Ebil, Syazana (2013) Assessment of demersal fishery resources in Brunei Darussalam. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

A problem commonly encountered in stock assessments of tropical marine resources
in developing countries is data paucity, which invariably results from the lack of both
human and economic capacity within the government to implement and maintain
programmes for data collection and analysis. With special reference to the demersal
fishery of Brunei Darussalam, this thesis examines approaches for extracting useful
information from data-poor fisheries to assess the state of resources and inform
fishery management actions. By using official fishery statistics, augmented by local
ecological knowledge (LEK) obtained from fishers engaged in either the large-scale
(LS) or small-scale (SS) fisheries in Brunei, changes in demersal fishery resources
over the years were assessed. The sustainability of Brunei’s demersal capture fishery
was evaluated in the face of its ongoing development and climate change.
Using trophodynamic indicators such as mean trophic level (MTL), Fishing-in-
Balance (FiB), trophic spectra (TS) and community structure analyses, LS fishery
catches of Brunei between 2000 and 2009 revealed a deteriorating state of the coastal
demersal ecosystem. Closer examination of the abundance of overall demersal finfish
stocks, using the Catch-Per-Unit-Effort (CPUE) index – standardised for other
factors not related to abundance – indicated a declining trend, even when total
catches remained stationary, although trends in abundance of the different demersal
fish families varied. This rapid significant change in recent years is further supported
by fishers’ LEK on relative abundance of Brunei marine resources. The study on
LEK has also revealed the ‘shifting baseline syndrome’ (SBS) among currently
active fishers and their exploited populations, a phenomenon not previously reported
for Brunei fisheries.
Findings from the study are synthesised with other information, where a number of
key issues and policy options are discussed, and recommendations for the
management of the fishery are made. This thesis demonstrates that researchers in
data-poor fisheries can utilise different assessment tools, given the resources at their
disposal, to assist in the management of marine resources.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SH Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Fishery management -- Brunei, Deep-sea fishes -- Brunei, Fish stock assessment -- Brunei
Official Date:	March 2013
Dates:	Date Event March 2013 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Life Sciences
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Bull, James C.; Sheppard, Charles (Charles R. C.)
Extent:	xvi, 222, 7 leaves : illustrations, maps.
Language:	eng

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