identification of capacities that stakeholders have or need
to develop to influence trends positively and effectively
(incl. rights-based approaches)

9. Agro-ecosystems and seasonality
• Vegetation Index (VI) or
vegetation greenness
• High - green vegetation
• Low - water and barren
• Time series of VI -
seasonality

10. Time series analysis

11. Output: farming systems seasonality

12. Agro-ecosystems approach
Serves to:
• Delineate systems boundaries within which certain options
and constraints for different aquatic production systems are
more or less similar
• Extrapolate and scale up information on systems in use
locally (both for “likelihood of occurrence” and identifying
potential)
• Target development of well integrated and ecologically
efficient aquatic production systems

13. Options and constraints
Rainfed
• Ponds (fish and • Seasonal water shortage
supplementary irrigation and trade-offs
• Rice-fish (fisheries and • Dependent on level of rice
aquaculture) intensification (trade-offs)
• Aquaculture or enhanced • Drawdown
fisheries in irrigation
reservoirs
Irrigated

14. Possible applications in:
• integrated aquaculture
• ecosystem-based approaches of mitigating negative
impacts of aquaculture
• inter-sectoral integration
• broadening stakeholders participation
• use of appropriate incentives
• use of local and other relevant knowledge
• promotion of EAA-specific research (e.g. estimate carrying
capacity at farm level, at the aquatic ecosystem level, the
regional level etc.)