Are input controls required in individual transferable quota fisheries to address ecosystem based fisheries management objectives?

This study examined the use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) to effectively manage fishing impacts on all ecosystem components, as required under Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) principles. A consequence of changing from input controls to output-based (catch) management is that the control of the regulating authority tends to be reduced, which may affect the outcomes for ecosystem management. This study reviewed the use of input controls across six fishing methods in 18 ITQ fisheries, which have been independently accredited as ecologically sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (12 fisheries) or under Australian environmental legislation for Wildlife Trade Operation (six fisheries). Input controls were retained across a range of ITQ fisheries, with non-selective fisheries such as trawl, gillnet and line employing more input controls than selective fisheries such as purse-seine, pot/trap and dredge. Further case-studies confirmed the widespread and recent use of input controls (spatial and temporal closures) with the aim of managing ecosystem impacts of fishing. The retention of input controls, particularly closures affects the security (quality of title) characteristic of the fishing use right and the theoretical ability of fishers to manage their right for their future benefit. The security characteristic is weakened by closures through loss of access, which undermines industry trust and incentive for long-term decision making. By reducing the security of ITQs, individual fisher incentives and behaviour may separate from societal objectives for sustainability, which was one of the foremost reasons for introducing ITQ management.     

Fishing selectivity as an instrument to reach management objectives in an ecosystem approach to fisheries

With the development of the ecosystem approach to fisheries, improving fishing selectivity has increasingly been put forward as an objective for management. The aim of this paper is to clarify the limits of fishing selectivity and its use in fisheries management. Fishing selectivity would be better apprehended if restricted to the catching process only, not to the utilisation that is made of the catch once onboard, which falls under catch utilisation. Confusion would be further limited if fishing selectivity is restricted to the fishing operation scale, while exploitation pattern, i.e. the distribution of fishing mortality at the population or community level, applies to larger scales. Fishing selectively is minimizing bycatch – catching primarily the fishing trip targets. Since the ecological consequences of maximising the target catch relative to bycatch remain unknown at integrated scales, fishing selectivity cannot be used as an objective in itself. However, its small scale, high manageability and good understanding make it a convenient instrument to reach management objectives at large scales. Selectivity can serve to manage what is extracted from the ecosystem and thus what can be used, and/or to manage what is left in the ecosystem and how fishing impacts it. Different factors affect fishing selectivity, catch utilisation and exploitation patterns, some of them are manageable and thus can be used to move towards these objectives. Management tools are diverse, but need to be integrated to meet large-scale objectives. The complexity of dealing with large scales incurs a need to develop the available knowledge on exploitation patterns and catch utilisation to be able to adequately manage and monitor progress toward selectivity-related objectives.     

War,fish, and foreign fleets: The marine fisheries catches of Sierra Leone 1950–2015

In countries like Sierra Leone, where stock assessments based on fisheries-independent data and complex population models are financially and technically challenging, catch statistics may be used to infer fluctuations in fish stocks where more precise data are not available. However, FAO FishStat, the most widely-used time-series data on global fisheries ‘catches’ (actually ‘landings’), does not account for Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) catches and relies on statistics provided by the national agencies of each member country. As such, reported FishStat data is vulnerable to changes in monitoring capacity, governmental transitions, and budgetary constraints, and may substantially underestimate the measure of extracted marine resources. In this report, Sierra Leone's total catches by all marine fishing sectors were estimated for the period 1950–2015, using a catch reconstruction approach incorporating national data, expert knowledge, and both peer-reviewed and grey literature. Results demonstrate that a substantial amount of marine resource exploitation is not represented in official statistics, and reconstructed catches represent more than 2.25 times the recorded FAO Fishstat values. Notably, foreign fleets take the vast majority of industrial catch in Sierra Leone's EEZ, indicating that most of the resource catch and revenue is diverted to foreign companies and export markets. While foreign actors dominate the industrial sector, the small-scale sector represents the majority of domestic catch. Illegal fishing is also a substantial challenge in Sierra Leone, and extracts a large amount of the country's marine fish resources. Reconstructing catches in Sierra Leone also highlights the impacts of various historical events such as Sierra Leone's civil war and post-war reconstruction on the development of the fisheries sector. The results found in the reconstruction present a large discrepancy from FishStat data, with considerable implications for assessment of stocks and management of Sierra Leone's marine resources.     

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.     

