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.     

Collaborative fisheries management in the Northeast US: Emerging initiatives and future directions

The nature of participation by fishing organizations in fisheries management in the Northeast US is changing. Evidence of this is the number of groups that are actively seeking opportunities for group governance of marine resources. This article explores emerging collaborative or co-management arrangements in this region (a process whereby decision-making is shared between federal/council level and fishery stakeholder groups) and the shift towards an ecosystem-based approach to the management of marine fisheries.This research suggests that it is an opportune time for the development of a regional policy in the Northeast that provides an enabling environment in support of decentralized governance of federally managed marine fisheries. It also suggests that these initiatives can play a key role in operationalizing ecosystem-based management.     

Transdisciplinary co-operation for an ecosystem approach to fisheries: A case study from the South African sardine fishery

Integrative approaches that involve natural and social scientists are needed to manage fisheries, but these are difficult to achieve. The process of developing a prototype, knowledge-based, electronic decision support tool for the South African sardine Sardinops sagax fishery provided a platform for fostering collaboration and achieving active participation of many stakeholders. The aim of the decision support tool is to assist managers in evaluating how effectively an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has been implemented for this fishery. The collaborative process involved a series of meetings during which knowledge was elicited from fisheries scientists, social scientists, resource managers and fishing industry representatives. Conceptualisations of the different stakeholder perspectives were developed in terms of objectives and indicators following the hierarchical tree approach recommended by FAO. This paper describes the collaborative process. Hierarchies of objectives, indicators and data sets for the human dimension of an EAF in the South African sardine fishery are introduced. The value of a transdisciplinary approach towards an EAF in South Africa is discussed.     

Current and future trends in fisheries stock assessment and management

There are currently three dominant approaches to fisheries stock assessment: analysis of catch-at-age data; simple models of biomass dynamics (often called surplus production models) that rely only on catch and some index of abundance; and analysis of length frequency data. A key characteristic of all these methods is that they rely primarily on one type of data and ignore most of what is known about the biology of the species in question and what has been learned from fisheries elsewhere. Other information is sometimes included subjectively after the stock assessment is complete. The first major trend in assessment methods is developing ways of incorporating all that is known about the biology of a species into a single unified assessment procedure. The second major development is in methods of incorporating uncertainty in stock assessment, using statistical decision theory. At present few agencies have formal methods for treating the uncertainty inherent in stock assessment, and therefore uncertainty is often ignored. A number of trends in fisheries management are reviewed, including adoption of formal harvest strategies, recognition that fisheries management is a matter of decision-making and risk-taking, and the use of Monte-Carlo evaluation of fisheries management options. Future trends in stock assessment and management will likely include more attention to the behaviour of fishermen in response to regulations, more involvement of user-groups in decision-making, much more allocation of property rights, including complete privatization of some fisheries, and demand for evaluation of cost effectiveness of research and management activities. Threats to commercial fisheries as now known are discussed, including growing allocation to recreational and aboriginal users, environmentalists and the impact of aquaculture.     

On crafting a fisheries co-management arrangement in the estuary of Patos Lagoon (Brazil): opportunities and challenges faced through implementation

This paper aims to analyze a fisheries co-management regime in Brazil. The Forum of the Patos Lagoon, a collaborative partnership among communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, was established to move fisheries management toward a negotiation-style decision processes. We find that while many successes are evident including the delegation of decision power, greater protection of artisanal fisheries, and greater legitimacy assigned the Forum as a decision-making body, several problems remain. These include conflicting institutional arrangements; minimal recognition of local fishers’ interests as concerns rules established; and less than optimal participation of fishers in the Forum. The paper closes with multiple suggestions for improvements of this co-management regime.     

