"Catalogue of fishing gear in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam"

The Mekong Delta covers an area of approximately 40 000 km2 and supports a population of 20 million people, many of which are dependent upon the inland and coastal fisheries resources as a primary source of food and income.

The catalogue of fishing gear was produced by the Research Institute for Aquaculture No 2 (RIA2) and the Mekong Rivers Commission (MRC) as part of the MRC Assessment of Capture Fisheries program. It was the first attempt at documenting the different fishing practices used across the main habitat types found in the delta region.

Claire Smallwood, a participant in the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development program, was placed for 12-months at RIA2 in Ho Chi Minh City. Her main role was working with Nguyen Nguyen Du, the Project Leader, to research and document each gear type. This involved field trips to all 13 provinces of the Mekong Delta and identified over 120 different types of fishing gear.

A technical overview was produced for every gear type and included details such as operation, usage and CPUE in relation to the flood cycle, habitats, construction, cost, main species caught, as well as photos and scientific drawings.

The book will be a useful tool for fisheries researchers and managers in the region, assisting with the identification of catch trends and contributing to other monitoring projects for the wild capture fishery.