144th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society

August 17 - 21, 2014

Inland fish and fisheries provide nutrition and food security and contribute to human wellbeing, leisure, prosperity, and ecosystem productivity. A vital source of protein, essential fats, and micronutrients, freshwater fish are critical for food and nutritional security, particularly in the developing world. Inland capture fisheries are often impacted by other societal needs and uses of freshwater, chiefly competition for freshwater needed for agricultural production, human consumption, and power generation. Because inland fisheries are difficult to assess, have complicated or unclear governance systems, and compete with other economically and socially important sectors, they are often ignored or are greatly undervalued. Consequently, inland fisheries are often not afforded appropriate consideration in water management, water allocation, and development decisions.

This session is designed to highlight the critical need to appropriately communicate the value of inland fisheries locally and globally, and most importantly among all water sectors who may inadvertently affect inland fisheries. It is important for the future of inland fisheries that fisheries professionals recognize and begin to actively raise the profile of inland fisheries and better incorporate them in agricultural, land use, and water resource planning.  The session will be a forum to discuss a variety of themes including how to improve biological assessment, how to inform tradeoffs, how to communicate their sociological and economic importance and how improvement in governance may improve the future outlook of these fisheries by better informing policy makers and decision-makers.