Decomposing productivity and efficiency changes in the Alaska head and gut factory trawl fleet

Fishing fleets are subject to numerous factors that affect economic performance, making identification and attribution of such impacts difficult. This paper separately identifies the effects of changing input and output prices, fishery management, and quota allocations on total factor productivity using a Lowe Index. Indices account for technical change and decompose productivity estimates into its technical, environmental, and scale-mix components. This results in measures that reflect shifts in the production frontier, and movements by vessels toward and around the frontier, to capture economies of scale and mix after a policy shift to a catch share program that includes fishing cooperatives and a limited access fishery. The difference between cooperative and limited access vessels is exploited to compare the changes in economic performance between the groups after the introduction of the shift to catch shares and cooperative management, which allowed the vessels to improve the timing and coordination across multi-species fisheries and to decrease incidental catch of quota-limited bycatch species that had closed the target fisheries prematurely in the past. Results indicate that total factor productivity increased significantly after the move to a catch share program, largely due to increases in technical change that shifted out the production frontier of the fishery.     

Recontextualising inshore fisheries: The changing face of British inshore fisheries management

Inshore fisheries are coming under increasing pressure to account for wider environmental impacts and relations with other users of marine space. However approaches to inshore fisheries management across Britain’s devolved governments are becoming even more strikingly divergent. While in England the century old local Sea Fisheries Committees are to be replaced with modernised structures, and in Scotland there are efforts to move to a locally driven management system, in Wales there has been a retreat from local co-management. Not only do the reforms pose ongoing challenges for good governance, not least in the handling of cross-scale interactions and user group participation, but they may also fall short in providing for systematic and full integration of fisheries and marine environmental management.     

Incentive instruments for the sustainable use of marine resources

The Australian Government recently ratified the “Oceans Policy” which provides a policy framework to effectively manage the resources and uses of the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. The Oceans Policy is to be implemented through Regional Marine Plans that are based on the notion of large marine ecosystems and have the objective to integrate sectoral commercial interests and conservation objectives. This paper makes a theoretical contribution to the development of Regional Marine Plans which will demand the specification of detailed policies for regulating the various marine uses and impacts in the respective marine regions. The paper discusses a wide range of policy instruments and exemplifies their potential role for the management of marine resources and uses. The term incentive instrument includes financial and economic instruments as well as legal and regulatory instruments, education, co-management, voluntary approaches, community-based mechanisms and research. A set of criteria is established for the evaluation of individual incentive instruments. They are further placed in the context of a series of principles for policy design. The paper explores potential management instruments to: improve water quality of streams, estuaries and oceans, create sustainable fisheries, ensure sustainable marine tourism and recreation, manage conflict between user and interest groups, ensure environmentally sound marine transport and petroleum exploration and mining.     

Optimising fisheries management in relation to tuna catches in the western central Pacific Ocean: A review of research priorities and opportunities

Some of the most important development goals for the countries and territories of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) involve the sustainable management of their fisheries in light of environmental, economic and social uncertainties. The responses of fish populations to variability in the marine environment have implications for decision making processes associated with resource management. There is still considerable uncertainty in estimating the responses of tuna populations to short-to-medium-term variability and longer-term change in the oceanic environment. A workshop was organised to examine how advances in oceanography, fisheries science and fisheries economics could be applied to the tuna fisheries of the WCPO and in doing so identify research priorities to improve understanding relevant to progressing management. Research priorities identified included: (i) improved parameterisation of end to end ecosystem model components, processes and feedbacks through expanded biological observations and incorporation of higher resolution climate models; (ii) development of seasonal and inter-annual forecasting tools enabling management responses to short-term variability in tuna distributions and abundances; (iii) improved understanding of the population dynamics of and the energy transfer efficiencies between food web components; (iv) assessment of the optimal value of access rights and overall fishery value under multiple scenarios of tuna distribution and abundance and influences on decision making by fisheries managers and fleets and (v) development of management strategy evaluation frameworks for utilisation in the implementing and testing of fishery management procedures and to help prioritise research directions and investment. Issues discussed and research priorities identified during the workshop have synergies with other internationally managed fisheries and therefore are applicable to many other fisheries.     

Ecosystem-based fisheries management in small-scale tropical marine fisheries: Emerging models of governance arrangements in the Philippines

There has been a gradual evolution in fisheries management over the past decades from a focus on sustainability of a single species or stock and resources to a focus on marine ecosystems. Among the issues to be addressed for effective implementation of ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) are the appropriate governance arrangements and scale for management. The purpose of this paper is to examine these issues of governance and scale as related to EBFM in tropical developing countries through an analysis of approaches being taken in the Philippines to manage fisheries on a multi-jurisdictional level. The management of fisheries and coastal resources in a number of bays and gulfs, which represent marine ecosystems, is presented. The opportunities and constraints to ecosystem based fisheries management in the Philippines are discussed and lessons for broader application of these governance structures in tropical developing country marine ecosystems are presented.     

