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This review aimed to discuss the vulnerability and climate change impacts on tropical fisheries in Asia using a systematic literature review. The study applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to evaluate literature from 1990-2020. The results showed clustering of texts, keywords, and titles based on search terms like climate change, fisheries, and adaptation. High-scoring links revealed clusters: 1) climate change and food security, 2) biodiversity and environment protection, 3) conservation of resource, 4) climate change impacts in Asia, 5) fisheries. Abstracts and titles produced clusters on: 1) livelihood and food security, 2) fisheries catch, 3) stakeholder approaches, 4) Ecosystem services. While climate change dominated vulnerability and adaptation studies, it is only one of many stressors affecting fisheries and aquaculture. Adaptation is suggested as a solution for reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience in fishing communities. However, our findings indicate that the social and economic factors contributing to climate-induced vulnerability are still relatively neglected. Enhancing biodiversity and environmental protection can lead to a more productive and food-secure environment for farmers and fishers. It is crucial that interventions focus on adaptation and establishing science-based ‘adaptive fisheries co-management’ to engage fishing communities and address their broader vulnerabilities and aspirations.

Abstract Background Ethnobotanical knowledge about the role of plants in fisheries provides valuable ecological information vital for sustainable management of local resources; however, it is diluted and understudied globally. This literature review aims to map the knowledge of plant use within traditional fishing communities. Methods Through the PRISMA method, we identified and selected 34 articles reporting the use of plants in fisheries, and including 344 taxa of plants and algae. Uses of plants and algae were grouped into different categories. Results In the novel categorization of fishery-related uses we proposed, the most mentioned were for fishing and building/repair of fishing artifacts and habitat-related uses, while the records of plants related to fiber uses, providing aid in fishing management and species causing problems, were among the least mentioned. Semi-structured interview is most commonly used with local resource users, especially fishery experts, in exploring perceptions on plant use within traditional fishing communities. Diversity was high in all the recorded families, but most were reported locally. Conclusion Ethnobotanical studies with fishers are not common in the documented literature but they provide a large number of use reports. On the basis this review, in most of the world, the information is of a casual and sporadic nature. Fishers can provide information on aquatic plants and algae that create problems and aid in fishing management, which are crucial in understanding the ecosystem of a region experiencing environmental challenges. This knowledge is greatly understudied globally and undergoing a rapid decline, as highlighted in several of the reviewed articles. Thus, further systematic research on fishery-related uses of plants by fisherfolk is needed considering its potential contribution to the sustainable management of fishery resources.

This study provides information on the effects of fish grazing on a seagrass bed that was dominated by Thalassia hemprichii in Guang-guang, Dahican, Mati City, Davao Oriental, Philippines. We tested the assumption that herbivore exclusion keeps the growth of seagrass shoots up to a minimum length. Fish visual census was used to count the abundance of fish in the area during high tide at a distance of 5 m away from the treatment cages with a 15 m transect length. Among all species, Siganus fuscescens was the most abundant (499) followed by S. guttatus (153), while Thalassoma jansenii was the less abundant (13). The result of the weekly fish count in the seagrass bed showed highly significant variations in the number and census of species present in the area (df = 11, MS = 2.88, F = 30.10, p < 0.001). Analysis of shoot length measurement in treatment cages also exhibited highly significant differences throughout the sampling period (df = 11, MS = 726.71, F = 1,633.10, p < 0.001). Comparison between initial and final shoot counts also showed significant differences, with a higher shoot count in the full cage (X2 = 8, df = 2, p = 0.018; FC > PC > OP). This study raises clear evidence to support the assumption that herbivore exclusion positively influences the growth of T. hemprichii in this area.