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
- Factors influencing fish migration in one of the world's largest inland fisheries (Sor et al. 2024)
- Computational approaches improve evidence synthesis and inform broad fisheries trends (Stokes et al. 2024)
- The effects of flow extremes on native and non-native stream fishes in Puerto Rico (Myers et al. 2024)
- Recreational killing of wild animals can foster environmental stewardship (Shephard et al. 2024)
- World Fish Migration Day Free Flow 2024 Report (WFMD 2024)
- The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 (FAO 2024)
- Building resilience in Asian mega-deltas (Shun Chan et al. 2024)
- Living Planet Index (LPI) for Migratory Freshwater Fishes (see also: executive summary)
- Inland recreational fisheries contribute nutritional benefits and economic value but are vulnerable to climate change (Lynch et al. 2024)
- Spatial extent drives patterns of relative climate change sensitivity for freshwater fishes of the United States (Silknetter et al. 2024)
- Early pandemic recreational fishing patterns across the urban-to-rural gradient in the U.S. (Kaz et al. 2024)
- Reservoir ecosystems support large pools of fish biomass (Parisek et al. 2024)
- Women in Water: How to Support Everyone's Contribution (Davis et al. 2024)
- The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes (WWF 2024) + associated blog posts (Lee and Opperman)
- The Stream: July 2024, August 2024 (Shoal)
- The Delta #70, #71 (Global Water Forum newsletter)
- WorldFish Waves: July 2024
Job / funding / award opportunities
- University of Nevada – Reno, a postdoc (fall 2024) and PhD opportunity (spring 2025). Contact Jeff Falke (jfalke-at-unr.edu) for more information.
- University of Wisconsin, two postdoc opportunities in quantitative fisheries ecology and modeling. Start date: September 2024 – January 2025. Send materials to Kelly O’Ferrell (oferrell-at-wisc.edu).
- SNAPP (Science for Nature and People Partnership) 2024 Request for expert team proposals – Accepting concept notes beginning 5 August 2024; open for full proposals 6 September 2024.
- University of Hawai’i, Assistant Professor in Coastal Fisheries Management and Policy. Application review begins 1 October 2024. Contact Yinphan Tsang (NREMfisheries-at-gmail.com) with any inquiries.
- Ohio State University - postdoctoral scientist in fisheries ecology or aquatic ecology / public health. Contact Stu Ludsin (ludsin.1-at-osu.edu) for more information.
- University of Vermont – Lake Champlain Post-Doc – Contact Jason Stockwell (jason.stockwell-at-uvm.edu) with questions. Pre-proposals due 30 November 2024.
- University of British Columbia – Assistant Professor in Freshwater Ecological Sciences – Contact Scott Hinch (scott.hinch-at-ubc.ca) with questions. Applications due 15 October 2024.
- FAO consultant opportunities
- Develop a report for FAO that gives a global overview of area-based management in inland waters and the opportunities and challenges for apply the OECM concept in such cases. Contact Amber Himes-Cornell (amber.himescornell-at-fao.org) for more information.
- University of York – PhD opportunity on a system analysis of wetland pressures in the Cambodian Lower Mekong Delta. For more information, contact the project supervisors.
- 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.