InFish is a professional network to raise the profile of inland fish to inform policy, advance conservation, and promote sustainable fisheries.
Please join us!
Recent relevant news/ publications
- Reimagining large river management using the Resist–Accept–Direct (RAD) framework in the Upper Mississippi River (Ward et al. 2023)
- Managing exploitation of freshwater species and aggregates to protect and restore freshwater biodiversity (Cooke et al. 2023)
- The Delta #55 (Global Water Forum newsletter)
- Shoal September newsletter
- Centre for Indigenous Fisheries Autumn Equinox 2023 Newsletter
- Two Centers for Species Survival launch collaborative conservation programmes (Alvarez-Clare et al. 2023)
- Stocking fish in inland waters: Opportunities and risks for sustainable food systems (Cowx et al. 2023)
- Sustainable Fishery Systems (Charles 2023)
- Future-proofing the emergency recovery plan for freshwater biodiversity (Lynch et al. 2023)
- Illuminating Hidden Harvests (FAO, Duke University, WorldFish 2023)
- Freshwater Systems Produce Or Influence More Than Half Of Fish Consumed Globally (Part 1) and (Part 2) (Opperman 2023)
- Protecting and restoring habitats to benefit freshwater biodiversity (Piczak et al. 2023)
- OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND AND UNDERWATER: The race to discover and save our planet’s forgotten fish (WWF-Asia Pacific)
- World Heritage, Hydropower, and Earth’s Largest Freshwater Fish (Lee et al. 2023)
- People need freshwater biodiversity: Nine reasons freshwater biodiversity is important for humans
- Chasing Giants: In Search of the World's Largest Freshwater Fish (Hogan and Lovgren 2023)
- People need freshwater biodiversity (Lynch et al. 2023)
- Putting the fish into inland fisheries – A global allocation of historic inland fish catch (Ainsworth et al. 2023)
Job / funding / award opportunities
- Consider helping improve the representation of freshwater expertise in IPBES products by submitting an application for the current open calls: Monitoring Assessment Lead Author call, Monitoring Assessment Fellows call, Scenarios and Models Fellows call. Note all nominations must be supported by national focal points.
- The Nature Conservancy – Director of Aquatic Food Systems. Contact Sui Phang (sui.phang-at-TNC.ORG) for more information.
- European Open Rivers Programme – Accepting dam removal demolition applications. Deadline to apply is 8 December 2023.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison – Postdoctoral research associate in aquatic vegetation and fisheries community modeling. Applications due 9 December 2023. Contact Zach Feiner (zachary.feiner-at-wisconsin.gov) with any questions.
- Cary Institute - Postdoctoral researcher – data science for fisheries management. Applications due 15 December 2023. Contact Chris Solomon (solomonc-at-caryinstitute.org) with any questions.
- Trout Unlimited, Aquatic Resiliency Scientist (Boise, ID) – Help develop a Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) focus for Trout Unlimited. Position open until filled. Contact Helen Neville (hneville-at-tu.org) for more information.
- FAO consultancy – Scoping study on how inland fisheries fit within the Global Biodiversity Framework. Reach out to Kim Friedman (kim.friedman-at-fao.org) if you are interested in more information.
- University of Alaska – Fairbanks, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit - postdoctoral researcher to synthesize lake water quality data in Southwest Alaska. Email applications and questions to Jeff Muehlbauer (jdmuehlbauer-at-alaska.edu). Apply by 1 November 2023 for full consideration.
- University of Washington – Postdoctoral scholar in freshwater ecology. Contact Julian Olden (olden-at-uw.edu) for more information. Screening of applications is ongoing and will continue until a suitable candidate is found.
- University of Hawai’i – Manoa - Assistant Professor (Coastal Fisheries Management and Policy). Application review will begin on 18 December 2023.
- Iowa State University – PhD opportunity on invasive carp and native large river fish acoustic telemetry. Contact Michael Weber (mjw-at-iastate.edu) for more information.
- EPA Fellowship – Evaluating Stream and River Habitat Quality at Regional to Continental Scales. Contact Joe Ebersole (Ebersole.joe-at-epa.gov) for more information.
- Charles Sturt University Next Generation Water Engineering and River Management Hub Scholarships for PhD students. Expressions of interest will remain open until candidates for the three projects have been selected. See here for more information.
Inland Fisheries
Freshwater fish provide food, livelihoods, and ecosystem services to millions of people, especially in low-income countries, yet their value is generally not adequately considered in water use, energy, and development decisions. Freshwater fisheries around the world may appear to be very different, but their value to local communities and the threats to their sustainability are often similar.
The challenges to inland fisheries are also critical to the 60 million people who rely on freshwater fish for livelihoods – over half of whom are women. Fish is also an essential source of protein and other nutrients that cannot easily be replaced with other food sources.
InFish & SDG 1
The contribution of inland fisheries to resilient livelihoods, those which are buffered against difficult situations, is multifaceted and difficult to evaluate. Inland fisheries in Low-Income Food-Deficit countries are often part of a diversified livelihood strategy, exacerbating the tendency for them to be overlooked and undervalued. The challenge is in available data to highlight this role.
Grand Challenges
Even with long-standing management and extensive science support, North American inland fish and fisheries still face many conservation and management challenges. Addressing these grand challenges will promote open forums for engagement of diverse stakeholders in fisheries management, and better integrate the inland fish sector into the greater water and land use policy process.
Importance of InFish
Though reported capture fisheries are dominated by marine production, inland fish and fisheries make substantial contributions to meeting the challenges faced by individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape. Inland capture fisheries and aquaculture contribute over 40% to the world’s reported finfish production from less than 0.01% of the total volume of water on earth.