Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes special study report entitled: The architectural language of Tai O. Includes bibliographical references (leaves.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes special report study entitled :Waterfront recreational space. Includes bibliographical references.

In January 2007, the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery took a step toward sustainability and began management under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) system. The hope is that direct ownership stakes by fishers brings more direct involvement on behalf of the boat owners and fishermen as well as more responsible and sustainable fishing practices on depressed fish populations. The research was conducted in order to study the welfare of local fishing communities as well as the effects on the red snapper fishery itself. Traditional fisheries and economic data were analyzed. In addition a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of the Florida Gulf Coast communities involved in the red snapper fishery was performed to compare to the analysis of fishing communities prepared by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Finally, online and phone surveys of fishermen involved in the red snapper fishery were performed to gauge their responses to the change in management. The study reveals a strong correlation between the DEA analysis of fishing communities affected and the analysis performed by NMFS, and reinforces DEA as a method of determining involvement in a fishery. Additionally, the thesis indicates the red snapper IFQ has performed as expected in some areas by its supporters – an average gulf-wide ex-vessel price per pound increase of 10% in just three years; elimination of the rush to fish due to guaranteed quota; and a shift in fleet composition as the number of share owners owning less than 2.00% have dwindled, and the number of shareholders possessing greater than 2.00% of the quota has increased gulf-wide by 50%. However, in other areas such as effort reduction and bycatch rates, the IFQ appears to have mixed results. A reported decline in effort is likely attributable to a reduction in the overall gulf-wide red snapper quota between 2007 and 2008 rather than the IFQ, and even NMFS doubts the bycatch data that are being reported by fishermen. Most importantly, current IFQ shareholders were surveyed via phone and internet revealing not only an overall disapproval by most fishers of the IFQ design process, but also effects contrary to those publicized by IFQ supporters, and a general distrust in fisheries management.

Coral trout, Plectropomus Ieopardus, is a high-volume, high-priced species in the international live reef food fish trade. Each year more than 8,000 tonnes of fish, worth over a billion Hong Kong dollars, are exported from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia for consumption in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Its wild populations are believed to be declining in all major source countries with the exception of Australia which manages its fisheries. Concerns over the sustainability of coral trout fisheries, which are major livelihood for some coastal communities, have been raised. To assess whether the fisheries are biologically sustainable, this study developed two different stock assessments synthesizing the best available scientific knowledge and fisheries data of coral trout or grouper stocks for two major sources of production. For the coral trout fishery in the Municipality of Taytay in the Province of Palawan, Philippines, only stock life-history was available in literature, while for Indonesia only catch and effort data were provided for 11 major fishing grounds for groupers including coral trout, by a major live fish trader. Given the nature of the data available, two types of fisheries models were developed for the assessments. For Taytay, a per-recruit model was constructed to simulate catch and stock response to a range of fishing levels based on life-history processes. With the current fishing level estimated from sampled catch, the model indicated that the fishery was unsustainable in Taytay because the spawning stock was overexploited. Right-based catch control, export quota, minimum size, spawning season and aggregation closures were proposed for the recovery of spawning and the spawning stock. Studying stock abundance, sex change and uses of the fish other than export, for example domestic use and mortality levels, will improve the assessment rigour. For Indonesia, a mult-grouper species per-area-based Fox model was fitted to recent catch and effort data. The assessment determined catch and trade quotas for management and highlighted the need for rights-based adaptive management. The assessment found on fishing ground where the groupers including coral trout were fished much beyond sustainable levels and suggested immediate reduction of catch and number of fishers. Monitoring catch, effort and stock abundance and understanding larval dispersal and recruitment can help verify model assumptions and improve their accuracy. For the great many data-poor, unassessed grouper fisheries, similar assessments can be carried out gather data and evaluate fisheries sustainability, while management measures derived from the two assessments here could be used to inform management until more data and assessments become available. Data gaps for improvement of models were identified in the study. Both assessments in this study viewed community-based management as essential to resolve the weak enforcement capacity of Southeast Asian states in fisheries management. For management in and by communities lacking expertise and resource, a greater synergy between various parties is critical, which includes institutional legitimacy of community’s property rights, outreach and capacity building by NGOs, compliance of traders with regulations, sustainable trade practices as well as financial support from consumer’s choices and philanthropy. / published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

