Estimating the Irish public's willingness to pay for more sustainable salmon produced by integrated multi-trophic aquaculture

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) has been put forward as a potential sustainable alternative to single fin fish species aquaculture. In IMTA, several species are combined in the production process. Integrating species has a conceivable dual advantage; the environmental impact can be lowered through nutrient cycling and from an economic perspective there is potential for increased efficiency, product diversification and a higher willingness to pay for more environmentally friendly produced salmon. This paper presents the results from a choice experiment which examines whether the Irish public is willing to pay a premium for “sustainably produced” farmed salmon from an IMTA process. Uniquely, an ecolabel was used in the design, based on familiar energy rating labels, to communicate the environmental pressure of fish farming to respondents. The experiment demonstrates that the Irish public has a willingness to pay a price premium for sustainability in salmon farming and for locally produced salmon.     

Foregone harvests and neoliberal policies: Creating opportunities for rural,small-scale,community-based fisheries in southern Alaskan coastal villages

Neoliberal policies of effort limitation and privatization have reduced commercial salmon and other fishing opportunities available to the coastal, predominantly Alaska Native, villages of southern Alaska. However, there are a variety of circumstances, including the manner in which the current commercial fishery is prosecuted, that lead to surpluses of unharvested salmon, and potentially other species, available in certain areas. This paper will define the concept of “foregone harvests”, discuss the environmental and managerial conditions that lead to “foregone harvests” and describe the possibilities such conditions create for the development of small-scale, local and community-based fisheries. Case studies of possible Huna Tlingit (Hoonah) and Kaigani Haida (Hydaburg) salmon fisheries will be presented. Alternative arrangements of salmon fisheries and institutions in southeast Alaska are presented through case studies of the villages of Yakutat and Metlakatla. These examples demonstrate how such fisheries could be built on local and traditional knowledge, as well as currently used subsistence technologies resulting in new economic opportunities compatible with local cultural patterns and interests and buttressing local identities and commitments.     

Wild and farmed salmon in Norway—A review

The Salmon industry in Norway includes three sectors, namely sea and river fishing for wild salmon, and salmon farming, or aquaculture. The three sectors provide different social, economic and cultural benefits to society, but also face many problems and challenges. They have different interests, practices, traditions and audiences, and are also administered by different authorities and regulated under varying management regimes and legislations. On the one hand, they complement each other in terms of product supply, employment creation and income; on the other hand, they face conflicts over management objectives and strategies. This paper provides an overview of the salmon sectors associated with their status, challenges and management regimes. It further analyzes their interests and conflicts over economic contribution and management. Finally, some potential solutions are suggested in an attempt to solve these conflicts.     

海洋生物医药产业集聚“新”模式:一个理论模型及应用

海洋生物医药产业集聚是促进该产业发展的重要举措。文章梳理了海洋生物医药产业集聚发展相关文献,在分析海洋生物医药产业集聚因素构成的基础上,指出该产业集聚的特征,构建了海洋生物医药产业集聚理论模型,并以广东省海洋生物医药产业为例,分析了该产业集聚的“新”模式,在理论模型作用下,广东省海洋生物医药产业集聚遵循以丰富的海洋生物资源为基础、以各高校、科研院所为依托、以国家针对性政策和相关制度为推动力、以优越的地理位置为重要条件、紧紧抓住发展机遇。     

Oysters thrive in the right environment: The social sustainability of oyster farming in the Eyre Peninsula,South Australia

This paper reports on a study of the oyster industry in the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, where oyster farming has become a significant component of the economy since the late 1980s. Whilst the environmental and economic impacts of this industry have been studied, there is a lack of research on the social impacts of oyster farming on the communities and the individuals who reside therein. The study extends a Five Capitals Framework (environmental, produced, social, institutional and human assets) for assessing rural sustainability by applying it to address the social impacts of the oyster industry in the Eyre Peninsula’s five principal oyster farming communities. The study combines quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques, with triangulation of the data, to demonstrate that oyster farming has had a predominantly positive effect on the social fabric. More young people are staying in the communities because of the availability of oyster-related employment. This is generating more participation in local sporting teams alongside other benefits, including more government funding for infrastructure, better educational opportunities, increased community spirit, being ‘on the map’, global oyster sales and tourism, as well as economic growth. There are also more social network linkages, increased community pride, and strengthened social capital, though competition for employment from the state’s fast-growing mining sector may threaten the industry’s future. Success has been due to workers in the oyster industry as well as business owners and managers having long-term membership of the local community. The results have implications for future consideration of social factors as a key to success of this industry in small communities.     

