Assessing the effects of moving to maximum economic yield effort level in the western rock lobster fishery of Western Australia

The western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) fishery has been facing significant economic pressure from increasing costs, lower prices as well as predicted reduced catches due to low recruitment. A maximum economic yield (MEY) assessment estimated the fishing effort that would maximise the net present value of profits over 2008/09–2013/14 was about 50%–70% reduction of 2007/08 effort. The assessment accounted for fixed vessel costs and the variable pot lift cost. An important component of this assessment was the use of puerulus settlement time series that provided a reliable predictor of recruitment to the fishery 3–4 years later. This can be contrasted to most MEY assessments that would use an average catch-effort relationship rather than taking into account the expected recruitment. This predictive ability has been particularly useful as there has been a period of unusually low puerulus settlements over the 5 years (2006/07–2010/11) including the lowest two settlements in the 40-year time series. Due to the low settlements, substantial management changes were implemented in 2008/09 and 2009/10 (44% and 73% reduction in nominal fishing effort, respectively compared to 2007/08) to maintain the breeding stock at sustainable levels by having a significant carryover of legal lobsters into future years of lower recruitment. These effort reductions provided a unique opportunity to assess the economic impact of a fishery moving to an MEY effort level over two years. The CPUE increased from 1.1 kg/pot lift in 2007/08 to 1.7 and 2.7 in 2008/09 and 2009/10, respectively. These CPUEs were much higher than the expected levels (1.2 and 1.1, respectively) if the 2007/08 effort had been maintained in these two years. The vessel numbers declined by 14% and 36% in 2008/09 and 2009/10, respectively, compared to 2007/08. The fishery profit increased by AUS$13 and 49 million for 2008/09 and 2009/10, respectively, compared to that estimated if the 2007/08 effort level had continued. This assessment demonstrates the economic benefits of fishing at a level close to that estimated for MEY under an input management regime. The management decision-rule framework is currently based on having the egg production above a threshold reference level to ensure sustainability and now a target reference point based on MEY principles is also being considered.     

Estimating MSY and MEY in multi-species and multi-fleet fisheries,consequences and limits: an application to the Bay of Biscay mixed fishery

Most worldwide fish stocks are overexploited, and so exploited beyond the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and the Maximum Economic Yield (MEY). Not exploiting fisheries resources at MSY or MEY leads to the loss of production and rents from the fisheries. A large part of the EU fisheries are managed based on single species stock assessments; however, in reality, most species are caught together with other species and by different fleets. In multi-species and multi-fleet fisheries, single species assessments, and consequently MSY and MEY reference points, are often not valid, and so the catch recommendations. In this paper it is investigated the MSY and MEY estimation in multi-species and multi-fleet fisheries in comparison to single species assessments. Analyses are applied to the Bay of Biscay demersal fishery using the IAM bio-economic model. The impact of exploiting at MSY and MEY on the optimal effort allocation between fleets with different exploitation patterns and economic structures is analyzed. When accounting for the multi-species nature of the fishery, MSY landings are 0.4% to 2.7% lower than the single species simulations estimates. When accounting for the multi-fleet nature of the fishery, MSY landings are 27.2% to 30.2% higher than the single-fleet estimates. When considering the multi-fleet characteristics, MEY landings are 6.6% higher and profits are 66.5% higher than in the single-fleet simulation. Optimal effort at MEY is lower than at MSY, but when accounting for multi-fleet the optimal effort decreases for some fleets while increases for gillnetters. The results also provide an estimation of the profits at MEY (or costs of not being at MEY). Profits can be then up to 10.7 times larger than the current profits (256 million Euros compared to the current 24 million Euros).     

Formalizing expert knowledge to compare alternative management plans: Sociological perspective to the future management of Baltic salmon stocks

Designing and implementing long-term management plans is difficult both because of the complexity of the fisheries system, and the behaviour of humans. We compared four alternative management plans for the Baltic salmon stocks through approaching experts who interpreted and expressed the views of different stakeholder groups on the options. The focus of the study was on stakeholders’ commitment to the alternative management plans. Committing enhances the probability of achieving the ultimate objective of a plan, while if stakeholders do not commit, the effects of the plan may be less predictable. Thus commitment is an important part of implementation uncertainty in fisheries management. We present how we coupled qualitative analysis with probabilistic Bayesian networks in analysing expert knowledge related to alternative long term management plans in terms of group commitment. Using a Bayesian net provides potential for creating a holistic picture of a fishery by combining the data describing fishers’ commitment with biological data regarding fish stock dynamics and with economic data analyzing economically sound fisheries management.     