The science-policy interface in fisheries management: Insights about the influence of organizational structure and culture on information pathways

Understanding how information flows between scientific and decision-making communities is essential for the creation of effective strategies to link scientific advice to management decisions. Interviews of scientists and managers in two inter-related fisheries management organizations – the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) – and direct observations at science and management meetings revealed important organizational characteristics that influence the production, communication, and use of scientific information in decision-making. Formal processes for communicating scientific advice to managers – DFO's Canadian Scientific Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) and NAFO's Fisheries Commission's Request for Advice – demonstrate the use of credible, relevant, and legitimate advice for operational decision-making for fisheries management. Such defined processes, in addition to governmental bureaucracy, departmentalization, and de-centralization, can limit communication as highlighted for Canada as a Contracting Party to NAFO. Administrative mechanisms can pose challenges to implementing ecosystem approaches to fisheries management (EAF) and to addressing the impacts of climate change. Emerging organizational structures and behaviours facilitate communication at the science-policy interface, within and between the organizations, thereby improving understanding of science and management needs and promoting trust relationships between scientists and managers. The involvement of multiple stakeholders in the information pathways addresses concerns about scientific uncertainty in assessment advice. A linear model of information flow typifies operational decision-making; however, collaborative models that incorporate different types of information, apart from fisheries science, are required to enable ecosystem-based management. The characteristics of the information pathways are particularly relevant as the organizations address their EAF mandates.     

Systems engineering principles in fisheries management

Fisheries management receives valuable, but often fragmented information from academic disciplines such as biology, economics, and social sciences. A multi-disciplinary perspective seems to be necessary if the fisheries are to become sustainable. Globally, overcapacity is considered as the most serious threat to sustainable fisheries, which indicates the need for a stronger integration of technological aspects into fisheries management. This paper discusses application of systems engineering principles and integration of technology into fisheries management. The systems engineering process facilitates implementation of multi-disciplinary information from researchers to fisheries managers in the decision-making towards sustainable fisheries, but may also be used to overcome multi-disciplinary obstacles among scientists. The article concludes that use of systems engineering principles may become a valuable contribution to fisheries management because of increased transparency and reduced risk associated with the decision-making process.     

Resolving environmental issues in the southern Brazilian artisanal penaeid-trawl fishery through adaptive co-management

Many conventional management strategies have been demonstrated to be ineffective in achieving sustainable fisheries, and new approaches are required to overcome existing environmental, social and economic problems. Adaptive co-management represents the combination of a learning-by-doing approach (adaptive management) involving all related and legitimate stakeholders in the decision-making process (collaborative management). In this study, the relevant experiences from a fishery in southern Brazil are reported. The first section of the paper summarizes the broad history of national fisheries and their management. Then the southern Brazilian artisanal penaeid-trawl fishery is briefly described and the three main problems associated with the common gears used are discussed, including their (1) poor size and species selectivities, (2) poor efficiencies, and (3) their mechanical impacts on benthic habitats. Finally, a framework is proposed to address the environmental and socio-economic issues in the fishery and its implementation discussed via an adaptive co-management approach.     

Contemporary challenges: globalisation,global interconnectedness and that ‘there are not plenty more fish in the sea’.: Fisheries,Governance and globalisation: is there a relationship?

The article offers an analysis of the globalisation debate in the context of international fisheries governance. It argues that there are significant transformations in fisheries policy-making in international economics, international institutions and international law-making which alter state authority in fisheries management. Thus, decision-making at international, regional and national levels is increasing, displaced from the state level. This ‘multi-level’ decision-making is exemplified in the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, 1995. The Code represents a sound instrument of fisheries governance, capable of responding to contemporary global transformations. Changes are illustrated by comparing the Code and the Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, 1995, in the areas of international economics, institutions and law-making. Reference is made to interaction between a range of actors and to formal and informal procedures. In conclusion, a process of ‘fisheries governance’ is confirmed, emerging from a new environment of international fisheries relations.     

Selecting and assessing social objectives for Australian fisheries management

This paper details Australian research that developed tools to assist fisheries managers and government agencies in engaging with the social dimension of industry and community welfare in fisheries management. These tools are in the form of objectives and indicators. These highlight the social dimensions and the effects of management plans and policy implementation on fishing industries and associated communities, while also taking into account the primacy of ecological imperatives. The deployment of these objectives and indicators initially provides a benchmark and, over the life of a management plan, can subsequently be used to identify trends in effects on a variety of social and economic elements that may be objectives in the management of a fishery. It is acknowledged that the degree to which factors can be monitored will be dependent upon resources of management agencies, however these frameworks provide a method for effectively monitoring and measuring change in the social dimension of fisheries management.Essentially, the work discussed in this paper provides fisheries management with the means to both track and begin to understand the effects of government policy and management plans on the social dimension of the fishing industry and its associated communities. Such tools allow the consideration of these elements, within an evidence base, into policy arrangements, and consequently provide an invaluable contribution to the ability to address resilience and sustainability of fishing industries and associated communities.     

