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Nachituti’s Gift challenges conventional theories of economic development with a compelling comparative case study of inland fisheries in Zambia and Congo from pre- to postcolonial times. Neoclassical development models conjure a simple, abstract progression from wealth held in people to money or commodities; instead, Gordon argues, primary social networks and oral charters like “Nachituti’s Gift” remained decisive long after the rise of intensive trade and market activities. Interweaving oral traditions, songs, and interviews as well as extensive archival research, Gordon’s lively tale is at once a subtle analysis of economic and social transformations, an insightful exercise in environmental history, and a revealing study of comparative politics. Honorable Mention, Melville J. Herskovits Award, African Studies Association “A powerful portrayal of the complexity, fluidity, and subtlety of Lake Mweru fishers’ production strategies . . . . Natchituti’s Gift adds nuance and evidence to some of the most important and sophisticated conversations going on in African studies today.”—Kirk Arden Hoppe, International Journal of African Historical Studies “A lively and intelligent book, which offers a solid contribution to ongoing debates about the interplay of the politics of environment, history and economy.”—Joost Fontein, Africa “Well researched and referenced . . . . [ Natchituti’s Gift ] will be of interest to those in a wide variety of disciplines including anthropology, African Studies, history, geography, and environmental studies.”—Heidi G. Frontani, H-SAfrica

Return to the River will describe a new ecosystem-based approach to the restoration of salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River, once one of the most productive river basins for anadromous salmonids on the west coast of North America. The approach of this work has broad applicability to all recovery efforts throughout the northern hemisphere and general applicability to fisheries and aquatic restoration efforts throughout the world. The Pacific Northwest is now embroiled in a major public policy debate over the management and restoration of Pacific salmon. The outcome of the debate has the potential to affect major segments of the region's economy - river transportation, hydroelectric production, irrigated agriculture, urban growth, commercial and sport fisheries, etc. This debate, centered as it is on the salmon in all the rivers, has created a huge demand for information. The book will be a powerful addition to that debate. * A 15 year collaboration by a diverse group of scientists working on the management and recovery of salmon, steelhead trout, and wildlife populations in the Pacific Northwest* Includes over 200 figures, with four-color throughout the book* Discusses complex issues such as habitat degradation, juvenile survival through the hydrosystem, the role of artificial production, and harvest reform

This study aims to reconstruct the historical spatiotemporal distribution of the anadromous sturgeons, Acipenser sturio and A. oxyrinchus, in NW-Europe (especially in the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, and Ems rivers, and in the North Sea), in light of evaluating the possibilities for their reintroduction. It is based on fisheries data from the 14th–twentieth century, consisting of > 5000 records of sturgeon landings and sales (c. 40,000 specimens) from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, France and Switzerland. Most data originate from fisheries in the Rhine-Meuse delta (c. 28,000 specimens, 98% of the Rhine catches). Further upstream, far fewer sturgeons (c. 600 specimens) were reported from the Rhine’s mainstem and its principal tributaries, Mosel, Neckar and Main. Smaller tributaries and the Ems, Meuse, and Scheldt rivers seldom yielded sturgeons. This spatial pattern can be related to the species’ preference for large-river habitat, combined with fisheries activities that were most intensive in the delta areas. Sturgeon catches began to dwindle in the late nineteenth century, at a time when river engineering first strongly affected the sturgeon’s reproductive habitats in the Lower Rhine and delta areas. Also from then onwards, North Sea fishery pressure increased, as trawlers switched from sail to steam-powered propulsion. These sea fisheries harvested all age-classes of sturgeons year-round, including populations from other European rivers. The outcomes strongly suggest that NW-European sturgeon populations were initially impacted by intensive river fisheries, but especially by destruction of reproductive habitat, due to river regulation, and an intensified North Sea fishery, ultimately resulting in total population collapse.

Fish-based index of biotic integrity (F-IBI) is widely used to assess river ecosystems. With survey data from the Yellow River fishery resources in the 1980s and 2008, fish composition and abundance, vertical distribution, trophic structure, reproductive guilds and tolerance in the river’s upstream, midstream, downstream, and estuary were examined, and F-IBI systems were established for each reach to assess river ecosystem health. Results showed that compared to the 1980s, the number of fish species in 2008 sharply declined in the midstream and downstream reaches, percentage of benthic fish species decreased in upstream and estuary, the number and percentage of omnivorous species decreased in all reaches, and percentage of tolerant fish species increased 15 times in upstream but decreased in midstream and downstream. The F-IBI scores in the four reaches in the 1980s were all higher than those in 2008 and decreased from upstream to estuary; the healthy conditions indicated by F-IBI scores in the 1980s were “good,” “fair,” “poor,” and “fair” from upstream to estuary and “degraded” to “poor” in all the reaches in 2008. This indicated that the river ecosystem has degraded from the 1980s to 2008. This was also shown by variations in water chemistry.

