Distribution of economic returns in small-scale fisheries for international markets: A value-chain analysis

Small-scale fishers are often believed to receive marginal earnings for seafood relative to other value- chain actors but proportionate incomes across different traded species are rarely compared. This study compares value chains for 15 species of sea cucumbers between Fiji and Kiribati using data collected on sale prices of dried products (bêche-de-mer) from fishers to middlemen and exporters, export prices and market retail prices in China. Pacific islanders comprised almost all fishers, but represented only some middlemen and few exporters. Proportional increases in prices along the value chains differed greatly among sea cucumber species and between countries. Fishers’ earnings varied greatly among species. The relative share of the end market value they received was negatively related to product end-market value; on average 50% of the end retail value for the lowest-value species but <10% for the highest-value species. Most fishers lacked information about market prices. The gross markup of exporters differed greatly between the two countries. Downstream actors reaped increasingly higher proportions of the product value for higher value species. Variation in sale prices between countries and fishers for the same product indicates a potential for higher earnings to fishers. Improved transparency of prices to fishers could empower them to negotiate higher prices, especially for more valuable species. Upgrading of value-chain governance, e.g. through fisher cooperatives or auction systems, could improve efficiency and fisher incomes, potentially reducing the need for high fishing rates. Such interventions will benefit from understanding the value-chain patterns among different species harvested in multispecies fisheries.     

Opportunities and barriers for industry-led fisheries research

Collaborative research initiatives between New Zealand's fisheries management agencies and commercial fisher organisations are commonplace. This can be attributed to a combination of fisheries management institutions and processes that on the one hand create incentives for commercial fishers to take increasing responsibility for fisheries research and on the other hand provide for governance structures that ensure the transparency and integrity of industry-led research. Nevertheless the full potential of collaborative research initiatives has yet to be realised. Collaborative research has been an indirect outcome of New Zealand's rights-based fisheries management framework and until recently there has been little effort to explicitly provide for it in Government policy. The financial and management capacity of commercial fisher organisations must also be developed if collaborative research is to become a core function of these organisations. High expectations have been created for collaborative research and failure to address key issues will undermine the potential and hence legitimacy of collaborative research involving commercial fishers and other fisheries stakeholders.     

A Bayesian model of factors influencing indigenous participation in the Torres Strait tropical rocklobster fishery

The tropical rocklobster fishery in the Torres Strait, based on the species Panulirus ornatus, is currently managed by input controls. The Australian Commonwealth government’s aim is to transition to a quota management system (QMS) for this fishery. The fishery is complex in terms of international boundaries, multiple jurisdictions and management objectives regulating a mix of commercial and traditional indigenous fishers and a commercial non-indigenous sector. One key objective is to promote indigenous fisher participation to meet their aspirations of achieving a greater control of the region’s fisheries resources. A Bayesian Network analysis has been applied that considers the variability in participation of indigenous fishers under key economic and socio-cultural drivers, such as the availability of a government employment program, lobster prices, social capital and capacity, and infrastructure availability. The model identifies three distinct indigenous fisher groups: full-time, active part-time, and casual lobster fishers. Scenario analyses suggest that changes in the government employment program will have a substantial impact on the relative proportion of fishers in these groups. Similarly, changes in the provision of logistics, infrastructure, and building social capital and capacity are expected to have a significant impact on the occurrence of full-time fishing. As the Commonwealth has an obligation under the Torres Strait Treaty to protect the traditional way of life and livelihood of Islanders as well as promoting employment opportunities for Traditional Inhabitants, it is important that management authorities consider both the effect of management changes for the fishery as a whole and for each indigenous fisher group separately.     

