Enhancing Sustainability of Inland Fisheries through Cross-Sectoral Collaboration

The 2015 Global Conference on Inland Fisheries, jointly sponsored by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and Michigan State University, brought together researchers and cross-sectoral freshwater stakeholders in order to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of inland freshwater resources. Participants discussed how to optimize benefits for human communities, sustainable fisheries, and aquatic resources. The Conference was divided into 4 thematic areas, each addressing a pressing issue facing freshwater resources: Economic and Social, Biological Assessment, Drivers and Synergies, and Policy and Governance. Through group discussions aimed at improving resource sustainability and allocation, participants generated recommendations highlighting the benefits of inland fisheries to surrounding environments and communities as well as the challenges facing these valuable resources. The goal of this symposium will showcase the principal outcomes from this inland fisheries conference, as well as focusing on improving assessment techniques and our understanding of human dimensions and large scale ecological drivers as methods of developing good governance. As will be demonstrated, effective governance and cross-sectoral integration will require inland freshwater resource users to work together to develop new strategies to ensure the continued contribution of inland fisheries to livelihoods, to food, and to nutritional security.