Accounting for indirect effects and non-commensurate values in ecosystem based fishery management (EBFM)

Ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) requires taking account of indirect effects (such as habitat destruction, incidental mortality, and competition between the fishery and marine mammals or birds) and dealing with non-commensurate values (such as yield from the fishery and production of offspring by the birds or mammals competing for the same resource). The perspective of EBFM requires that the rate of fishing mortality is less than the value that provides maximum sustainable yield (MSY), but the question is how far below this level should the fishery operate? For this problem in multiobjective programming, simple method of solution was developed and illustrated with the fishery for sandeels (Ammodytes spp.) in the Shetland Islands. The yield from the fishery at a given fishing mortality F is scaled by MSY (so that this quantity increases as fishing mortality increases from 0 to that giving MSY) and the breeding success of predators (black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla and Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea) at a given fishing mortality is scaled by that in the absence of fishing. The result is two non-dimensional quantities that can be combined into a single value function, which can then be explored or optimized. It is shown that a reduction of only about 20 percent in yield can nearly double the breeding performance of the more sensitive predator. Extensions of the method are discussed; these include the use of maximum economic yield (MEY) and state dependent life history, as implemented by stochastic dynamic programming.     

A note on the economics of Swedish Baltic Sea fisheries

The cod stocks in the Baltic Sea are important not only for fisheries but for the entire ecosystem utilized by numerous stakeholders around the coast. All such activities have economic values. In this note the economics of the Swedish Baltic Sea cod fishery is estimated in relation to the sector's interaction with other users of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. The results show a negative resource rent for the fishery, € −5 million without public expenses (subsidies and administrative costs), and € −13 million including public expenses. The interactions between the fisheries and tourism, seal population, carbon dioxide emissions, recreational fishing, and discards are discussed, and when monetary estimates are available these are related to the estimated resource rent.     

Fishery cooperatives in Cuba: Potential benefits,legal feasibility,and governance pre-conditions

Currently there is a strong interest in Cuba in improving the performance of the fisheries sector with respect to social, biological, and economic outcomes. Many important fishery resources appear to be overexploited, and previous fishery regulations have had mixed success in restoring fishery stocks. The current fishing pressure could also have adverse impacts on other valuable ecosystem services that support economic activities such as dive tourism and recreational fishing. A new State policy to expand cooperative enterprises to non-agricultural sectors provides an opportunity for fishery cooperatives to be created for the first time since the early years of the Cuban Revolution. This paper explores the potential ecological, social, and economic benefits of adopting fishery cooperatives as a co-management scheme for Cuba's marine fisheries. It concludes that well-designed fishery cooperatives can offer substantial benefits to the management of the fishery sector. Based on an analysis of the relative success of fishing cooperatives worldwide, guidelines are provided for the design of fishery cooperatives in Cuba.     

Adaptation in a time of stress: A social-ecological perspective on changing fishing strategies in the Canadian snow crab fishery

Recent scholarship has focused attention on the dynamics and management of marine social ecological systems and on the need for developing a deeper understanding of the fishing strategies of fish harvesters. This includes an understanding of how a broad range of factors influence the strategies of those at the ‘center’ of marine social-ecological interactions. This paper reports on the findings of a survey of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishers in Southeastern Labrador conducted at a time (2005) of significant stress in the fishery. Results highlight that snow crab fishers are embedded in a social-ecological system and that shifts in fishing strategies in times of stress are a product of adapting to a dynamic, interactive set of factors that have social, economic, ecological and management aspects. Important differences between fleet sectors (larger and smaller vessels) as well as processes of learning are also described. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for management and the utility of a holistic social-ecological perspective.     

