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CONCLUSIONS
Technical assistance rendered under the Auburn University
Brazil Contract, AID/csd-2270, Task Order No. 4, served to Consolidate the
results of previous assistance in fishery biology of reservoirs and to stress
the importance of more advanced methods of assessing fish stocks, of sampling,
and of design and analysis of experiments. Obviously the form of advice required
changes with advancements in institutional development and increasing human
skills. In this case, inputs provided were appropriate because of progress
made under previous technical assistance in fishery biology.
The freshwater fish stocks of northeastern Brazil are being
moderately to heavily exploited. As a result, rather precise estimates of
population parameters are required for developing management policy. In tropical
areas, fisheries are usually based on a number of species. However, in northeastern
Brazil the number of commercially important species in any one reservoir is
not great, usually numbering between C i3 and 8. The currently recommended
approach is to analyze 'the data for each species separately, taking into
account any interactions, and add the results together. However, as new species
are introduced, this approach may prove to be un- workable. An alternate approach
would be to treat the species complex as a unit and relate fishing effort
to the combined catch of all species.
The Brazilian counterpart biologists are well aware of these
options. They now have the necessary technical skills and understanding to
conduct basic studies on growth, mortality, and gear selection characteristics,
and to use these data to determine management policy. Additional inputs into
this project, such as scholarships for advanced graduate studies and equipment
purchases, can and should be supplied by the Brazilian Government.
To ensure the continued development of the CONVENIO DPAN and
the fisheries biology project, additional AID inputs are desirable. These
are special training funds for a 3-week course in fish diseases and parasites
and fish nutrition to be presented in Brazil, technical assistance for at
least 1year in the fields of fishery marketing and economics, and a once-a-year
visit by a specialist in fish population dynamics to evaluate expected gains.