Subsidies,public goods,and external benefits in fisheries

The fisheries subsidy discussion has largely overlooked the increased welfare for society from Pigouvian subsidies that increase the supply of and investment in public goods when there are external benefits and free riding. Important fisheries public goods and external benefits include knowledge associated with new technology for “target” species and “bycatch” reduction, research and development for new technology, and ecosystem services and biodiversity. Careful definition of subsidies also requires consideration of the counter-factual or what would have happened without the action to which the fishery “subsidy” is attributed. Subsidies in the Western and Central Pacific tuna fishery are evaluated according to these and other criteria.     

Discard management: A spatial multi-criteria approach

Discard management needs to draw on scientific research and advice, usually supported by specific statistical modeling analysis. A wide range of statistical analysis methods were applied to fishery data in an attempt to distinguish factors that influence the species discard composition. While such approaches are important, they are still incomplete for disaggregating the economic and spatial-temporal factors for analyzing of this process and obtain a whole view of this issue. Our study aims to fill this gap by identifying, describing, and quantifying factors that influence discards of trawl fisheries using a multivariate approach based on five complementary aspects: “economic”, “vessel characteristics”, “spatial”, “temporal” and “environmental”. In addition, a spatial multi-criteria approach were used to investigate discard hot-spot areas using ecological criteria such as vulnerability and resilience of the discarded species. Using these ecological criteria will concentrate conservation efforts on the most relevant sites minimizing discards of a variety of potentially vulnerable species. This approach was applied to a case study of a multi-species demersal bottom trawl fisheries in north Spain, Cantabrian Sea (ICES area VIIIc). Results showed how spatial and economic factors highly affect species discard composition, identifying specific spatial-temporal discard hot-spots to be preferentially avoided by fishers. Mitigation measures for future fisheries management strategies should be implemented at multiple stages of the discarding process, both in the selection of the fishing grounds and the economic valorization of the discarded species.     

Can cod farming affect cod fishing? A system evaluation of sustainability

The cod resources in the Barents Sea constitute the most important fisheries in Norway. In order to reduce resource allocation conflicts among different gear and vessel groups and to ensure profit for all participants throughout the value chain, the sector is thoroughly organized. The institutions established to ensure long-term sustainability, have been developed within the framework of a joint Norwegian–Russian fisheries management regime. However, due to a very high fishing mortality, the cod stock is now under severe pressure. In addition, a major part of the cod fisheries is highly seasonal and unable to be a stable supplier to neither the land-based industry nor demanding international markets. In parallel, cod farming is expected to become a new emerging industry, with potential to copy the success of farmed Atlantic salmon. Many actors within the cod fisheries fear the future competition from the growing cod farming sector. With reference to important attributes that characterize the cod fisheries and cod farming, this paper discusses how a future farming industry may affect the traditional cod fisheries. Moreover, we discuss how the fisheries may be forced to organize in the future to encounter the expected competition from cod farming.     

Social acceptability of marine aquaculture: The use of survey-based methods for eliciting public and stakeholder preferences

The social acceptability of aquaculture is linked to its perceived environmental impact, and this clearly poses a challenge to policy makers in deciding what weight to attach to such a concern within a governance framework for the industry. Using salmon farming in Scotland as a case study, we have developed a survey-based approach to evaluating public and stakeholder attitudes towards the environmental performance of aquaculture. The survey of the general public finds marked regional variations in attitudes towards salmon farming, while the results of the stakeholder survey raise issues over how far the preferences of particular interest groups are truly representative of the community as a whole.     