Artisanal fishing as an undesirable way of life? The implications for governance of fishers' wellbeing aspirations in coastal Uruguay and southeastern Brazil

In Piriápolis (Uruguay) and Paraty (Brazil), artisanal fishers view fishing as a way of life, rather than just a job. The freedom of fishing and an inherent satisfaction in the occupation figure large in fishers' attachment to it. There are strong indications, however, that the relationship of fishers to fishing is changing. First, while fishers from both areas wish to keep fishing in the future, they are moving into different occupations or supplementing their work in fishing with other employment. Second, artisanal fishers from Piriápolis and Paraty identified fishing as an undesirable occupation for their children because they believe that in the future fishing will no longer be a viable occupation. Nonetheless, despite the wishes of their parents, young men and women in Piriápolis and to a much lesser degree in Paraty continue to become involved in fishing and fishing-related activities. The paper uses a social wellbeing perspective to interpret fisher responses to the changing circumstances they face. Wellbeing is a lens to understand the distinctive features of artisanal fisheries and helps to understand fishers' disenchantment with fisheries governance processes, in a scenario where participation is being promoted by the state in Uruguay and Brazil. The implications of these findings for state efforts to promote fisher participation in governance are discussed.     

Deemed value arbitrage in the New Zealand annual catch entitlement market

New Zealand's Quota Management System (QMS) consists of a two tier operational structure: Quota shares in a fishstock provide an Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) of the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) of the specific fishstock. Fishers operating in a multispecies fishery need a portfolio of ACE that matches the mix of their annual catch. Fishers may own quota shares, and thereby receive the needed ACE allocations or they may operate without quota shares and rely on acquiring ACE in the ACE market. Whatever the fisher's situation, it is common for fishers to both buy and sell ACE during a fishing year as they seek to balance their actual catch against ACE. The incentive to achieve a balance is strong because at year-end fishers whose catch exceeds ACE are required to pay a fee called ‘deemed value’. For many fishstocks the deemed value fee increases sharply as the percentage by which a fisher's catch exceeds their ACE increases. When no ‘unbalanced’ ACE is available for purchase, an overfished fisher may attempt to mitigate their deemed value liability by engaging in arbitrage trading in ACE whereby they buy ACE from other overfished fishers. This study examines the nature and extent of ACE arbitrage behaviour in the New Zealand quota managed fishery. The study finds that the number of fishstocks where arbitrage trading occurs is relatively small and is declining. However, sizeable deemed value mitigation transactions are still evident.     

Vulnerability of different types of fishers to potential implementation of a management plan in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Maldives

Understanding vulnerability of different types of fishers to the implications of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) is crucial to its long-term sustainability. It helps direct management decisions of the MPA in a way that negative impacts on specific fishers can be mitigated. This study explored the vulnerability within specific groups of fishers, namely, commercial, subsistence and recreational fishers in the context of the largest MPA in the Maldives – the South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area (SAMPA). SAMPA is subject to a future management plan that is likely to bring changes in how resources can be accessed in the area. In order to explore the vulnerability of the fisher groups, their sensitivity to this change was measured through an exploratory factor analysis and a sensitivity index. It was found that commercial fishers were likely to be the most vulnerable group as the management plan could potentially threaten their livelihood. Subsistence fishers were found to be next, as changes in access to SAMPA will potentially influence how they obtain their dietary protein. Recreational fishers were also found to vulnerable due to the nature of their fishing operation. However, relative to other groups, their vulnerability was likely to be much lower. To ensure strategic measures are designed to alleviate these potential vulnerabilities, this study proposed collaborative stakeholder participation throughout the development process of SAMPA's management plan, and also as a platform to build much needed confidence in MPAs among fishers in the Maldives.     

Migrant fishers of Pemba: Drivers,impacts and mediating factors

Most of the fishers of coastal East Africa particularly among the Bajuni, Kojani, Macua and Vezo ethnic communities have historically practiced migration. This study explores the strategies used by migrant fishers’ of Pemba in the Western Indian Ocean region. By adopting a modified sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF), the study uses in-depth interviews and questionnaires to explore the life histories of the fishers in migrant communities, their motivations to migrate, and their associated socioeconomic and ecological implications. Results point out to a complexity of factors contributing to migration including natural, to economic and social factors. Interaction of such factors is instrumental in shaping fisher migration as an activity into an important livelihood strategy. The study concludes that SLF provides holistic understanding of migration. However the incorporation of the ‘livelihood spaces’ extends this knowledge by integrating the spectrum of spatial aspects. This understanding is critical in the design of policies and interventions necessary to ensure resource sustainability and secure fishers livelihoods. This multi-method approach is critical in empirical study of fisher migration.     