Network governance in fisheries

Globalisation is enabling an increasing number of stakeholders to become better informed and more determined to participate in the management of both coastal and high-seas fisheries. Centralised fisheries management agencies are therefore becoming increasingly unable to exert control over the flow of information in fisheries management processes, and less able to exclude other formal and informal institutions from influencing management processes. This work details the emergence of network governance processes and concludes that network governance is likely to erode the traditional command and control authority of many formal government-mandated agencies, and potentially increase the transaction costs in fisheries management processes. However, this style of emergent management may also increase the robustness of management decisions.     

Moral discourse in fisheries co-management: A case study of the Senja fishery,northern Norway

Communication is essential to co-management. This paper examines how the outcome of management processes in a fisheries co-management system in northern Norway depends on communicative interaction between the fishermen. Legitimacy is held as an essential condition for well functioning user-based regulation in the fishery, and is often seen as a result when user-groups are involved in the management process. This paper argues that involving user-groups is not enough for legitimating regulations. Legitimacy also depends on the nature of communication in the decision-making process. In the terminology of Habermas, management institutions having a communicative design that encourages moral discourse would have a higher degree of legitimacy than institutions having an instrumental design. Not only because the decision-making process is emphasized, but also because it has potential to give room for other communities of interests beyond the use of fishing gears. The paper also discusses how fishermen may act communicatively in ways that include normative and moral issues of fisheries management.     

Pyramids and roses: Alternative images for the governance of fisheries systems

Governors always have some image of what they are governing and why, and of what their role is. These images are often implicit. They are not reflected upon or discussed in the governance process, yet they have real consequences because they are acted upon. Interactive governance theory argues that image formation is an integral part of governance and that images are made as explicit as possible to avoid self-fulfilment. Such a process needs to be interactive and flexible to allow exploration of alternatives to existing governing images for the purpose of enhancing the governability of fisheries systems. In this paper, we contrast the classical image of the governing system (top down decision-making pyramid) and of the human-in-nature system (top down trophic pyramid) with alternative images (roses and inverted pyramid, respectively) and discuss the implication that these different images have on fisheries governance.     

Ecological knowledge interactions in marine governance in Kenya

Proponents of integrated, collaborative, and adaptive governance advocate the inclusion of a diversity of stakeholders and their knowledge and values in governance processes. This paper examines knowledge interactions at different scales of decision-making within two marine social-ecological systems in southern Kenya. Ecological knowledge systems are shown to be diverse and fluid even within broad conceptual classifications. Knowledge interactions at the local level are mediated by socio-cultural, institutional, and historical factors, whilst knowledge integration within district to national levels is primarily structured by institutional factors linked to centralised decision-making. In policy arenas, knowledge bounded to the marine environment is subjugated by knowledge dealing with terrestrial parks, inland fisheries, and wildlife tourism.     

Cooperatives,concessions, and co-management on the Pacific coast of Mexico

Ten fishery cooperatives of the Pacific coast of Mexico were studied to examine reasons for successful community-based management of the fishery commons. The cooperatives hold exclusive rights to ‘concession’ territories for major fisheries and are linked by geographic adjacency and through a federation. The case study underscores the role of factors such as smallness of scale; the productivity, visibility and legibility of the resources and fisheries involved; clarity of social and territorial boundaries; adjacency and linkages among territorial units; a strong sense of community. The cooperatives also made considerable investments in attaining high levels of knowledge, leadership, transparent and democratic decision-making, and “vigilance,” or enforcement of the rules and the running of the organization. The study also shows the workings of windows of opportunity and experience with environmental change in the development of strong and adaptive capacities for co-management between local organizations and government agencies. Although particular histories and larger legal, political, and cultural contexts matter, the Mexican case supports arguments for greater community-level engagement in “catch share” and territorial management throughout the Pacific.     

