Problem: Bivalve shellfish have historically been a prominent component of benthic, or bottom dwelling, communities of temperate and subtropical estuaries and coastal baysBivalves also have been and continue to be an important food source for people throughout the world, serving as both as a delicacy and a staple. In coastal communities throughout the U.S., shellfish are cultural icons, reflecting traditions and a way of life dating back generations. It is not surprising therefore that until very rece...

Action: This guide was written to help restoration practitioners design and monitor shellfish restoration projects that restore not only the populations of target shellfish species – primarily clams, oysters, scallops – but also the ‘ecosystem services’ associated with healthy populations of these organisms. As a primer for conservationists, resource managers and others interested in ...

Problem: It is estimated that there are 51 million fishermen in the world of whom 50 million are small-scale, subsistence, or artisanal operators mainly living and working in the developing world. Unfortunately, the common-property fish resources that these fishermen depend upon for their livelihood are in a precarious state. Why do we find ourselves in this critical situation and what can we do to correct it? Researchers and stakeholders are actively searching for new forms of fishery management, and...

Action: One of the difficulties in planning and implementing co-management is the lack of specific direction on 'how to do it'. There are a number of different activities and interventions in the process of community-based co-management. While there are a number of very good publications (many often difficult to obtain, especially in a developing country) which discuss individual activities and components of the process of community-based co-management, there is no single publication which provides a...

Problem: Fish spawning aggregations are extremely important to local ecosystems and economies, but they are not resilient to anything greater than light fishing pressure. In some cases, FSAs have been lost even from subsistence fishing1, which is often considered sustainable2.   The reasons for FSA vulnerability...

Action: This module of the Reef Resilience Toolkit focuses mainly on the conservation of Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations (FSAs). Although the problems facing global fisheries are diverse, we have chosen to focus on fish spawning aggregations because of their extreme susceptibility to over-fishing, and their importance as part of the resilience model. Maintaining healthy breeding populations (seed sources) of reef fish is c...