Social learning in fish producers' organizations: How fishers perceive their membership experience and what they learn from it

Fish producers' organizations (POs) bring together fishers or fish farmers on a voluntary basis so as to ensure the best market conditions for their fish. How fishers perceive and understand their membership experience is crucial to their capacity to learn from each other and adapt when interacting with their environment. These issues are explored by using the case of Propeixe, a Portuguese PO of purse seine fishers. Fishers ‘perceptions’ of their PO experiences are discussed using an analytical framework based on social learning literature. POs appear to stimulate social learning amongst fishers through changes in practices, economic and other incentives, rules and trust in leadership. Moreover, POs add to a simple market structure the properties of network coordination: interdependency and trust as a basis for co-operation. However, POs fail to change modes of interaction and communication amongst fishers. Within the PO network there are informal subnetworks, differing in terms of interests and influences, and disagreeing on problems (e.g. resource status) and on how to deal with them. By enhancing their members' social learning capacity, POs may increase their capacity to learn and cooperate with other actors in the sector. Leadership strategy, to encourage day-to-day dialog and deal with power relations, is essential in this respect.     

Recreational fishing in a time of rapid ocean change

Fishing is an important recreational activity for many Australians, with one in every four people participating every year. There are however many different pressures exerted on Australian fish stocks, including climate-related changes that drive changes in local fish abundances. It is inevitable that recreational fishers will need to adapt to these changes. When resource abundance alters substantially, user adaptation to the new situation is required and policies and incentives may need to be developed to encourage behaviour change. It is important to correctly anticipate fisher's response to these policies and incentives as much as possible. Improved understanding of recreational fisher's likely adaptation decisions and the nature and timing of these decisions can help avoid unintended consequences of management decisions. Based on a survey of recreational fishers in the south-east Australian climate hotspot, we identify 4 relevant dimensions to recreational fisher's behavioural adaptation. There are differences in adaptation timing (early, late, and non-adaptors). Non-adaptors are characterised by greater cultural attachment to fishing and stronger perceptions of the factors that influence abundance change. The fisher's preferred adaptation responses and the timing of the behavioural response differs between decreasing versus increasing fish abundance. Insight into perspectives and expectations on how recreational fishers might adapt to changes is useful to develop a set of behavioural incentives that appeal to different groups but remain efficient and effective in their implementation. Such knowledge can create new pathways to achieve meaningful and targeted adaptation responses for different types of recreational fishers.     

The status of artisanal fishing in El Salvador

El Salvador is one of the most environmentally degraded nations in Latin America, but the declining fishing industry is under-studied compared with deforestation and landuse. This paper examines the reactions to fish stock decline of two generations of fishers in La Union, El Salvador on the Golfo de Fonseca, one of the most important fishing areas in Latin America, using face to face interviews and questionaires. Both older (>35 years) and younger (<36 years) fishers supplemented their income with trading, farming and loans from their relatives in the United States. All older fishers reported larger fish catches five and ten years previously than at present. Previously, fishers caught more fish, but significantly more younger fishers than older fishers reported their fathers caught more fish than they did, indicating an increasing gap in fish catches in recent decades. More younger fishers than older fishers had fathers or male kin who were also fishers, indicating young men were less likely to join fishing without a parent or kin already involved. Minorities of both older and younger fishers engaged in supplementary activities. Environmental degradation disuaded fishers from switching to farming or hunting. The findings are similar to findings elsewhere on the decline of fish resources and generational gaps in environmental knowledge, but differ in that some other studies report fewer opportunities for fishers to access alternative or complementary activities. These findings are relevant to Latin American studies, considering the great value of the Golfo de Fonseca to the livelihoods of Central America.     