From krill to convenience stores: Forecasting the economic and ecological effects of fisheries management on the US West Coast

There is a need to better understand the linkages between marine ecosystems and the human communities and economies that depend on these systems. Here those linkages are drawn for the California Current on the US West Coast, by combining a fishery ecosystem model (Atlantis) with an economic model (IO-PAC) that traces how changes in seafood landings impact the broader economy. The potential effects of broad fisheries management options are explored, including status quo management, switching effort from trawl to other gears, and spatial management scenarios. Relative to Status Quo, the other scenarios here involved short-term ex-vessel revenue losses, primarily to the bottom trawl fleet. Other fleets, particularly the fixed gear fleet that uses pots and demersal longlines, gained revenue in some scenarios, though spatial closures of Rockfish Conservation Areas reduced revenue to fixed gear fleets. Processor and wholesaler revenue tracked trends in the bottom trawl fleet, which accounted for 58% of total landings by value. Income impacts (employee compensation and earnings of business owners) on the broader economy mirrored the revenue trends. The long-term forecast (15 years) from the Atlantis ecosystem model predicted substantial stock rebuilding and increases in fleet catch. The 15 year projection of Status Quo suggested an additional ∼$27 million in revenue for the fisheries sectors, and an additional $23 million in income and 385 jobs in the broader economy, roughly a 25% increase. Linking the ecological and economic models here has allowed evaluation of fishery management policies using multiple criteria, and comparison of potential economic and conservation trade-offs that stem from management actions.     

Incorporating economics into fisheries management frameworks in Australia

A large gap has been identified between the current and optimal economic performance of wild-capture commercial fisheries in Australia. Economic approaches have the potential to assist fisheries to bridge this gap, such as bio-economic models that combine biology with fishing costs to evaluate the economic performance of a broad range of management measures. Economic objectives are prevalent in overarching Australian fisheries legislation, however economic data is often not collected and economic analyses or instruments not broadly applied. This paper reviews selected Australian fisheries to demonstrate the accrued economic benefits from applying formal bio-economic models and conducting empirical analyses of the impact of supply on product value. Challenges to the implementation and continued use of economic analyses and instruments are discussed including: (i) short-term transition costs and associated trade-offs between ecological, economic, social and political objectives; (ii) scarce logistical and financial capacity to collect and analyse economic data; (iii) a lack of desire among industry to change and transition to economic targets such as maximum economic yield (MEY), particularly when it is associated with lower catches; and (iv) a lack of economic literacy among fisheries managers and industry. It is contended that many of these challenges initially arise from an absence of clearly identified and prioritised objectives within overarching legislation and management plans. Once objectives are prioritised, limited resources can be allocated more efficiently to improve data collection, economic analysis and increase awareness as well as education of managers and industry.     

On the measurement of socioeconomic benefits of integrated coastal management (ICM): Application to Xiamen,China

We develop a systematic approach for the measurement of overall socioeconomic benefits associated with an integrated coastal management (ICM) program. The analytical framework includes multiple marine industry sectors (e.g., ocean shipping and commercial fisheries) as well as environmental sectors (e.g., coastal erosion). The net benefit measure captures both economic and environmental effects. We apply our analytical model to Xiamen, China, using empirical data from 1992 to 2001. Results of the case study show that the implementation of ICM program in Xiamen has led to a significant increase (over 40%) in annual socioeconomic benefit from its marine sectors. Thus, the Xiamen ICM program has been effective in achieving sustainable development.     

The discard ban policy,economic trends and opportunities for the Portuguese fisheries sector

In this paper the discard ban policy within the Portuguese fisheries sector is discussed and the opportunities and impact in the fisheries economy that arise from sales of unwanted fish under the new landing obligation are evaluated. The decadal mean price of fish (€/kg, adjusted for inflation) rose from the 1940s until the 1970s, dropping thereafter. The yearly averaged economic income estimated for discards sales between 1969 and 2009 ranged from 419345€ to 2164379€. Discard ban sales could contribute from 10% to 53% of the total landed value and 9–34% of the total catches (landings + discards). Under a discard ban policy, the fishing sector with the largest economic contribution for total discards sales would be multispecies (54%), followed by trawl (26%) and seine (20%). On average, fishing sales contributed with 0.63% to gross domestic production (GDP) between 1938 and 2009. Discard sales can increase 1.07–1.46 times more than the fish landing contribution to GDP. After 1983 the average landings/imports economic ratio was 0.28:1, which means that fish imports surpassed landings economic value 3.57 fold. The discard ban policy can create economic opportunities in the national context thus helping to revitalize some specific fisheries sectors.     