Ecological footprint and vulnerability of marine capture fisheries in China

China(herein referred as China’s mainland,and excluding Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan)ranks as the world’s leading fishing nation,with approximately 11.1 million tons of domestic marine catch acquired in 2017.Marine fisheries resources in China are mainly exploited by its 11 coastal provinces and municipalities,and the development of fishing industry varies among them.However,few studies have examined the exploitation history of the 11 coastal provinces and municipalities.In this paper,we systematically quantified the exploitation history of marine fishery resources in China and then measured the vulnerability of the 11 coastal provinces and municipalities of China to a reduction in marine catches.Our analysis suggested that Chinese marine fisheries experienced rapid growth from the mid-1980 s to the end of the 20 th century,and this rapid increase in marine catches were mainly promoted by increased fishing effort.The total primary production required level amounted to approximately 80%of the average primary productivity in 2017,and Zhejiang,Fujian,Shandong,Hainan and Guangdong provinces were the main fishing provinces in China.By assessing three dimensions of vulnerability(exposure,sensitivity and adaptive capacity)to the impacts of a reduction in marine catches in the 11 coastal provinces and municipalities,we found that Hainan,Guangxi,Zhejiang and Fujian provinces had high or very high vulnerability,while the municipalities of Shanghai and Tianjin had low vulnerability.Identifying suitable adaptation policies and management plans based on the differences in vulnerability among coastal provinces is important in sustainable fisheries management.     

Controlling incidental catch: An economic analysis of six management options

The authors identify a management approach to the problem of incidental catch and utilize that approach to evaluate six management options which are being considered to control incidental catch in the US fishery conservation zone of the Bering Sea. The evaluation is in terms of the ability of management to minimize the impact and control costs of incidental catch. The authors conclude that the use of economic disincentives tends to be preferable due to the inefficiencies and extensive information requirements of the alternative options.     

Why management decisions involving marine mammals should include animal welfare

This paper argues the need for consideration of both animal welfare and conservation when making management decisions regarding human activities that affect marine mammals. Population level effects may take a long time to be determined, whereas animal welfare metrics can be observed in the short term, enabling problems to be addressed more rapidly. In addition, implementing current legislation in many countries related to the management of impacts on marine mammals requires animal welfare to be taken into account. Such legislation reflects societal values and public concern for individual animals. Two case studies are discussed. These are: management measures related to incidental killing in commercial fisheries, and injury or disturbance from intense sources of underwater noise from seismic surveys. Both of these threats have welfare and conservation implications for marine mammals. An increased focus on welfare would better reflect societal values including requirements under various legal regimes and could also enable more targeted and effective conservation actions.     

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.     

Impacts of hegemony and shifts in dominance on marine capture fisheries

Catch data indicates that the world’s 25 largest marine capture fisheries have generally comprised some 40–50% of the total annual reported catch (1950–2012). From a game theory perspective, there is considerable diversity across these 25 fisheries, both in terms of the number of players and the management paradigms. Here, a dominance-oriented classification system is proposed, according to which fisheries are categorized into: (1) hegemonic systems with single-player dominance; (2) coupled systems with two-player dominance; (3) group systems with shared dominance; (4) systems with no dominant player. Among these categories, the fourth represents perhaps the greatest challenge to sustainable management, while also demonstrating the challenges of managing common pool marine ecosystem services in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). The survey and analysis highlights how hegemonic conditions tend to preclude the establishment of cooperative agreements irrespective of the number of players involved in the fishery. Shifts in dominance away from hegemony, as demonstrated most recently in the case of the highly migratory Pacific Saury, can open the door to greater cooperation. Movement of fish stocks and displacement of fishing activities, due for example to climate change, have the capacity to cause major shifts in dominance and, in some cases, destabilize existing cooperative mechanisms.     

Defining and estimating global marine fisheries bycatch

Unselective fishing catches non-target organisms as ‘bycatch’—an issue of critical ocean conservation and resource management concern. However, the situation is confused because perceptions of target and non-target catch vary widely, impeding efforts to estimate bycatch globally. To remedy this, the term needs to be redefined as a consistent definition that establishes what should be considered bycatch. A new definition is put forward as: ‘bycatch is catch that is either unused or unmanaged’. Applying this definition to global marine fisheries data conservatively indicates that bycatch represents 40.4 percent of global marine catches, exposing systemic gaps in fisheries policy and management.     