Small-scale fishers’ adaptations to change: The role of formal and informal credit in Paraty,Brazil

Small-scale fishers in coastal areas of Brazil face numerous challenges, including marginalization by large-scale industrial operations, poor market access, lack of working capital, and pressure to diversify their livelihood base. From the perspective of adaptive capacity, this investigation was carried out in three communities in the municipality of Paraty (Rio de Janeiro State), and sought to determine the main challenges facing local fishers, and fishers’ current adaptive and transformative actions against these challenges. Findings revealed that the majority of fishers (55%) own mid-size diesel boats (6–9 m) and face constant pressure to scale-up and diversify operations to take advantage of the growing tourism sector. Such expansion requires financial capital. However, due to fear of losing assets, inability to arrange a co-signer, and lack of adequate collateral, many fishers are reluctant to obtain credit from government-sponsored programs and seek credit elsewhere. Fishers with larger boats are increasingly opting for tourism-related activities through informal credit arrangements. However, of the smaller-scale fisher respondents some 27% have opted to downsize their fishing operations through intrasectoral adjustments. These actions reflect a general trend of aversion to financial liability and vulnerability by way of flexibility, dynamism, and diversification. It is recommended that access to credit should be made easier for small-scale fishers to provide more options to diversify their livelihood base but without exerting additional fishing pressure on already overfished stocks.     

Spatial substitution strategies of recreational fishers in response to zoning changes in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Understanding fishers’ responses to marine spatial closures is important for both resource users and managers. Fishing is a major recreational activity in Australia, and recreational fishers are key local resource users within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. In 2004, implementation of a new zoning plan in the park resulted in a reduction in the amount of area available to recreational fishing. A combination of phone, mail, and face-to-face surveys was used to investigate recreational fishers’ choices and spatial redistribution strategies in response to the reduction in fishing area. Approximately 56% of fishers reported losing at least one of their regular fishing locations under the new zoning plan. Fishers generally compensated by shifting their fishing effort to other areas they knew to be good fishing locations, and by finding new areas that they had not exploited previously. Potential implications of these spatial changes in recreational fishing effort for both the marine park and recreational fishers include changes in fishing frequency and satisfaction, reduced fishing quality, restricted access to areas considered to be of high quality for recreational fishing, increased crowding in areas that remain open to fishing, and increased likelihood of localized depletions in popular recreational fishing locations. Identification of the drivers of the spatial distribution of fishing effort, factors affecting fishers’ choices of locations, and adaptation strategies adopted by fishers provide a valuable tool to help understand the impact of spatial fishing closures on fishers and resources.     

The structure and evolution of the coastal migrant fishery of Kenya

The current study was carried out over a period of one year to characterise the coastal migrant fishery of Kenya. The study looked at gears and vessels used, and ownership, demographic factors including ages of the fishers and family sizes, migrant activity and resource conservation at two main fishing villages in Kenya; Vanga and Mayungu in the south and north coasts, straddling at 4.663°S and 39.215°E and 3.214°S and 40.135°E respectively. Further, the fishers were categorised with regard to fishing, gear and vessel operation and trade, and evolution upon entry into the fishery was also assessed in order to define fisher-stake in the fishery for resource management and conservation planning. Structured questionnaires were used to interview the fishers, and data and information recorded from 1018 fishers during the survey. Migrants accounted for over 63% of the fishers in the two study sites, with majority of the fishers lying in the 15–45 year age bracket. Dependence level averages at 4–6 person families per fisher. Entry to the fishery was mainly at seamen level, progressing to fishermen and finally to fish dealers (tajiris), with the latter holding >62% capital in the fishery. Resource management in the fishery was low and only 10% of the fishers were active participants in marine conservation and community beach management issues. Fisher migrations were mainly monsoon season-linked (>58%) although social factors such as family location determined to a great extent the expanse of the migrations. The revival of fisheries cooperatives and active participation in community resource management and conservation groups is envisaged as the key to the sustainability of both the marine resources and the economies associated with this high mobility, cross-border fishery.     