Improving fleet efficiency to maximise economic yield in a Western Australian prawn fishery

The Shark Bay trawl fishery is Western Australia's most valuable prawn fishery (worth AUD$25 million in 2014). The 18-vessel fleet targets western king prawns (Penaeus latisulcatus), brown tiger prawns (P. esculentus) and also retains saucer scallops (Ylistrum balloti) and blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus). Increased fuel prices, falling prawn prices and lower catches of other species, following extreme environmental events, have impacted fishery profits. A biomass dynamics model with an economic component indicated that total revenue levels start to decline when annual effort increases beyond ~ 200 fishing days per boat. Annual effort required to achieve MEY, when based solely on prawn fishing, is 115–150 days per boat after accounting for fixed and variable fishing costs and annual fishing efficiency increases of 1–2%. From 2007–2014, the adjusted effort was 188–192 days per boat. Fishing occurred between March and November during 7–8 fishing periods, separated by 5–8 day (low catchability) moon closure periods. An empirical daily profit assessment (2007–2015), accounting for recruitment variation, daily prawn size compositions, monthly market prices for different prawn species and sizes, and daily fishing costs, showed vessels made profits on ~ 115–160 days and losses on ~ 15–55 days per year, when fishing occurred near the full moon. The fishery benefitted in 2013–2015 by starting later in the year and better targeting within-season effort. This management strategy within the effort-control framework, which improved profitability, maintained higher spawning stocks and reduced ecosystem fishing impacts, has wider application in prawn fishery management.     

Stated preferences for size and bag limits of Alaska charter boat anglers

Over the last several years, significant regulatory changes related to Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis have occurred in the for-hire recreational charter boat fishing sector in Alaska. In addition to limited entry restrictions and adoption of a catch sharing plan that provides a formal means of determining allocation between the commercial and charter boat fishing sectors, more restrictive harvest regulations were placed on anglers fishing from charter boats. This article provides insights into how the value anglers place on charter boat fishing is affected by these regulations, principally bag and size limits. Such information is helpful in assessing the trade-offs in economic benefits associated with different regulatory tools used to manage angler harvest levels. Stated preference choice experiment data from a 2012 survey are analyzed using a panel rank-ordered mixed logit model to estimate the economic value, or willingness to pay (WTP), non-resident anglers place on saltwater charter boat fishing trips in Alaska and to assess how changes in characteristics of fishing trips, particularly harvest restrictions related to Pacific halibut, affect this value. The model specification accounts for a wide array of size and bag limit restrictions that have been recently implemented or are under consideration by Pacific halibut fishery managers. The results indicate that very strict harvest restrictions have the effect of driving WTP to zero, while allowing at least one (potentially) large fish to be caught is valuable to anglers. The results also suggest that WTP for fishing trips with bag limits that allow two or more fish to be harvested with no size restrictions on the first fish harvested are not statistically different from the value for trips for larger bag limits or for the case where all the fish in the limit can be any size. This suggests that fishery managers can restrict the size of the second fish in a two-fish bag limit and still maintain economic values for fishing trips.     

The Pew Report on US fishery councils: a critique from the Open Society

The Pew Charitable Trusts have recently supported a study of the regional fishery management councils responsible for managing US coastal fish stocks. The four key findings of this report may be thought of as an attempt to answer two fundamental concerns: (i) Who should make the management decisions?, and (ii) Who should take responsibility for making these decisions? This paper provides a rational reply to these concerns by negatively reforming the questions, as: (i) How do we ensure that a decision-making is not based on irrational arguments, and (ii) How do we ensure that normative goals (maximum sustainable yields, optimum yields) are not viewed as objective scientific predictions.     

Fishery trends, resource-use and management system in the Ungwana Bay fishery Kenya