Fishing, and artisanal fishing in particular, plays a key role in the provision of rural employment and more importantly, household food security in the developing nations. The importance of artisanal fishery is shown in Malawi where artisanal fishery produces between 85-95% of the total fish production, and about 70% of the animal protein in human consumption comes from fish. About 43,000 people are employed directly in artisanal fisheries and approximately 100,000150,000 are indirectly employed within the artisanal fishery. Owing to increasing human population in the developing countries coupled with the common property, open-access nature of the fish resource, the resource has not been able to cope with the ever-increasing socio-economic demand placed on it. The resource is so degraded that it is has started to decline beyond capacity to sustain itself. This study was an attempt to examine and understand the artisanal fishery as it contributes to the socio-economic well being of the rural population particularly, the enclave communities of Lake Malawi National Park. The present study used structured interviews, focus group interviews, key informant interviews and personal observation to collect socio-economic information of the fishery. These research tools revealed that among the enclave communities income levels are low and unsustainable due to declining productivity of fishing. The decline may be a result of increasing human population, weak community-based institutions, limited agriculture, poor infrastructure with regard to processing and marketing of fish, limited supplementary and alternatives economic activities, and the fishing methods. Documentary information was used to contextualize artisanal fishery, to examine and understand the common-property and open-access nature of the fish resource as it relates to the exploitation Of fish among the enclave communities. Integrated development that brings together conservation and socio-economic development is the only option that will increase the income of the enclave communities to sustainable levels and achieve the Park's conservation objectives. The socio-economic intervention options should include provision of basic social facilities such as education, health, safe water etc, increase the economic power of the enclave communities through irrigation, adding more value to the fishery, engaging in aquarium trade, community-based eco-tourism and beekeeping. These options would lead to socio-economic sustainability among the enclave communities and would bring about the conservation objectives of the Park. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

This research investigates the paradox that many coastal communities in developing countries are resource rich but income poor. Another aspect of this paradox is the belief that local communities possess traditional knowledge that respects nature. This belief contrasts the fact that major tropical coastal ecosystems, namely coral reefs and mangroves, are being destroyed at rapid and increasing rates, in many cases by the people whose livelihoods depend on them. These paradoxical circumstances lead to a central question: if the sustainability of coastal resources is vital for the livelihood of local communities, why are these resources being degraded, often to the point of complete destruction? This study explores the motives and consequences of destructive methods of coastal resource utilisation and examines the potential for sustainable livelihoods based on coastal resources currently under threat from destructive use patterns. The analysis is based on a field study conducted in 2006 and 2008 in eleven sites around the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This area is characterised by great biodiversity, including one of the highest marine biodiversities in the Asia-Pacific region. Coral and mangrove ecosystem resource use was found to be driven by different processes and activities; hence the destructive practices impacting both ecosystems were also different. Blast and poison fishing were the most widespread destructive resource use methods found for coral reefs whereas large-scale habitat conversion was responsible for mangrove ecosystem reduction. In the field both resources were found to be under enormous anthropogenic pressures, with published data suggesting that only 5.8% of Indonesian coral reefs are currently in excellent condition and only 38% of mangrove cover remaining in Sulawesi relative to that of 25 years ago. The dynamics of these coastal resources, and of their destruction, are classic examples of the ’tragedy of the commons’. Research findings further indicate that formal institutions tasked with managing these resources have not been able to promote their effective conservation. An array of competing demands and conflicting interests, coupled with inefficient institutional arrangements and under-investment, have rendered inadequate many resource management efforts, including the externally-imposed concepts, allowing destructive patterns of resource utilization to persist. Local communities are disempowered when confronted with (1) the intricate network of destructive-fishing actors targeting coral reefs, or (2) large company-government bureaucracy collusions allowing mangrove conversion. The existence of this collusive network must be considered in any effort to address problems of effective management. Empirical insights suggest that conservation at local level has to face the challenges of market-driven resource extraction at a global scale. Only when a coastal community manages to overcome the dilemma in managing common-pool resource, conservation measures can be implemented and a degree of sustainability attained. Findings from this research have important implications for the discourses on coastal resource policy and research. This research advances the discussions to the area where the core of conflict of interests among stakeholders took place, and yet has rarely been addressed previously. The synthesis from this study provides a strong basis to understand the nature of asymmetric relations amongst the resource stakeholders, and therefore will help in generating effective policies for a fairer coastal resource management regime.