Participatory research supporting community-based fishery management

This paper reports on a project to engage researchers and fishers together in adapting social science approaches to the purposes and the constraints of community-based fisher organizations. The work was carried out in the Scotia–Fundy Region of Atlantic Canada (the Bay of Fundy and Scotian Shelf). Its rationale reflects arguments that (1) effective community-based management requires that managers are able to pose and address social science questions, (2) participatory research, involving true cooperation in all stages, can support this process, and (3) there is a need to overcome practical and methodological barriers faced in developing participatory research protocols, to serve the needs of community-based management while not demanding excessive transaction costs. In this paper, we report on work with fisher organizations, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal, in which social science priorities were set by each organization, and small-scale research projects designed and carried out to meet these needs. This work identified interests among fishers in research on three different levels of meaning: (1) practical livelihood concerns, including what, when and where to fish, and with what intensity of effort, (2) social, economic and political issues (e.g., on institutional structures, politics of access and allocation, overlap and conflict between regulatory regimes), and (3) values and ethics that implicitly or explicitly guide policy development and implementation. Several research themes proved crucial, including those of power sharing, defining boundaries of a community-based group, access and equity, designing effective management plans, enforcement, and scaling up for effective regional and ecosystem-wide management. The research results demonstrate the effectiveness of extending participatory methods to challenge traditional scientific notions of the research process.     

Co-management of sea turtle fisheries: Biogeography versus geopolitics

Co-management between local communities and government agencies is promoted as a strategy to improve fisheries management. This paper considers the potential for co-management of sea turtle fisheries within four UK Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean, and for co-ordinated management among those territories. We focus on fisher incentives for engaging in co-management and on the potential to scale up co-management to a regional level. This paper presents data from Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands, where 110 turtle fishers participated in a socio-economic survey undertaken as part of the ‘Turtles in the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean’ project. Based on three established criteria for co-management (perceived crisis in stock, willingness to participate and community cohesion), results suggest that fisher support for co-management exists within each OT, but the extent of support for and views of specific management interventions varies among OTs. The implications of results for co-management in each territory, and for establishing co-ordinated management regimes in the region, are discussed in the context of current debates about the nature of resources and scalar (mis)matches between resource and management regimes.     

Socio-economic features of sea cucumber fisheries in southern coast of Kenya

A socio-economic assessment was conducted at Vanga, Shimoni, Majoreni and Gazi villages in the Kenyan south coast with focus on the sea cucumber fishing patterns, the social and economic characteristics of the fisher communities, the contribution of sea cucumbers to the local livelihoods, and analysis of the management systems. The results indicate that sea cucumber fishers are mainly men. Fishing is done in sub-tidal areas (3–10 m deep) and inter-tidal areas depending on the species being targeted. Those who fish in the sub-tidal areas do skin diving without using SCUBA diving gear. Sea cucumber fishing is heavily done during the northeast monsoon season when the sea is calm and water is clear. About 32% of the sea cucumber fishers also collect other marine products such as octopus. The sea cucumbers are sold fresh from the sea to local first level middlemen who process and sell them to the second level middlemen and exporters in Mombasa. The fishers occasionally borrow money from first level middlemen especially when they fail to catch sea cucumbers but this in turn creates conditions of dependence and possible exploitation. Almost all sea cucumber fishers have stated that they are not willing to make sea cucumbers part of their daily diet. The economic value of the product was substantial; the average monthly revenue for dry sea cucumbers in the area was estimated to US$ 8000. The relative highest profits are derived from juvenile species, thus there is an economic incentive hindering local stocks to reach sexual maturity, which in turn may create a situation in which recruitment success is highly dependent on faraway populations. The present management system falls into general fisheries regulations and was found weak. No specific management plan for sea cucumbers was found.     