A top-down survival mechanism during early marine residency explains coho salmon year-class strength in southeast Alaska

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are a vital component in the southeast Alaska marine ecosystem and are an important regional fishery resource; consequently, understanding mechanisms affecting their year-class strength is necessary from both scientific and management perspectives. We examined correlations among juvenile coho salmon indices, associated biophysical variables, and adult coho salmon harvest data from southeast Alaska over the years 1997–2006. We found no relationship between summer indices of juvenile coho salmon growth, condition, or abundance with subsequent harvest of adult coho salmon in the region. However, using stepwise regression, we found that variation in adult coho salmon harvest was largely explained by indices of juvenile pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) abundance (67%) and zooplankton abundance (24%). To determine if high juvenile pink salmon abundance indicates favorable “bottom-up” lower trophic level environmental conditions for juvenile coho salmon, we plotted abundance of juvenile pink salmon against growth and condition of juvenile coho salmon. No change in growth or condition of juvenile coho salmon was observed in relation to the abundance index for juvenile pink salmon. Therefore, we hypothesize that coho salmon year-class strength in southeast Alaska is influenced by a “top-down” predator control mechanism that results from more abundant juvenile pink salmon, which serve as a predator buffer during early marine residency.     

“冰上丝绸之路”航线开发利用系统建设研究

北冰洋冰层融化导致的航线变化将对我国航运及国际海运贸易产生重大影响。我国积极回应俄罗斯“冰上丝绸之路”共建邀约,旨在将北极开发合作与“一带一路”倡议连接,其建设重点是对“冰上丝绸之路”海上运输通道的开发利用。为推进我国对冰上丝绸之路航线的开发利用进程,构建了“冰上丝绸之路”航线开发利用系统,包括以航运为中心的应用子系统、以战略管理为中心的开发子系统、以专家为中心的咨询子系统和以协调为中心的发展子系统。在构建各子系统框架的基础上,提出了“冰上丝绸之路”航线开发利用系统的结构、功能以及关键技术。     

我国经营性海洋牧场产业链延伸研究

我国经营性海洋牧场产业目前主要以育苗、养殖、捕捞、生产、加工的产业链形式存在,文章在分析经营性海洋牧场发展制约因素的基础上,对于海产品产业链的延伸进行研究并提出建议:在苗种培育产业的基础上延伸出"参与式观光业",在开展养殖业的同时兼并实施新产业"DIY养殖业",产品收获后进行"精深加工业"的同时开展"观光旅游业",销售行业采取线上线下与企业之间结合的"O2O+B2B"模式,面向客户方面鼓励新机构即"反馈机构"的建立与推广,拓展休闲渔业产业,发展新型休闲渔业。通过产业链延伸,旨在开拓海产品的市场空间,以期获取更多的经济效益,提升海洋牧场综合效益。     

Salmon aquaculture and coastal ecosystem health in Chile: Analysis of regulations,environmental impacts and bioremediation systems

In 2007 salmon, mollusk and seaweed aquaculture production in Chile totaled 904 thousand tonnes, making the nation the leading marine aquaculture producer in the western world. Salmonids grown in open cage net pens account for over 73% of the production. This review summarizes the current status of Chilean aquaculture and proposes the establishment of new regulations and monitoring programmes that encourage and accommodate emerging bioremediation technologies. In contrast to a rapidly expanding, well-financed and technologically advanced industry, the regulatory structure in Chile is outdated and based on insufficient science. The number of publications on the environmental impacts of salmon aquaculture in Chile is low relative to its production level. Nevertheless, the impacts of organic and inorganic waste on benthic communities, pelagic organisms and bird populations are documented. The technology to reduce these impacts using integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) strategies exists, but has not been implemented at commercial scales. We call on the government and industry to support the creation of a well-financed and politically independent agency responsible for developing and enforcing science-based environmental regulations in Chile. The agency's immediate goal should be to fund research required to develop a transparent, ecosystem-based regulatory framework that promotes IMTA. Monitoring programs and licensing procedures must consider the impacts of individual sites and the cumulative impacts from multiple sites across a wide range of spatial scales. Before such changes are realized, environmental threats and human health risks will remain unacceptably high and salmon farming in Chile will not meet any reasonable definition of sustainability.     

Escaping the corporate net: Pragmatics of small boat direct marketing in the U.S. Salmon fishing industry of the Northeastern pacific

This article considers corporate power in the fishing industry of southeast Alaska and Puget Sound, Washington State, USA, as experienced by direct marketing salmon gillnet fishermen. Tracing the evolution of a small family-based fish business, this paper examines survival strategies of independent fishermen in a context of concentrated corporate power. Topics addressed include corporate domination of the fishing industry, “niche” alternatives to the commodity system, alliance with the farmers’ market movement, obstacles to direct sales and the critical role of family participation.     