The present study assessed trends in resource-use, partitioning and management in the Ungwana Bay fishery, Kenya, using surplus production models. The fishery is one of East Africa’s important marine fisheries sustaining a bottom trawl commercial fishery and a resident-migrant artisanal fishery. Two models: Schaefer (1954) and Gulland and Fox (1975) were applied to catch-effort data over a 21-year period to model maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and optimal effort (f_MSY) to examine the status of resource exploitation and provide reference points for sustainable management. In the artisanal fishery, model MSYs range from 392-446 t to 1283-1473 t for shrimps and fish respectively compared to mean annual landings of 60 t for shrimp and 758 t for fish. These landings represent <50% of the model MSYs suggesting under exploitation in the sub-sector. Moreover, current fishing effort applied stands at <0.5 f_MSY. On the other hand, mean annual landings in bottom trawl commercial fishery, at about 330 t for shrimps and 583 t and fish represent about 90% of the model MSYs of 352-391 t and 499-602 t for shrimps and fish respectively. Therefore, the bottom trawl commercial fishery is likely under full exploitation. Similarly, the current effort is estimated at >0.7 f_MSY. Resource management in the bay is faced with numerous problems including resource-use conflicts, poor economic conditions in artisanal fishery, poor legislation, and inadequate research augmented by poor reporting systems for catch-effort statistics. Thus, the fishery lacks clearly defined exploitation regimes. Fisheries research and assessment of the marine resources are important for sustainability of the fishery. Moreover, income diversification in the poverty ridden artisanal fishery would go a long way in addressing resource-use conflicts and use of deleterious fishing methods in the sub-sector. Borrowing from the successes of the Japanese community-based fisheries resource management (CBFRM) which has easily resolved numerous fisheries management issues in coastal small-scale commercial fisheries, and the beach management unit (BMU) system which has been applied to the artisanal fisheries of south coast Kenya with enormous benefits, it is envisaged that a hybrid CBFRM-BMU system presents the best approach to sustainable resource-use in the Ungwana Bay fishery.     

The artisanal fishery of Cynoscion guatucupa in Argentina: Exploring the possible causes of the collapse in Bahía Blanca estuary

Cynoscion guatucupa Cuvier 1829 is a migratory pelagic fish species, which has a wide geographical distribution. It is the most important fishing resource for local communities in Bahía Blanca estuary and has been captured by artisanal fishermen since the 1900s. The industrial fleet has been fishing this species in the coastal area of Buenos Aires province since the 1950s, and, since 1970, landings have increased sharply. Between 2000 and 2004, the artisanal fishery in the estuarine waters of Bahía Blanca collapsed. Variations in total landings of the artisanal fleet might have arisen from the environmental variables within the estuary, fishing activity in the surrounding sea region, local pressure within the estuary and/or several other variables. Our results suggest that neither oceanographic parameters nor local pressure seem to have influenced the artisanal fishery of C. guatucupa in the estuarine region. Instead, this fishery seems to have been partially influenced by the increasing fishing pressure exerted by the industrial fishing fleet operating in open waters around the estuary. This study emphasizes the need to take into account fisheries data from both the estuarine environment and the surrounding sea region, particularly when designing management plans for the sustainable use of migrating fish resources.     

Allocation of effort in artisanal fisheries: The importance of migration and temporary fishing camps

In order to avoid conflicts when spatially explicit rules are implemented, it is critical to understand the spatial distribution of fishing effort, the migration patterns of fishermen and the use of temporary fishing camps. The migration of fishermen is a process shaped by historical patterns of resource availability, in addition to economic and political factors. We present an example in which a temporary fishing camp used for extraction of benthic resources (Loco: Concholepas concholepas) changed into a permanent one during the study period. Throughout the study period fishing effort (trips) was closely related to the productivity of the different fishing grounds, with more trips directed to the most productive areas. The conversion from a temporary to a permanent fishing camp did not improve the efficiency of the loco fishery, but did allow better access to alternative resources (surf clams) on nearby fishing grounds. The succession from simple shelters to a permanent ‘caleta’ is a common situation along the Chilean coast, motivated originally by resource availability and more recently by the creation of the TURF system. In particular the TURF system converts temporary (resource driven) movements of fishermen into rigid stationary caletas, which creates a number of problems. Temporary fishing camps are common when fishing grounds are far from the base port, but they require specific administrative tools in order to achieve sustainable fisheries management.     