The Common Fisheries Policy: An enforcement problem

Marine populations in Europe are in decline due to the unsuccessful results of the Common Fisheries Policy. By combining data of scientific recommendations from ICES, TACs approved and reported landings with an age-structured model, the objectives of this paper are to investigate the level of compliance of the TAC regulation, and the level of enforcement and its economic impact on fishery resources. The results presented here suggest that while there does not exist a regular pattern between TAC proposal and TAC approved, there is a clear pattern between TAC approved and reported landings. As a consequence, there is a regular lack of enforcement at national fisheries authority level. The paper also presents results of the recovery plans for the Southern hake and the Atlantic cod fisheries as case studies to illustrate the level of enforcement based on collusion between national fisheries advisers and industry. The results from both cases studies analyzed here indicate that drastic solutions could generate positive results for the recovery of the stocks, but perhaps they are not always the best measure in fisheries management due to the high economic losses for fishermen and social effects on coastal communities in the short and medium term. Finally, this work demonstrates that if the recovery plans had been implemented, the net present profits for both fisheries would have increased over time.     

过度捕捞造成全球海洋渔业的产量损失评估

Many fish stocks in the world are depleted as a result of overexploitation, which reduces stock productivity and results in loss of potential yields. In this study we analyzed the catch trends and approximate thresholds of sustainable fishing for fished stocks to estimate the potential loss of catch and revenue of global fisheries as a result of overexploitation during the period of 1950–2010 in 14 FAO fishing areas. About 35% of stocks in the global marine ocean have or had suffered from overexploitation at present. The global catch losses amounted to 332.8 million tonnes over 1950–2010, resulting in a direct economic loss of US$298.9 billion(constant 2005 US$).Unsustainable fishing caused substantial potential losses worldwide, especially in the northern hemisphere.Estimated potential losses due to overfishing for different groups of resources showed that the low-value but abundant small-medium pelagics made the largest contribution to the global catch loss, with a weight of 265.0 million tonnes. The geographic expansion of overfishing not only showed serial depletion of world's fishery resources, but also reflected how recent trends towards sustainability can stabilize or reverse catch losses.Reduction of global fishing capacity and changes in fishery management systems are necessary if the long-term sustainability of marine fisheries in the world is to be achieved.     

Estimating the economic impacts of bycatch in U.S. commercial fisheries

Bycatch presents a challenge to optimizing yield in commercial fisheries, where bycatch can total more than 1 million mt per year in the United States. Yet the economic impacts of bycatch have rarely been evaluated in the scientific literature. These economic impacts largely occur from the loss of landings through (1) early closure of fisheries when catch limits of bycatch species are reached; and (2) discards of marketable catch due to regulatory requirements in the fishery. This paper illustrates the economic impacts of early closures due to bycatch in U.S. fisheries by describing past case studies, as well as evaluating the economic impacts of discarding fish in U.S. commercial fisheries. Premature closures in the fisheries reviewed resulted in potential losses ranging from $34.4 million to $453.0 million annually. Nationally, bycatch estimates in the form of regulatory discards are annually reducing the potential yield of fisheries by $427.0 million in ex-vessel revenues, and as much as $4.2 billion in seafood-related sales, $1.5 billion in income, and 64,000 jobs. Our review also shows that some of the most promising work to reduce bycatch over the last decade has been the development of gears or gear modifications, termed “conservation engineering.”     

Ghost fishing in European waters: Impacts and management responses

In this paper we review levels of net loss, what happens to the gear once it has been lost, and the resulting levels of ‘ghost catches’ made in passive net fisheries in the EU. We also consider ghost catches resulting from lost gear in other types of fisheries, and the extent to which the value of ghost catches has been quantified. We consider why fishing gear is lost, and profile common management responses. We present a cost benefit model to assess the relative cost effectiveness of different management measures, and suggest that gear retrieval programmes may provide less value for money than other management responses.     