Responses of the fishing sector to transitional constraints: From reactive to proactive change,Yucatan fisheries in Mexico

Most fisheries management studies have concentrated on understanding resource dynamics and have paid less attention to understanding the dynamics of those who use the resources. This situation limits the knowledge about the fisheries system as a whole and specifically about the viability of management schemes. It is vital to understand how the actors within the fishing sector (fishing firm owners/managers, fishers, fisheries managers, and traders) may respond to changes in fishing resources trends, market dynamics, and fisheries policies before they are implemented. These issues are explored in this paper by applying a longitudinal analysis of the Yucatan Mexico's fishing industry. The analysis is presented within the framework of the theory of change and coping strategies. The study primarily involved interviews during 2008 with the main owners of companies in the fishing industry and with fisheries managers and other stakeholders. Time-series catch data on the main fishing resources are also reviewed to evaluate changes across three historical periods and describe how the actors have perceived and responded to those changes. Given conditions of uncertainty in resource availability, changes in market demand and changes in institutional arrangements, the viability of traditional business and resource management practices are discussed. The analysis presents different kind of triggers that have modified the conditions of the fishing sector and had had impacts on the socio-economic–ecological system in which fisheries are embedded. The need for adaptive strategies in the whole chain of the fisheries business and resource management is stressed, given the current changes and conditions of fisheries. The discussion states a series of actions that could improve the relationships between business practices and fisheries management.     

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.     

How have catch shares been allocated?

A unique database was created that describes the methods used to allocate shares in nearly every major catch share fishery in the world. Approximately 54% of the major catch share fisheries in the world allocated the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) solely on the basis of historical catch records, 3% used auctions, and 6% used equal sharing rules. The remaining 37% used a combination of methods, including vessel-based rules. These results confirm the widely-held belief that nearly all catch share programs have “grandfathered” private access to fishery resources: 91% of the fisheries in the database allocated some fraction of the TAC on the basis of historical catch. This publicly available database should be a useful reference tool for policymakers, academics, and others interested in catch shares management in Hawai'i and across the globe.     

Indonesia tuna fisheries development and future strategy

Tuna has made a significant contribution to Indonesian and world fisheries. Indonesian tuna fisheries were introduced from Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Longline fishing was introduced in 1962, and purse seine gear was first used in 1974. Many foreign vessels have reflagged to the Indonesian flag. The Indonesian government developed its own tuna fisheries and closed the chartering program in 2006. Through these efforts, Indonesia became the number one tuna production country in 2004 and has further targeted an increase in marine capture fisheries catch of 0.5%/year from 2010 to 2014. Tuna resources remain under pressure globally. The tuna regional fisheries management organizations attempt to manage tuna fisheries by strengthening conservation of stocks. To enhance international cooperation, Indonesia ratified the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1985 and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in 2005 and became a member of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna and a cooperating non-member of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in the 2000s. Consequently, Indonesia adopted domestic regulations to comply with management measures. For future sustainable development, Indonesia needs to build its capacity, improve its compliance with the tuna RFMOs’ conservation and management measures, strengthen data collection, develop its products to increase their quality and diversification, and enhance its international cooperation.     

Sustainability of deep-sea fisheries

As coastal fisheries around the world have collapsed, industrial fishing has spread seaward and deeper in pursuit of the last economically attractive concentrations of fishable biomass. For a seafood-hungry world depending on the oceans' ecosystem services, it is crucial to know whether deep-sea fisheries can be sustainable.The deep sea is by far the largest but least productive part of the oceans, although in very limited places fish biomass can be very high. Most deep-sea fishes have life histories giving them far less population resilience/productivity than shallow-water fishes, and could be fished sustainably only at very low catch rates if population resilience were the sole consideration. But like old-growth trees and great whales, their biomass makes them tempting targets while their low productivity creates strong economic incentive to liquidate their populations rather than exploiting them sustainably (Clark's Law). Many deep-sea fisheries use bottom trawls, which often have high impacts on nontarget fishes (e.g., sharks) and invertebrates (e.g., corals), and can often proceed only because they receive massive government subsidies. The combination of very low target population productivity, nonselective fishing gear, economics that favor population liquidation and a very weak regulatory regime makes deep-sea fisheries unsustainable with very few exceptions. Rather, deep-sea fisheries more closely resemble mining operations that serially eliminate fishable populations and move on.Instead of mining fish from the least-suitable places on Earth, an ecologically and economically preferable strategy would be rebuilding and sustainably fishing resilient populations in the most suitable places, namely shallower and more productive marine ecosystems that are closer to markets.