台湾海峡及其邻近海域渔业资源的管理

应用Ｓｃｈａｅｆｅｒ和Ｆｏｘ剩余产量模式及其由此衍生的生物经济模式和Ｇｕｌｌａｎｄ最适产量Ｙ０．１模式,分别估算了台湾海峡及其邻近海域渔业资源的最大持续产量、最大持续捕捞力量,并对各模式计算的诸项经济指标进行比较,讨论了渔业管理方案,确定了近期适合国情,并对各模式计算的诸项经济指标进行比较,讨论了渔管理方案,确定了近期适合国情、省情的管理目标。     

Review of the causes of the rise of the illegal South African abalone fishery and consequent closure of the rights-based fishery

The rise of organised illegal fishing and trade in abalone from the late 1990s destabilised South Africa’s historically stable, quota-managed fishery, culminating in its closure in 2008. The development of the fishery is described in a historical context, including the evolution of South Africa’s science-based abalone fishery management system. The diverse suite of responses deployed to combat illegal fishing and the black market trade in abalone are reviewed, including;- fishery reform to expand rights to a greater number of previously disadvantaged fishers, a territorial user rights fishery (TURF) system, special compliance operations and courts, the CITES listing of abalone, and the serial reduction in the TAC, culminating in the controversial and legally contested closure of the fishery. The main causes of the rise of the illegal fishery are diagnosed as 1) the massive increase in the abalone price that occurred in the 1990s triggering an abalone fishing “gold-rush” and 2) the failure of the post-Apartheid fishery reform process to accommodate many traditional fishers in a legal fishing rights framework resulting in them operating outside the formal fishery management system. By contextualising the abalone fishery as a complex system, embedded in South Africa’s socio-political setting, we show how the resource focussed fishery management system did not have the capacity to incorporate the powerful social, political and economic drivers determining fisher behaviour. We conclude with the need to revisit South Africa’s abalone fishery management paradigm, and argue that a more integrated governance approach is required that takes into account the biological, socio-political and economic factors determining the fishery activities.     

Individual transferable quotas versus auctioned seasonal quotas: An experimental investigation

Fishery policies have largely developed in response to revealed problems with existing policy instruments. The last major innovation is the introduction of individual transferable quotas, ITQs. Experience thus far is promising. However, if history repeats itself, it is pertinent to start exploring further improvements. Among other things, concerns may be raised about the efficiency of ITQs, financial risks to owners of quotas and fishing vessels, and problems with fairness and collection of resource rent. These issues are studied with a laboratory experiment. Different from previous experiments it allows for trade of both quotas and vessels. In addition, the experiment tests an alternative institutional arrangement, namely auctioned seasonal quotas, ASQs. Neither of the two systems turns out to be as perfect as economic theory predicts. While the two systems are similar in some respects, the ASQ system allows for taxation of resource rent, and surprisingly, it may be the system with the lowest financial risk for fishing firms.     

Assessment of economic damages from the Prestige oil spill

The Prestige oil spill may be considered as one of the worst in last years, because of the amount spilled (59,000 tons at the moment) and the wide zone affected: almost all the coastline in Galicia (Spanish region with a very important coastal fishing activity) and some points in the North Spain and in the Southwest France. In this paper, we estimate the short-term economic damages from the Prestige oil spills in the Galician coastal fishing and aquaculture sectors by great areas. The zones that received more oil spills obtained the biggest economic losses.     

Unreported fishing, hungry people and political turmoil: the recipe for a food security crisis in Madagascar?

Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, is one of the world's poorest developing countries, and its people depend heavily on marine resources for subsistence and income. Exports of these resources and foreign fishing access agreements are also important, at least from a large-scale economic perspective. In recent years, concerns have been voiced amongst local fishers and industry groups regarding the growth of the country's fishing effort. Despite these concerns, existing knowledge of the scale, composition and trends of Malagasy fisheries remains poor, and there is negligible information regarding unreported catches and illegal fishing in Madagascar's waters. Small-scale fisheries, which are often substantial in developing countries such as Madagascar, are often unreported or underestimated. Unfortunately, fisheries legislations, management plans and foreign fishing access agreements are often influenced by these incomplete data, leading to serious over-estimations of resource availability. This also appears to be the situation in Madagascar, where the reconstruction of total catches by all Malagasy fisheries sectors conducted here showed that total catches between 1950 and 2008 were twice the volume reported by national fisheries agencies. Most importantly, much of the subsistence sector is missing from official statistics, and signs of decline have already been observed in several stocks, suggesting that current levels of catches are likely to be exceeding sustainable yields. This has profound implications for the economic and ecological sustainability of fisheries, as well as food security in a country where people rely heavily on the ocean for their daily protein needs and livelihoods.     

