Freshwater, Fish and the Future: Proceedings of the Global Cross-Sectoral Conference

Preface

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9789251092637.fmatter

The purpose of this book, and the global conference (www.inlandfisheries.org), is to elevate the significance of freshwater fisheries throughout the world so that fishery managers and the people that depend on freshwater fisheries will have a voice when policymakers make decisions that impact their viability and productivity. All too often, inland fisheries are not appropriately valued as to their critical role in food security, and worse yet, they are not even considered when policymakers decide on the use, allocation, and alteration of freshwater resources in their communities and nations. When governments decide to build dams for power generation and flood control, the impacts on the nearby local communities and on the freshwater ecosystems are too often not considered or, if considered, not valued appropriately. Much of this is due to the fisheries community not being able to provide accurate assessments of the fisheries or the needed economic metrics that allow for decision makers to make informed decisions as to overall costs and benefits of their decisions related to the use of their freshwater resources. In addition, the oftentimes multijurisdictional nature of freshwater systems further complicates decision making given the differing priorities of the various governments that control the water and allied fish habitats that provide the basis for the productivity of local and regional fisheries. The information in this book highlights the importance of freshwater fish, their habitats, and their fisheries to society. The intent of this book is to describe the current state of the knowledge and future information needs that will allow for fisheries sustainability, which in turn directly or indirectly provides for the health, well-being, and prosperity of human communities throughout the world.