Malawi Fisheries Digital Repository

Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi

Submit an Item

Policies

Introduction

The Malawi Fisheries Repository is a digital service that collects, preserves, and distributes digital material generated primarily about fisheries and aquaculture. This repository is meant to increase the use of science, analysis, and information for decision-making, research and education. It is an online freely accessible tool and database for anyone seeking fisheries related information including other materials that may be difficult to access, for example, so-called grey literature which may not have been fully accredited for international journal publication but nevertheless is very informative for the advancement of fisheries and aquaculture. The repository contains over 1,700 entries of bibliographic citations, article abstracts, links to article and book locations, and downloaded scientific papers and journal articles. The intention is for the repository to grow with opportunities for users to upload their own articles through a moderated process. The digital repository is sponsored by the Fisheries Integration of Society and Habitats Project (FISH) which is funded with the generous support of the American people through USAID and implemented by Pact from 2015-2019. There are further plans to link the repository more widely to the region and if possible, to continental and global web-based databases. The University of Rhode Island (URI) and The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) are core to the creation and management of this digital repository. During 2019, LUANAR became responsible for the sole management and operations of the repository.

Powered by DSpace, the aim of the repository is to improve dissemination and visibility of a variety of scholarly materials throughout the academic communities and general public and to provide a free and persistent point of access. The repository provides a robust platform for saving, discovering and sharing, free of charge, the instructional, research, historic, and creative materials by Malawians or on Malawi.

The open access repository specifically

  • Opens up the outputs of universities and research to the world
  • Maximizes the visibility and impact of research
  • Showcases research on fisheries and LUANAR to interested stakeholders
  • Collects and curates digital outputs
  • Manages and measures research and teaching activities
  • Provides a workspace for work-in-progress, and for collaborative and large-scale projects
  • Enables and encourages interdisciplinary approaches to research and collaboration with development projects and other universities
  • Facilitates the development and sharing of digital teaching materials and aids

Policy Review

LUANAR in consultation with relevant stakeholders shall review and amend these provisions every two years. Such amendments shall be communicated in relevant notices with instructions and shared via the repository.

Content of the repository

The repository is restricted to:

  • Journal articles
  • Bibliographic references
  • Conference and workshop papers
  • Books, chapters and sections
  • Datasets
  • Learning Objects
  • Multimedia and audio-visual materials
  • Reports
  • Factsheets
  • Policies
  • Other special item types

Metadata

  • Anyone may access the metadata free of charge.
  • The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission from repository administrator. Use is limited to not-for-profit purposes provided the OAI Identifier and/or a link to the original metadata record are given.
  • The metadata must not be re-used in any medium for commercial purposes without formal permission from repository administrator.

Submission of items

  • Items may only be deposited by scientists, academics, librarians, scholars, policy makers, extension workers, or their delegated agents.
  • Depositors may archive their own work or other people works available publicly or with permission from the owner. The work owner must be someone who already has copyright to the work, an agreement license, or else has been given legally binding consent in writing by the person holding copyright or license to distribute the work on organization sites like the repository. The depositor must include an evidence of copyright, license, or a copy of the legally binding consent to the Repository Administrator at the time of the deposit and takes all legal risks and responsibilities upon themselves.
  • Eligible depositors who have signed a license agreement must deposit metadata for all their publications that will be in the repository.
  • Eligible depositors may deposit full texts of all their relevant publications, although they may delay making them publicly visible to comply with publishers' embargos.
  • The administrator of the repository only reviews items for the eligibility of authors/depositors, relevance to the scope of the repository, valid layout & format, and the exclusion of spam.
  • The validity, legality, and authenticity of the content of submissions is the sole responsibility of the depositor.
  • Enables and encourages interdisciplinary approaches to research and collaboration with development projects and other universities
  • Items can be deposited at any time but will not be made publicly visible until any publishers' or funders' embargo period has expired. It is the responsibility of the depositor to make site administrators aware of any time-based embargos from publishers or funders.
  • Any copyright violations are entirely the responsibility of the authors/depositors and not the responsibility of LUANAR, Pact, USAID, or the United States Government.
  • If the repository receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item will be removed immediately, and any legal actions will be forwarded to the depositor.

Full-text and other full data items

  • Anyone may access full text items free of charge.
  • Copies of full documents generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge provided:
    • the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given
    • a hyperlink and/or URL are given for the original metadata page
    • the original copyright statement is given
    • the original rights permission statement is given
    • the content is not changed in any way
  • Full text items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holders.
  • Some full text items are individually tagged with different rights permissions and conditions.
  • The repository is not the publisher; it is merely an online archive
  • Mention of the repository is appreciated but not mandatory.