Shark interactions in pelagic longline fisheries

Substantial ecological, economic and social problems result from shark interactions in pelagic longline fisheries. Improved understanding of industry attitudes and practices towards shark interactions assists with managing these problems. Information on fisher knowledge and new strategies for shark avoidance may benefit sharks and fishers. A study of 12 pelagic longline fisheries from eight countries shows that incentives to avoid sharks vary along a continuum, based on whether sharks represent an economic disadvantage or advantage. Shark avoidance practices are limited, including avoiding certain areas, moving when shark interaction rates are high, using fish instead of squid for bait and deeper setting. Some conventionally employed fishing gear and methods used to target non-shark species contribute to shark avoidance. Shark repellents hold promise; more research and development is needed. Development of specifically designed equipment to discard sharks could improve shark post release survival prospects, reduce gear loss and improve crew safety. With expanding exploitation of sharks for fins and meat, improved data collection, monitoring and precautionary shark management measures are needed to ensure that shark fishing mortality levels are sustainable.     

Multi-regional economic impacts of recreational fisheries: Analysis of Small Sea Ranch in Gyeong-Nam Province,Korea

The economic impacts of recreational fishing in Small Sea Ranch in Gyeong-Nam (GN) province, Korea, are calculated using a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to overcome the weakness of a single-region IO model that ignores the spread effects in other provinces. First, multiplier decomposition analysis is conducted to substantiate the existence of strong economic linkages between GN and other provinces by calculating intra-regional effects, net closed-loop effects, net open-loop effects and spillover coefficients. Subsequently, the economic impacts from spending by anglers’ visits to Small Sea Ranch are computed using a 161-sector MRIO model for each of the sixteen provinces in Korea. The results show that there exist strong relationships between the economy of GN and those of the other provinces, and that only around 68% of the economic impacts of anglers’ spending on the total output in Korea accrues in GN, with the remaining impacts (32%) being accounted for in non-GN provinces. This indicates the importance of using a multi-regional framework to estimate the economic impacts of recreational fisheries for a region whose economy relies heavily on the economies of other regions.     

Assessing the significance of the economic impact of Marine Conservation Zones in the Irish Sea upon the fisheries sector and regional economy in Northern Ireland

This paper highlights the tension between advocacy for ‘Blue growth’ in maritime policy and efforts to safeguard future economic growth via the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In 2015, policy-makers withdrew three of four proposed Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in the Irish Sea from consideration for designation, due to concerns that they could significantly impact on the fisheries sector in Northern Ireland because they overlap with prawn fishing grounds in the Irish Sea. Although research has quantified the potential impact upon fishing vessels, none has quantified the impact upon the fisheries sector nor assessed the significance of this impact. Arguably, MCZ designations (or lack thereof) based on the ‘significance’ of an impact require robust underpinning evidence. This paper reports the findings of an Economic Impact Assessment, which has quantified the impact of a decline in landings upon the Northern Ireland fisheries sector and regional economy (data which is currently absent from the evidence base for the MCZ designation process in England). It finds that this will incur job losses in three fishing ports in Northern Ireland, but is unlikely to have a significant impact upon Northern Ireland's fisheries sector and regional economy in terms of jobs and Gross Value Added (GVA). In the worst case, the resulting economic impact is a decrease of £1.05–1.12 m/year GVA in Northern Ireland, which is 1.1% of the contribution of fishing and fish processing to the regional economy. Economic significance assessments, using this methodology, may be useful in supporting the evidence base underpinning MCZ designation and other aspects of marine planning.     

Social,economic and environmental effects of closing commercial fisheries to enhance recreational fishing

Recreational fishing mortality can have a major impact on coastal fish populations, bringing recreational fishers into conflict with commercial fisheries. This article reviews exclusion zones for commercial fishing, or ‘recreational fishing areas’ as a solution to the conflict between commercial and recreational fisheries. Recently designated recreational fishing areas in the state of Queensland, Australia are examined as a case-study. The goal of recreational fishing areas is to enhance recreational fishing and provide economic opportunities through charter fishing. However, recently designated recreational fishing areas in Queensland have not been thoroughly assessed for their social, economic and environmental impacts and they are not integrated within existing management frameworks for fisheries. The designation of recreational fishing areas is thus a shift away from evidence-based management in Queensland's fisheries and has likely occurred solely for political reasons – there are more voters in the recreational fishery than commercial fishery. In Queensland, excluding commercial fishing on its own is unlikely to result in long-term benefits to recreational fisheries because recreational harvest is a major component of fish harvest for some key species and there is no legislated limit to recreational harvest. Current political attention on recreational fishing areas provides an opportunity for fisheries managers, politicians, conservation groups and the public to discuss what is needed to manage sustainable coastal fisheries. In particular, recreational fishing areas need to be combined with efforts to enhance stewardship among recreational fishers if they are to be successful in the long-term.     

