Inland Fisheries

Fisheries and aquatic biodiversity management in the Amazon

Overview of inland fisheries
02/09/1998

This report is an overview of the present status of fisheries, other environmental issues, and their effect on freshwater biodiversity in the Amazon basin. A related set of specific recommended actions to protect biodiversity are described. It results from a desk study, in collaboration with FAO, in response to a series of initiatives by the World Bank and partners that attempt to increase focus on the sustainable use and development of all water-related resources in the Amazon basin.

The report contains a brief description of the basin environment (C), current fisheries, with an update on total fishery yields, are described in Chapter II. A brief overview of existing fishery regulations, their enforcement, and relevance (Chapter III) is followed by a discussion of the relevance of fisheries to aquatic biodiversity in the context of current management and conservation programs (Chapter IV). Finally, a set of recommendations, in the context of experiences in other systems and constraints within the system, is combined in a proposed outline for a future action plan (V).