Submitter's Guide

Introduction

This guide is meant for people who wish to submit items to the Malawi Fisheries Digital Repository. Therefore, it covers browser and document requirements, and the submission process. The guide was developed by the Lilongwe University of Agriculture, Bunda Campus Library in September 2018. It shall be maintained and updated regularly if and when the repository is upgraded or any changes are made in the submission requirements. Any questions or comments regarding the guide should be directed to refreshcommunications02@gmail.com.


Browser and Document requirements

The repository is accessible on www.malawifisheries.org. Submitters will therefore need a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome to be able to access it. Any browser including those not listed should work.


Documents submitted to the repository should be in Searchable Portable Document File (pdf.) format -this means if the submitters are using scanned documents, they should use Optical Recognition Character software to convert the PDF into a searchable format. Submitters can use proprietary software like Abbyy FineReader or Open Source Software for instance FreeOCR and TopOCR.

1.Login

In the right pane on the home page, under "My Account" click on login and enter your username and password.

2.Submission

Start the submission process by clicking "submissions" under "My Account".

3.Select Collection

Select an appropriate collection to submit to, from the drop down menu and click "next".

4.Describe Item I

Describe the item by providing as much information as the document has. Items with an * are required

5.Describe Item II

Continue describing the item by providing: -Subject keywords : Provide at least three keywords. Use Agrovoc to obtain the controlled vocabulary -Abstract : Copy and paste abstract if available. If not available create one.

6.Upload File

Locate the file directory and upload. Enter the embargo date if applicable.

7.Review

Review submission and ensure that all description details are correct.

8.Grant License & Submission

Read the license agreement and click on the check box marked "I grant the license" at the bottom and click on "Complete Submission".

REFRESH Project

REFRESH is a USAID funded project which aims to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of Lake Malawi by restoring the natural fisheries productivity in the lakeshore districts. REFRESH builds on communities' successes under USAID and Pact's FISH project.

Pact, in partnership with the University of Rhode Island (URI), TechnoServe (TNS), Community Initiative for Self-Reliance (CISER), Find Your Feet (FYF) and African Packs will implement Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi (REFRESH) to conserve the lake's freshwater biodiversity and restore capture fisheries' productivity in the lakeshore districts.

REFRESH will give fisheries-dependent populations along Lake Malawi an equal opportunity to realize the potential of a sustainably managed lake by integrating political, biological, ecological and socioeconomic considerations to sustain the composition, structure and functions of the lake ecosystem. REFRESH's interventions center on enhancing fisheries regulatory frameworks, integration of sound science, decentralization and enforcement, sustainable financing, partnerships and alliances to scale up ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), and effective alternative livelihoods for fisheries- dependent communities.

The purpose of the REFRESH activity is to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of Lake Malawi by restoring the natural fisheries productivity in the lakeshore districts of Karonga, Rumphi, Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Salima, Dedza and Mangochi. Its sub-purposes are: a) the targeted Lake Malawi aquatic habitats are healthy and well-managed; b) the endemic fish populations of targeted parts of Lake Malawi are healthy and self-sustaining; and c) the fisheries in the targeted parts of Lake Malawi are managed sustainably by 2024.

The REFRESH activity will aim to achieve the following strategic approaches: accessibility

  • Strategic Approach 1: Strengthen governance and regulatory frameworks.
  • Strategic Approach 2: Improve science, information and technical capacities in stock assessment and data management.
  • Strategic Approach 3: Strengthen decentralized fisheries co-management
  • Strategic Approach 4: Commercialize conservation enterprises
  • Strategic Approach 5: Build constituencies for effective, accountable, transparent EBFM

FISH Project

The Fisheries Integration of Society and Habitats Project (FISH) is a five year, USAID funded project implemented by Pact from September 2014 to September 2019. FISH is implemented in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island (URI), Christian Aid (CA), the Community Initiative for Self-Reliance (CISER), the Center for Environment Policy and Advocacy (CEPA), Emmanuel International (EI), and the Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi (WESM). The primary objectives of FISH are to increase resiliency to climate change and improve biodiversity conservation through effective sustainable fisheries co-management. The four outputs that contribute to these objectives include (1) the utilization of science, analysis, and information for decision making increased (2) the enabling environment for conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems enhanced (3) the priority threats to freshwater ecosystem biodiversity reduced and (4) the adoption of climate change adaptation measures that support resilience of communities.

  • All
  • Boats
  • Fishing

Contact

Malawi Fisheries Digital Repository

Location:

Amina House, Area 5, Along Paul Kagame Highway

Email:

refreshcommunications02@gmail.com

Call:

+265 1 751 201 +265 1 750 570