The role of moral economy in two British Columbia fisheries: Confronting neoliberal policies

What have been the moral values and practices allowing equitable economic opportunities and a sense of fairness in North American small-scale fisheries? How have these “moral economies” been affected by neoliberal policies with their emphasis on efficiency, rational self-interest, and wealth accumulation? Focusing especially on the salmon and halibut fisheries in British Columbia, Canada, this discussion summarizes key findings on the manner in which small-scale fisheries and their moral practices tend to be marginalized and undervalued under neoliberal regimes. The paper considers the value of these moral economies for promoting social, economic, and ecological welfare as grounds for the expansion of small-scale fisheries.     

The equity debate: distributional impacts of individual transferable quotas

The twin goals of economic efficiency and social equity often seem at odds, particularly in the debate over two marine policy approaches: firm-level regulation of inputs and outputs (“command and control”) and individual transferable quotas. This paper examines the debate over social equity in a US fishery that transitioned from command and control to individual transferable quotas—the mid-Atlantic clam fishery. The analysis draws on 17 years of data on fishing trips, vessel ownership, tradable property rights ownership, and output market shares. The results show that no segment of the industry was disproportionately adversely affected by the regulatory change; however, they also demonstrate the emergence of a new sector in the industry, which is predominantly made up of former small-scale harvesters.     

Improving livelihoods in fishing communities of West Sumatra: More than just boats and machines

Despite a raft of livelihood programs designed to help Indonesian small-scale fishers there are concerns that the needs of the poor are still not being addressed. This study examines this concern through a two-pronged approach. Firstly, through a broad-scale series of interviews with fishers, community leaders and government employees in 25 fishing villages in the province of West Sumatra to identify which sectors of the fishing industry the poor operate in and the types of livelihood initiatives targeted at helping them. Secondly, by using three case studies of livelihood development projects and identifying the social, economic and institutional lessons learned that point both to best and worst practice. Three groups of poor fishers were identified; a large group of non-boat owning “labourers”, a group of “small-scale boat owners” and a small group of “processors and sellers”. Empowerment programs by the Department for Fisheries between 2005 and 2009 emphasised improving physical capital through providing fishing gear, motorisation and processing equipment. These initiatives could potentially help small-boat owners but would not benefit non-boat owning labourers. The new livelihood improvement programme GPEMP had non-fishing alternative livelihoods that could help labourers, but still demonstrated an ongoing bias towards physical capital interventions. The three case studies demonstrated that aspects of leadership, trust, advocacy, administration, accountability and ongoing institutional support are key elements of empowering coastal communities towards livelihood improvement. Human and social capital components need prioritisation in future poverty alleviation policy and programs in Indonesia, particularly for the large marginalised group of labourers.     

海洋经济高质量发展能力评价与提升路径研究

海洋是高质量发展战略要地,推动海洋经济高质量发展是建设海洋强国的必然选择。文章从海洋经济高质量发展的内涵出发,以新发展理念为基础,运用熵权-TOPSIS模型评价沿海地区海洋经济发展质量的综合能力并分析其区域差异。实证结果显示：(1)五大准则层指标按权重从高到低排序依次为：海洋科技创新、对外开放、海洋经济结构、社会民生、海洋生态环境;(2)沿海地区的海洋经济高质量发展水平在考察期间为波动上升趋势,各省(自治区、直辖市)间海洋经济发展质量差距在逐渐变小;(3)影响海洋经济发展质量各子系统中,北部海洋经济圈在5个子系统评分中均处于较低水平。为此,提出促进海洋经济高质量发展的提升路径：海洋科技创新与海洋产业结构升级协同发展、完善海洋生态环境保护政策、打造对外开放新格局等。     

蓝碳产业的概念研究与发展建议

海洋经济已成为我国经济增长的重要引擎,在“双碳”重大战略布局背景下,推动海洋经济低碳发展的重要性愈发凸显。文章立足蓝碳的广义研究领域,在海洋碳汇与产业融合方向创新提出蓝碳产业的概念。蓝碳产业旨在开发以碳汇巩固提升、低碳化发展为导向的产业模式,推动蓝碳与海洋经济、生态修复、清洁能源等领域融合发展、协同增效。此外,对蓝碳产业门类进行界定,并从4个方向提出蓝碳产业的发展路径,助力我国打造海洋产业高质量发展的新亮点。