Marine recreational fishing is a highly developed activity and has an increasingly global following. In New Zealand, over 30 % of the population participate in recreational fishing and the annual harvest of some species is larger than the commercial catch. It is therefore vital for resource management to include data on recreational take. Since marine recreational fishing and charter boat fisheries in New Zealand are managed outside the Quota Management System (QMS), Area Management Tools (AMT) such as taiapure (local fishery), mataitai (reserves) rahui (temporary closures) can be used to ensure sustainability of certain coastal areas affected by fishing and other activity. The Akaroa Harbour Taiapure was established in 2006 and is currently the only taiapure in Canterbury. The main objective with this study was to characterise the recreational fishery in the Akaroa Harbour Taiapure in order to provide management solutions for this area. Three surveys were set up whereby two were specifically designed to record the recreational take landed on the four most frequently used slipways in Akaroa Harbour. A third survey was to gauge local resident‟s perception on recreational fisheries over time. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and appropriate statistical analysis applied. Over 451 intercept interviews were conducted on slipways on Banks Peninsula and 138 trip records were returned. Main findings include significant differences in target and landed species, also a shift in areas mostly fished since the previous survey in 1997 by the Ministry of Fisheries. The most frequently landed fish in this study included blue cod, flounder, rock lobster and perch. The perception survey revealed a strong community bond to recreational fishing and a need for increased local input in the management of the Akaroa Harbour Taiapure. The three surveys are recommended to be continued over time in order to create a data base on recreational fishing and also to document local and indigenous knowledge on marine conservation.

Graduation date: 1981

This research investigates the paradox that many coastal communities in developing countries are resource rich but income poor. Another aspect of this paradox is the belief that local communities possess traditional knowledge that respects nature. This belief contrasts the fact that major tropical coastal ecosystems, namely coral reefs and mangroves, are being destroyed at rapid and increasing rates, in many cases by the people whose livelihoods depend on them. These paradoxical circumstances lead to a central question: if the sustainability of coastal resources is vital for the livelihood of local communities, why are these resources being degraded, often to the point of complete destruction? This study explores the motives and consequences of destructive methods of coastal resource utilisation and examines the potential for sustainable livelihoods based on coastal resources currently under threat from destructive use patterns. The analysis is based on a field study conducted in 2006 and 2008 in eleven sites around the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This area is characterised by great biodiversity, including one of the highest marine biodiversities in the Asia-Pacific region. Coral and mangrove ecosystem resource use was found to be driven by different processes and activities; hence the destructive practices impacting both ecosystems were also different. Blast and poison fishing were the most widespread destructive resource use methods found for coral reefs whereas large-scale habitat conversion was responsible for mangrove ecosystem reduction. In the field both resources were found to be under enormous anthropogenic pressures, with published data suggesting that only 5.8% of Indonesian coral reefs are currently in excellent condition and only 38% of mangrove cover remaining in Sulawesi relative to that of 25 years ago. The dynamics of these coastal resources, and of their destruction, are classic examples of the ’tragedy of the commons’. Research findings further indicate that formal institutions tasked with managing these resources have not been able to promote their effective conservation. An array of competing demands and conflicting interests, coupled with inefficient institutional arrangements and under-investment, have rendered inadequate many resource management efforts, including the externally-imposed concepts, allowing destructive patterns of resource utilization to persist. Local communities are disempowered when confronted with (1) the intricate network of destructive-fishing actors targeting coral reefs, or (2) large company-government bureaucracy collusions allowing mangrove conversion. The existence of this collusive network must be considered in any effort to address problems of effective management. Empirical insights suggest that conservation at local level has to face the challenges of market-driven resource extraction at a global scale. Only when a coastal community manages to overcome the dilemma in managing common-pool resource, conservation measures can be implemented and a degree of sustainability attained. Findings from this research have important implications for the discourses on coastal resource policy and research. This research advances the discussions to the area where the core of conflict of interests among stakeholders took place, and yet has rarely been addressed previously. The synthesis from this study provides a strong basis to understand the nature of asymmetric relations amongst the resource stakeholders, and therefore will help in generating effective policies for a fairer coastal resource management regime.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Edith Cowan University, 2007. / Submitted to the Faculty of Computing, Health and Science. Includes bibliographical references.