Corporate-cooperative management of fisheries: A potential alternative governance structure for low value small fisheries?

While the economic and environmental benefits of fisheries management are well accepted, the costs of effective management in low value fisheries, including the research necessary to underpin such management, may be considerable relative to the total economic benefits they may generate. Co-management is often seen as a panacea in low value fisheries. Increasing fisher participation increases legitimacy of management decision in the absence of detailed scientific input. However, where only a small number of operators exist, the potential benefits of co-management are negated by the high transaction cost to the individual fishers engaging in the management process. From an economic perspective, sole ownership has been identified as the management structure which can best achieve biological and economic sustainability. Moving low value fisheries with a small number of participants to a corporate-cooperative management model may come close to achieving these sole ownership benefits, with lower transaction costs. In this paper we look at the applicability of different management models with industry involvement to low value fisheries with a small number of participants. We provide an illustration as to how a fishery could be transitioned to a corporate-cooperative management model that captures the key benefits of sole management at a low cost and is consistent with societal objectives.     

An economic comparison of the commercial and recreational linefisheries in Namibia

The most important Namibian linefish species, the silver kob Argyrosomus inodorus, is currently heavily exploited, and in order to ensure its survival catch restrictions are being introduced. However, kob are exploit ed oth by recreational anglers and by commercial vessels, and it is important to examine the economics of these fisheries in order to determine where catch restrictions will do the least harm to the economy. Data from a survey of commercial fishing vessels are compared with results from earlier surveys of recreational anglers to determine economic values and impacts from both fisheries. The economic benefits are shown to be greatest in recreational angling, less in commercial fishing by large vessels and least in commercial skiboat fishing. This sudy also shows that catch restrictions would do less harm to the economy if applied to the commercial linefishing sector rather than to recreational angling.     

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.     

Fisheries development in Vietnam: A case study in the exclusive economic zone

Pursuant to statement issued by the Government of Vietnam on 12 May 1977, on the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf of Vietnam, and according to the provisions of the LOS Convention, the EEZ of Vietnam extends principally up to 200 NM from the baseline, and the area of EEZ amounts to about one million square km including the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands [The declaration of the Government of Vietnam on the territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, Hanoi, 1977]. The establishment of EEZ has significantly changed circumstances for the fisheries sector in Vietnam.Recently, even though the adaptation of new techniques and technologies to the fisheries sector has been somewhat successful and resulted in the limitation of effective exploitation opportunities, sea fishing is still very important to the economy of Vietnam. In fact, fisheries development in Vietnam has the following important objectives, whether pursued in marine or fresh water: foreign exchange earnings; protein for local diets and feeds for live stock; provision of employment. However, a matter of concern is that the outdate fishing methods and uncontrolled fishing are damaging the marine environment and living resources. These problems have been recognized and courses of action have been formulated. A prerequisite condition for resolving this issue is to have a mechanism for synchronized policies which are guaranteed by appropriate macro management. The main purposes of this paper are a review of some aspects of fisheries sector development and management in Vietnam in the light of the new regime of the EEZ, represented in the LOS Convention. An important objective of the paper is the emphasis on the problem of policy-relevant research for fisheries sector management in the future.     

Beyond sustainability: is government obliged to increase economic benefit from fisheries in the face of industry resistance?

Substantial economic opportunities have been identified in many Australian fisheries but may remain unimplemented due to the perception that the role of government is to ensure harvests are biologically sustainable, while economic decisions should be left to the commercial industry. This paper explores the role of government in driving changes that increase revenue and profit from fisheries (termed economic benefit). Australian fisheries resources are managed by eight different jurisdictions. While each have separate legislation, there is invariably a responsibility to manage on behalf of, and to the benefit of the public, who are the owners of the resource. This paper uses case studies to explore how government can struggle to determine the public interest, separate this from private interests and then implement management changes to ensure the public utility is maximised. Common problems were: (i) overarching economic objectives, which define who should benefit, were often ambiguous and open to interpretation; (ii) the public interest was usually abstract and often under-represented in decision-making processes, (in contrast to industry, who have direct representation); (iii) special interest groups were often able to lobby against changes; and (iv) government was often reluctant to seize opportunities to increase economic benefit when there was significant industry opposition to management changes. In drawing attention to these challenges and how they have been overcome historically, it is argued that government has both a role and requirement under their legislative objectives to take the lead in implementing measures that increase the economic benefit from Australian fisheries.