Using fisher knowledge,mapping population,habitat suitability and risk for the conservation of dugongs in Johor Straits of Malaysia

In the coastal waters of Johor Straits, Peninsular Malaysia, the dugongs occur and their habitat suitability model has yet not been attempted, while it could be critical information for developing their conservation strategies. This study derived spatially explicit dugong population information on the abundance and distribution of dugongs based on fisher surveys. The survey revealed the highest dugong abundance around eastern areas, followed by southern areas of Johor Straits. Degradation of seagrass habitat, which dugong uses as feeding ground, could be the main reason for reducing dugong sighting around western areas. A habitat suitability map was produced based on dugong presence and interacting environmental factors such as seagrass biomass, distance from shoreline, and water depth. Using ArcGIS mapping capability, the data layers on those environmental factors were fied into MaxEnt. The MaxEnt model output showed seagrass biomass as the highest contributing factor to the likelihood of dugong presence. The model also estimated 20 kg/m² of seagrass biomass, 3 km distance from shoreline and a water depth of 25 m as the optimum habitat condition for dugong population. The combination of fisher interview, habitat suitability, and risk modeling has the ability to provide adequate information required for monitoring and developing policy strategies for sustainable management and conservation of marine mammals.     

The challenges of the landing obligation in EU fisheries

A feasibility study was conducted on the impacts of the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules requiring catches in regulated fisheries to be landed and counted against quotas of each Member State - the landing obligation (LO), and that catch of species subject to the LO below a minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) be restricted to purposes other than direct human consumption. The aim was to estimate the level of discarded fish likely to be covered by the new rules, the impact of the rules on EU fisheries and the regulatory challenges and responses to them. Data from EU's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) database were analysed to estimate the volume of unwanted catches produced by EU fisheries. Views were sought from policy officials and fisheries scientists through a questionnaire on the implications of the LO and the control of fisheries across Member States, and the potential adjustments that might be needed. Findings show that 11% (44,000 t) of the total catches of EU countries from which data were available are of fish under MCRS. The species with the highest volume of undersized discards associated with the lowest quota, which would potentially restrict the fishing opportunities for other quota species (i.e. choke species), are plaice and haddock with 18,000 and 14,000 t of undersized fish respectively, followed by whiting and cod with 5000 and 6000 t of undersized fish respectively. Discards data shows that the Netherlands, United Kingdom, France and Belgium will be most affected by landings for non-human markets. Findings also show that existing infrastructure at landing ports in all Member States is limited because there are currently limited facilities in place to handle animal by-products produced by the catching sector. Policy officials maintained that while they could support the fishing industry through funding programmes, it is the responsibility of fishers to ensure they have the right infrastructure to handle unwanted catches. The expectation is that the LO combined with the restriction to non-human consumption purposes will encourage fishers to internalise the costs of catching unwanted fish and motivate them to avoid unwanted catch. This will be realised if sufficient flexibility is given to fishers to find their own solutions to reducing unwanted catches. It is concluded that gear technology measures exist to enable the regulated fisheries to increase gear selectivity.     

Fishery benefits from exploiting spawning aggregations not solely dependent on enhanced fish density

The vulnerability of spawning aggregations to exploitation varies among fisheries as a result of differences in the population-density changes associated with this behaviour. However, vulnerability to fishing is also influenced by technology, environmental factors, and fish and fisher behaviours. Focusing on a fishery for the rabbitfish Siganus sutor at Praslin Island, Seychelles, we examined how catch rate varied across spawning and non-spawning habitats in relation to in situ population-density changes and other factors known to influence catchability. Catch rates in spawning habitat were disproportionate to density changes, being only fourfold greater than catch rates in non-spawning habitat, despite the fact that spawning-aggregation formation involved nine- to thirteen-fold increases in population density. Catch rates in spawning habitat were also highly variable across the spawning season (0–23.4 fish trap-hour^?1). Current strength was of similar importance to density as a catch-rate predictor, with the highest catch rates in spawning habitats confined to months with the strongest currents. Therefore, in addition to density-dependent catchability, other factors that influence catch rates must be examined to avoid overestimation of the vulnerability of populations to aggregation fishing. The dynamics of catchability at spawning sites can limit the ability of fishers to predict and maximise returns based on increases in fish density.