ABSTRACT
Inland fisheries and aquaculture are crucial to the well-being, livelihoods and subsistence of many men and women living in the Mekong region (van Zalinge et al, 2001; Hortle and Bush, 2003; Baran et al, 2007). While inland capture fisheries may be becoming less resilient to over-exploitation and other environmental changes (Dudgeon, 2005), their value and significance have often been underestimated or ignored by policy-makers (Friend, 2009). Claims about poor condition of, and weak prospects for, capture fisheries have been common justifications for promotion of aquaculture (Bush, 2008; Friend et al, 2009). An ideological divide has emerged between those actors who believe that the emergence of an aquaculture industry is part of the solution and others who see it as part of the problem, in which commercialization leads to environmental degradation (Bene, 2005; Bush, 2008). In part, this dichotomy has been created by coalitions with different interests competing for policy attention and investments in sector development and capacity building. Regardless, aquaculture has grown in importance across the Mekong region and, like wild capture fisheries, has become increasingly industrialized and commercialized (Lebel et al, 2002; Phillips, 2002).