Inland capture fisheries in rivers, wetlands, lakes, tanks, and dam reservoirs support millions of marginalized people in countries like India. While being a critical resource for many, fishing also has negative impacts on threatened wildlife, through net entanglement and mortality, and fishery-associated hunting or poaching activities. Also, both fishing and river wildlife have declined due to dams affecting river flows, water pollution, and other anthropogenic threats. A dominant approach to protect terrestrial wildlife in India has been the creation of Protected Areas (PAs) where human activities detrimental to wildlife, including fishing, are banned or significantly regulated. But PAs in India have been historically sited in and near dam reservoirs, where culture-based fisheries are often allowed. This triad of PAs, dams, and reservoir/river fisheries can lead to inequitable outcomes, tradeoffs, and conflicts between wildlife conservation and fishery-dependent livelihoods. Hence there is a need to understand factors leading to fishery-wildlife conservation conflicts across PAs. In this review paper, attribute data on ecotype, area, number of dams, fishing intensity levels, and conservation status were compiled for non-marine PAs across India to understand their broad correlations with fishery-conservation conflict intensity levels. Conflict intensity levels were correlated with PA area, PA conservation status, and fishing intensity, and with the number of dams associated with PAs. These results are discussed and specific institutional gaps and management limitations in India are identified, that need to be addressed to prevent negative fishing impacts on wildlife and secure human livelihoods dependent on fisheries.

Fish versus Power is an environmental history of the Fraser River (British Columbia) and the attempts to dam it for power and to defend it for salmon. Amid contemporary debates over large dam development and declines in fisheries, this book offers a case study of a river basin where development decisions did not ultimately dam the river, but rather conserved its salmon. Although the case is local, its implications are global as Evenden explores the transnational forces that shaped the river, the changing knowledge and practices of science, and the role of environmental change in shaping environmental debate. The Fraser is the world's most productive salmon river; it is also a large river with enormous waterpower potential. Very few rivers in the developed world have remained undammed. On the Fraser, however, fish - not dams - triumphed, and this book seeks to explain why.

Riverine fish are often adversely affected by impoundments that reduce longitudinal connectivity and impede movements, while river fishery performance is often enhanced by introductions of non-indigenous fishes that diversify angling opportunities. The influence of factors (including impoundment) on the movements of European barbel Barbus barbus, a fish frequently introduced for angling, was tested in the continuous reach of the lower River Teme and Severn, western England. Following capture by electric fishing and angling, the movements of 18 fish were followed for 12 months using acoustic telemetry. Weirs at the upstream end of both river reaches impeded fish movements; only three fish traversed the Teme weir and no fish traversed the Severn weir. Net movements were mainly upstream in spring and downstream in autumn, and the daily movements of fish were asynchronous between individuals. Total (home) ranges varied considerably between individuals; those of fish initially captured by angling were significantly smaller than those captured by electric fishing. This potentially relates to fish with smaller total ranges being more vulnerable to angling via higher spatial encounters. The results reveal considerable individual variation in the movement of B. barbus and emphasises how river regulation can impact the dispersal and behaviour of river fishes.

Insights from long-term subsistence fisheries data can improve our understanding of the population-specific responses of Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, to environmental conditions. In this study, associations were found between temporal environmental variation and Arctic charr length- and weight-based growth using data from fish captured in the Hornaday River fishery. Overall, spring precipitation and summer air temperature appear to be the most important environmental influences on Arctic charr probably because of their respective impacts on the opportunities for acquiring surplus energy for growth. A pattern of decreasing age-related importance of temperature and increasing age-related importance of precipitation suggested that the coupling between growth and environmental effects varied by life-period. The changing prominence of each variable seems to result from the shift in apportioning energy for increases in length to increases in weight, likely as a result of the onset of maturation. The linkage of population characteristics to environmental conditions provides a baseline reference against which future data may be compared to determine the significance of any observed changes in population characteristics as a result of continuing ecological change in the north.

In a rapidly changing environment where fires are becoming more frequent and severe, scientists and managers need information and tools to enhance understanding of the numerous ways in which fire can affect fisheries. We used Ostrom's social–ecological systems framework to structure the development and refinement of fuzzy cognitive maps with stakeholders across the Kenai River fishery in Alaska, USA. The process yielded a model characterizing the structure and function of the Kenai River fishery. The model was then used to guide interviews with stakeholders focused on the effects of the 2019 Swan Lake Fire. We identified seven direct pathways through which fire can affect the social and ecological components of a coastal fishery. We also used the model to guide a targeted literature review to further explore how fire can affect the components of the Kenai River fishery. This synthesis of information allowed us to develop a more complete understanding of the impacts of fire on the fishery—an understanding informed by input from local stakeholders (via our interviews) and relevant scientific and management literature (via our literature review). Lastly, we used the model to assess the fishery's vulnerability to fire. We discuss how early run Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha constitute a highly vulnerable component of the system and have the greatest potential to impact the fishery as a whole through a chain of negative social and ecological interactions. This final step illustrates how the model can be used to assess the vulnerability of system components to specific threats. The model of the Kenai River fishery provides an empirically grounded and easily understood visual representation of the complex dynamics affecting coastal fisheries. As such, it can be used to structure discussions among managers and stakeholders, organize our understanding of how fire affects fisheries, and assess vulnerabilities to endogenous and exogenous stressors.

The indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America actively managed natural resources in diverse ways to enhance their productivity and proximity. Among those practices that have escaped the attention of anthropologists until recently is the traditional management of intertidal clam beds, which Northwest Coast peoples have enhanced through techniques such as selective harvests, the removal of shells and other debris, and the mechanical aeration of the soil matrix. In some cases, harvesters also removed stones or even created stone revetments that served to laterally expand sediments suitable for clam production into previously unusable portions of the tidal zone. This article presents the only account of these activities, their motivations, and their outcomes, based on the first-hand knowledge of a traditional practitioner, Kwakwaka'wakw Clan Chief Kwaxistalla Adam Dick, trained in these techniques by elders raised in the nineteenth century when clam \"gardening\" was still widely practiced.