In 2009, inland fisheries produced some 10 million tonnes of fish. Despite their importance to rural communities, especially in the least-developed countries, little attention has been paid to this sector in recent years. As a result, there is a deficit in management of the fisheries and also an increasing threat to freshwater by a number of non-fishery users of the aquatic resource. As part of an effort to raise awareness of the problems facing inland fisheries and to examine more closely the various issues, this document reviews four of the world's best-documented inland fisheries: the Amazon, Lake Constance, the Mekong and Lake Victoria. These represent two lake fisheries and two river fisheries drawn from a wide geographical sample - Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. This technical paper draws conclusions from the four case studies and more general experience as to some of the main issues facing inland fisheries. Inland fishery statistics are generally are very poor, so knowledge of the actual contribution of the sector to food security is not known. Nevertheless, inland fisheries employ about 56 million people directly and indirectly. The state of the stocks of fish in many fisheries is not known because of the low level of research across the many rivers and lakes. However, it is understood that, in many cases, the main driver of the fish assemblages is not the way in which the fishery is managed but rather the state of the environment as acted upon by other human uses. This means that mechanisms are needed to improve both management of fisheries through forms of comanagement and collaboration at the national and international level between agencies responsible for the management of the aquatic resource in general.

The current high demand for fish and increased awareness of the role of the environment in supporting human well being has led to a situation where attitudes to inland water resources are changing rapidly. Trends in resource use and environmental impact are very evident in inland waters which are particularly vulnerable as they act as collectors of all the activities occurring in their basins and rank as some of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. The principle changes influencing the evolution of the aquatic resource for fisheries are described in this book, which has been compiled for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

"The book covers fishery assessments, habitat and community manipulations, and common practices for managing stream, river, lake, and anadromous fisheries. Chapters on history; ecosystem management; management processes; communications with the public; introduced, undesirable, and endangered species; and the legal and regulatory frameworks provide the context for modern fisheries management." From fisheries.org.

This paper is concerned specifically with the problems of river fisheries and associated management issues. It deals in particular with the scope for building on traditional practices, through the participation of traditional fishing communities, as a means of improving the quality of river fishery management. The paper reviews the most frequently encountered problems of riverine fisheries such as over-fishing due to population pressure or migration, and artifically induced environmental factors such as dams, pollution and deforestation. It lays stress on the importance of studying fishing communities, as well as strictly biological factors, and presents a four-stage analysis of the evolution of traditional riverine fisheries. Several undesirable consequences of this typical evolution, both on the resource itself and on traditional fishing communities, are identified and illustrated by case studies from the Amazon and the Zambesi. Certain types of traditional management strategies are examined and assessed for their future utility. The current ineffectiveness of many existing government river fisheries management policies is noted, either as a result of lack of resources or because they are inappropriate, often rooted in outdated colonial legislation. The lack of both limited access measures and of participation by local fishing communities are highlighted as major deficiencies. The paper concludes by linking these two features as crucial components of durable river management strategies for the future, although other possibilities for management are also reviewed and assessed. The paper contains a comprehensive bibliography for further reading.

This Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries management training course (Inland Fisheries) is designed as a complete training course for the sustainable management of inland fisheries using the ecosystem approach. It is targeted at middle-level fishery and environment officers, extension workers, facilitators and other stakeholders engaged in the planning and management of inland fisheries. This training course is designed to be applicable to many inland fishery contexts around the world (including overlapping freshwater fishery and aquaculture systems). It is also intended to be adapted to suit specific local contexts. This the first of three volumes, developed for the training course: VOLUME 1: HANDBOOK FOR TRAINEES VOLUME 2: INLAND FISHERY CASE STUDIES VOLUME 3: TRAINING COURSE PRESENTATIONS & VISUALS VOLUME 4: TRAINING SESSION PLANS This volume is VOLUME 2: INLAND FISHERY CASE STUDIES and contains five example case studies of how EAFm approaches can support the management of inland fisheries. These case studies are intended for use in Module 5 of the training course.

This Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries management training course (Inland Fisheries) is designed as a complete training course for the sustainable management of inland fisheries using the ecosystem approach. It is targeted at middle-level fishery and environment officers, extension workers, facilitators and other stakeholders engaged in the planning and management of inland fisheries. This training course is designed to be applicable to many inland fishery contexts around the world (including overlapping freshwater fishery and aquaculture systems). It is also intended to be adapted to suit specific local contexts. This the first of three volumes, developed for the training course: VOLUME 1: HANDBOOK FOR TRAINEES VOLUME 2: INLAND FISHERY CASE STUDIES VOLUME 3: TRAINING COURSE PRESENTATIONS & VISUALS VOLUME 4: TRAINING SESSION PLANS This volume is VOLUME 4: TRAINING SESSION PLANS and contains detailed descriptions for EAFm trainers on how to run each of the training sessions of an EAFm training course. The plans contain the session timings, notes for the slide presentations and explanations as to key messages to deliver. The activities that are used to break up the training and reinforce the learning are also described.