Shark and Shark Products Trade Channel and its Conservation Aspects in Bangladesh

Shark, a major group of elasmobranch talked about globally as its population has been under serious threats due to over-exploitation mostly to meet the demand of shark fin soup especially in USA and China.

One of the most heavily fished regions in world’s ocean for shark is Bay of Bengal. Catching sharks haveincreased in the recent years mainly by using hooks and lines during wintermonths in this region. A group of dry fish traders are allegedly patronizing the shark hunting, processing and trading. Shark harvesting is done by using different fish trawl, shark net (modified long mesh drift gill net), hooks andlines and sometimes by trammel nets. Coastal waters of Kuakata, Sonar Char, Ruper Char, Fatrar Char and Char Gongmoti in Patuakhali; Dublar Char in Khulna; Ashar Char, Patharghata, Barguna and the Sunderbans; Sandwip, in Chittagong; Kutubdia, Moheshkhali and Elephant Point in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar are major shark hunting grounds of Bangladesh

Analysis of Microfinance Banks Support to Agricultural Lending in Edo State, Nigeria

Globally, 1.2 billion people are extremely poor (surviving on less than USD 1 a day), and three quarters live in rural areas. Poverty is predominantly a rural phenomenon. Extremely poor people spend more than half of their income to obtain (or produce) staple foods, which account for more than two thirds of their caloric intake. Most of these people suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and many go hungry at certain times of the year. In recent years, development agencies and national governments have renewed their commitment to reducing poverty, hunger and other human deprivations, as evidenced by the Millennium Development Goals. Among other objectives, the goals aim to halve the proportion of people living on less than USD 1 a day by 2015 (from the starting level of 1990). That means cutting the share of extremely poor people in low- and middle-income countries from 28 to 14%.

The goals also call for halving the proportion of people suffering from hunger by 2015. Rural poverty and hunger fell sharply between 1975 and 1990, but the rate of poverty reduction has since slowed. Net aid (that is, official development assistance) to developing countries fell from 0.35% of the gross national income in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1982-83 to 0.24% in 2002-03.

Stock Assessment and Estimation of Optimum Yield for Tilapia Stock (Oreochromis niloticus) in Lake Hawassa, Ethiopia

The basic purpose of stock assessment is to provide decision makers with the information necessary to make rational choices on the optimum level of exploitation of aquatic living resources such as fish. Aquatic living resources are limited butrenewable, and fish stock assessment may be described as the search for the exploitation level, which in the long run gives the maximum sustainable bio-economic yield in weight from fishery.

Fish resource utilization is the primary and an important economic activity. Its purpose is to provide a flow of benefits to human society; it serves as a food because ofits rich nutritional value in provision of protein. The global capture fisheries production in 2008 was reported by FAO, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, as 90 million tones, with an estimated first-sale value of US$93.9 billion, comprising about 80 million tons from marine waters and 10 million tons from inland waters.

The Monthly Variation in Physiochemical Parameters of Ebonyi River System

Fresh water is a finite resource, essential for agriculture, industry and even for human survival. Without fresh water ofadequate quality and quantity sustainable development will not be possible. Because of this reason, governments of most countries see an imperative need to become involved in its over-all management. Yet in many developing countries, water resources are not being managed efficiently and in a manner that will sustain the natural qualities.

It was observed that in 2011, the monthly variation in water temperature showed that Mkpuma River consistently had higher water temperature except in April and December when higher water temperatures were recorded in Enyigba and Pond water, respectively. The water temperature in 2012was still higher in Mkpume River in all months of sampling except in December, January and February; when higher water temperature were noted in pond water and Enyigba river.