Fleet sizes,fishing effort and the ‘hidden’ factors behind statistics: An anthropological study of small-scale fisheries in UK

The assessment of fishing effort is a vital part of fisheries management. However, assessing fishing effort by small-scale local fleets is often problematic, partly because of the complex socio-economic and cultural factors that govern the labour patterns of different fisheries employing different fishing practices. Often, official statistics produced by governmental agencies do not fully capture these factors, so a more holistic understanding of regional fisheries is required. Some contribution by social anthropologists is thus called for, in order to assess actual fishing effort and the trend of regional changes in fishing activities.     

Stakeholders’ participation in the fisheries management decision-making process: Fishers’ perceptions of participation

Public participation is a key ingredient of good governance and there are many advantages of involving stakeholders in the decision-making process. The European Commission identified the lack of stakeholder involvement as one of the major weaknesses of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). As such, the 2002 Reform of the CFP aimed to improve its system of governance by increasing the involvement of stakeholders in decision-making. Over the last decade, Scottish inshore waters have seen an increase in management measures focused on involving fishers, delegating responsibilities and decentralizing management. The present document investigates commercial inshore fishers’ perceptions of participation in the decision-making process and attitudes towards a new management regime – the Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) – which aims to increase participation in and decentralization of inshore fisheries management. A survey was conducted, through face-to-face interviews, and ordered logistic and multiple regression models created to identify which characteristics influence fishers’ perceptions and attitudes. The present analysis concluded that, 5 years subsequent to the reform of the CFP, the majority of inshore fishers perceive themselves not to be consulted or involved in the decision-making process. However, and despite the fact that fishers are not completely certain of the potential of the IFGs to increase their participation in the management process, they have an overall positive attitude towards their implementation.     

Adaptation to climate change in marine capture fisheries

This paper responds to the challenge of how and when to adapt marine capture fisheries to climate change by (1) providing a set of fisheries policy options to climate change; (2) developing a risk and vulnerability assessment and management decision-making framework for adaptation; and (3) describing the possible strategies and tactics for ex ante and ex post climate adaptation in the marine environment. Its contributions include (1) a discussion of how management objectives and instruments influence resilience and adaptation; (2) a decision-making process to assess vulnerabilities to climate change and to manage adaptation responses; (3) an inter-temporal framework to assist decision-makers on when to adapt; (4) a risk and simulation approach to confront the uncertainties of the possible losses due to climate change and the net benefits of adaptation; (5) an explanation of how adaptive co-management can promote flexible adaptation responses and also strengthen adaptation capacity; and (6) a selection of possible ‘win–win’ management actions.     

Vulnerability to impacts of climate change on marine fisheries and food security

Assessment of fisheries vulnerability to climate change is an important step for enhancing the understanding and decision-making to reduce such vulnerability. This study aimed to provide an analysis of country level vulnerability focusing on food security implications of climatic disturbances on marine fisheries. The comparative magnitude and distribution of potential food security impacts of climatic disturbances on marine fisheries were assessed for 109 countries by scoring and ranking countries against a set of vulnerability criteria including metrics of national exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, highlighting the contribution of marine fisheries to national food and nutrition security. Results showed that developing countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America appeared to be most vulnerable, and the key sources of vulnerability differed considerably among the countries. For countries most vulnerable to climate-induced effects on marine fisheries, more than two-thirds of them depended on domestic marine fisheries as a main source of fish supply. Developing appropriate adaptation policies and management plans to reduce the impacts of changing climate is of great importance to sustain food security in these highly vulnerable and heavy marine fisheries-dependent countries.     

Acceptable sustainability in the fishing fleet

This article discusses the performance of the Norwegian fishing fleet within an acceptable level of sustainability. Previously, the cod-fishing fleet has been evaluated at the attributes—accident risk, employment, profitability, quality of the fish meat, catch capacity, greenhouse gas emissions/acidification, and bycatch/selection. The assessments focused on the first four steps of the systems engineering process, i.e., from needs identification to trade-offs of system alternatives. The objective of this paper is to focus on the last steps of the process; design, solve, verify, and test, to improve the decision-basis for fisheries management in order to increase sustainability in the fishing fleet. More specifically, this means to analyze the decision-making situation and develop acceptance criteria of a sustainable Norwegian cod-fishing fleet to enable fisheries management to monitor the sustainability performance of the fleet on a regular basis.