Investigating interest group representation on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council

A pervasive argument has emerged in debates over US ocean fishery policy that the policy-making process has generally been captured by commercial industry interests and consequently permits fishing quotas beyond sustainable harvesting levels. While it is clear that commercial interests are over-represented relative to recreational interests on the regional councils that set fishery policy, it is not clear whether commercial interests necessarily enact unsustainable policies. This paper examines the vote choices of representatives on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council by creating a spatial map of ideal point locations of voting members during the years 2006-2009 and then identifying voting coalitions. If a dominance by commercial interests leads to unsustainable policies, then it must be the case that members of this interest group vote as a cohesive and distinct bloc. In the end, however, it is shown that a geographic explanation for vote choices outperforms an interest group explanation.     

基于BiLSTM模型的远洋渔船类型识别研究

船舶自动识别系统(Automatic identification system,AIS)为渔业资源和渔船捕捞活动管理和研究提供了可能.明确船舶作业类型是开展AIS信息渔业研究应用前提,为渔业研究和管理提供渔船捕捞类型基础数据支撑,保障渔船作业安全和监督非法捕捞渔业活动,作者通过搜集整理3000多艘已知类型船舶信息,从...     

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.     

Size matters: Short term loss and long term gain in a size-selective fishery

The maximum sustainable yield concept (MSY) and the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) have been recently adopted by the European Commission with the objective to achieve, over the long term, the highest possible sustainable yield from a given exploited stock. In this context, a fishing mortality MSY reference level (i.e., F_MSY) should be defined, taking into account recruitment, growth and natural mortality under current or recent ecosystem conditions. Thus, F_MSY is used as a generic term for a robust estimate of a fishing mortality level that is associated with high sustainable yield in the long term, assuming the current harvesting regime in terms of size selectivity. In this study, using the Eastern Baltic cod as an example, we challenge this rather simplified view showing that by using a different harvest selectivity and thus changing the size range of harvested cod, it is possible to largely increase the yield and revenue from the fishery compared to the fishing mortality stipulated in the management plan (i.e., F_MSY), while assuring sustainable high yield in the long term. Thus, implementing the MSY concept in terms of fishing mortality but neglecting selective harvesting effects will not achieve high long term sustainable yield for Eastern Baltic cod. The combination of size selective harvesting and economic reasoning may offer an important tool for the management of marine resources by potentially providing a common currency for the different stakeholders and offer guidance to achieve long term sustainability and human well-being. This would represent the natural step forward in the implementation of EAFM and MSY concepts.     

Pelagic longline fisheries in southeastern/south Brazil. Who cares about the law?

The fishing industry has been facing problems related to catch yields, predatory competition and economic collapse. Management should be based on substantial scientific studies and the state's ability to implement these. In Brazil, the surface longline fishery has been in existence since the 1950s, and remains of great economic importance. This study analyzes 179 legal instruments (1934–2014), divided into restrictive, administrative and promotional, comparing with catches landed (1996–2011). The results show that there was a complete disrespect for the regulations, wherein fleets continued landing prohibited or size limited species, such as Kajikia albida, Makaira nigricans, Alopias superciliosus, A. vulpinus, Carcharhinus longimanus, Galeorhinus galeus and Xiphias gladius. Furthermore, divergent regulatory provisions have hindered understanding/implementation of regulations by all those involved. Being a country of continental proportions and with different longline fisheries along the coast, conducting scientific studies and the development of normative approaches becomes a huge challenge. In a dynamic activity such as fishing, the constant review of these regulations will allow fisheries management to become more accurate and in accordance with the aspirations of the different interests involved. Despite the surface longline fishery having operated for 60 years in Brazil, the existence of incongruous laws makes the management and control of this activity incompatible with the conservation of species. The lack of regulations governing this fishery creates a "gap", increasing the risk of extinction of species (target and bycatch) and the future collapse of this activity.