Students to address global conference on inland fisheries

Fiona (from Biological Sciences) and Alison Simmance (from Social Sciences) are investigating the role of inland fisheries for food and nutritional security in Malawi. After their first field work in Malawi in 2014, Fiona and Alison will be presenting their research on Tuesday at the United Nations FAO Inland Fisheries conference , a ground-breaking conference that will, for the first time, address the challenges and opportunities for freshwater fisheries on a global scale.

This global conference is a cross-sectoral call to raise the profile of inland fisheries and better incorporate them in agricultural, land use, and water resource planning through development of improved assessment frameworks and value estimation.

Fiona will be presenting the first phase of her research on the role of water dynamics in governing inland capture fisheries productivity, which will combine new model approaches with remote sensing monitoring. Alison will be presenting the first phase of her research on the role of women in inland fisheries, particularly aquaculture, using a photo-voice methodology approach.

Their research hopes to contribute a deeper understanding of the value of inland fisheries to food security, which has often had little attention in comparison to marine fisheries.

Fiona says: “Alison and I are extremely pleased to be presenting at the FAO conference, which will be drawing attention to an area which is often overlooked. We hope that in a small way our research will be able to contribute to a deeper understanding of, and shed light on, the importance of inland fisheries as a vital source of food and nutrition to millions of people.”

Alison adds: “It is great as twin sisters that we can share this experience together and to complement each other's research. It’s really important in deepening our understanding of the supply of fish in Malawi and its important contribution towards improving food and nutritional security across the country.”