The transition from the Soviet system to a market economy as a cause of instability in the Estonian coastal fisheries sector

This study analyzes how overall changes in political and economic life during the last decade have affected the Estonian coastal fishery of the Baltic Sea. At the beginning of the nineties, the opportunity to export fish to the European market emerged. Opening of this new market resulted in rapidly increasing pressure on fish stocks. Some of the most important coastal fishery resources were over-fished because of high export market demand coupled with insufficient resource management and ineffective control and enforcement mechanisms. The costs associated with fishery have grown much more than the first-buyer prices. Additionally, dynamic development of the Estonian economy has resulted in substantial increases in earnings in other economic sectors and therefore the relative wealth of fishermen has steadily declined. This has resulted in increasing social problems. In conclusion, countries in transition may encounter serious difficulties in the fisheries sector, arising from privatization and economic reforms, which may affect the fisheries even years after the establishment of new ruling principles.     

Historical abundance of juvenile commercial fish in coastal habitats: Implications for fish habitat management in Canada

An important component of science-based fisheries policy is the provision of habitat adequate for population renewal. In Canada, the Fisheries Act pays little attention to managing fish habitat, and was further weakened by changes enacted in 2012. Specifically, determining the role of fish habitat in contributing to fisheries and fish stock recovery is challenging when many stocks have severely declined and no longer occupy former habitats. This study compared the abundance of juvenile fish in coastal vegetated habitats before and after collapse or decline of groundfish stocks in Atlantic Canada. This comparison was done by compiling past studies that surveyed juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and pollock (Pollachius virens) in vegetated habitats across three provinces. Two studies were repeated, and one that already had post-collapse data was analyzed to quantify long-term changes in juvenile abundance. In all three cases substantial reduction in juvenile abundance coincided with declines in adult stocks. However, juvenile fish still occur in coastal habitats and could aid in adult stock recovery. The current version of the Canadian Fisheries Act requires presence of an ongoing fishery to trigger habitat protection. This is problematic as low fish abundance may lead to lowered habitat protection and potentially habitat degradation, with less or lesser-quality habitat for fish in the future. Thus, recommendations are made to repeal the 2012 Fisheries Act changes and enhance current fish habitat legislation. Using a precautionary approach for coastal fish habitat management, particularly in valuing its potential for fish stock recovery, would strengthen Canadian fisheries management.     

Own-price elasticity of open access supply as a long-run measure of fish stock abundance

Extensive criticisms of the management of marine fisheries periodically arise for a variety of reasons. While the complexity of the US fisheries management process is partially to blame, these reasons manifest themselves in statements that include a perceived decline in living marine resource abundance levels, a proposed change in the regulatory infrastructure, or improvements in stock abundance that some feel should allow for new entrants. Following these criticisms are calls to end the federal management process or at the very least the replacement of the fishery management agency leadership. These demands driven by rent seeking behavior use short-term declines in abundance as justification when the long-run abundance measures would have indicated improvements in stock abundance and achievement of management objectives. Empirical, long-run, stock abundance indices are estimated using synthetic demand methodology, based on bioeconomic fishery theory, applied in a general and partial equilibrium theory framework to determine if maximum sustainable yield (MSY) management targets have been achieved and maintained for four fisheries considered to be successfully managed and one characterized as a socio-economic disaster. The abundance of a fish stock is more influence by extra-market and extra-fishery forces than by fisheries managers who base allocation decisions solely on single species stock assessments.     

Prioritising species for research,conservation and management: a case study of exploited fish species

Studies that categorise species according to their conservation status often fall short in their implementation by not having taken into account the impacts on, or the response from, those that either benefit from, or exploit, the resource under consideration. This is especially true in multispecies fisheries where personnel and funding limitations often create the dilemma over which species should be the first to receive management and research attention. This study uses a multicriteria decision analysis approach to prioritise 176 South African linefish species on the basis of a number of criteria indicating conservation and socio-economic, including fishery sector, importance. For each species, conservation criteria were: abundance trend, level of knowledge, vulnerability, range, and relative exploitation throughout that range. Sectoral criteria were: total catch, degree of targeting, the number of participants and the economic value of each species. The scores given to each species on the basis of each of these criteria were summed to allow an examination of each fish's importance from the points of view of (i) conservation, (ii) each fishery sector separately and combined, and (iii) the overall combined conservation and sectoral importance. Different weight sets were used in the weighted summation of the scores, and results were examined for sensitivity. The results were reasonably insensitive to these changes in weights. Relative scores within each of the fishery sectors were dominated by two or three species. Consequently, the scores separating the remaining species from each other were small. This meant that, in many cases, even when the rank of species changed by a number of places with a different weight set, the differences in score were slight. On the whole, the top fish included the most important species in each sector and biogeographical region and in terms of conservation. The separate and overall rankings should assist in the development of broadly acceptable management strategies for different fish species.     

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.     

The role of archaeological and cultural-historical records in long-range coastal fisheries resources management strategies and policies in the Pacific Islands

The usefulness of conventional fisheries science for long-term fisheries management and policies in the resource-poor islands of the Pacific is very limited. Fishery managers can, however, make use of such alternative sources of information as archaeological and historical data to develop fishery management initiatives. Most Pacific Islands were settled by humans over the last three millennia, although human settlement in Western Melanesia dates from the late Pleistocene, a period of about 40 millennia. Archaeological studies over the past half-century contain information on the long-term subsistence exploitation of fish and invertebrates from nearshore coral reefs and lagoons. Molluscs appear to have been a very important food source for early human colonists in the Pacific Islands, but declines in abundance through harvest pressure and environmental changes forced a greater reliance on fin-fish capture and on agriculture. There is no firm evidence from the archaeological record to suggest that long-term subsistence exploitation of reef fish populations has had any serious negative effects on abundance or structure of reef fish communities. Sources for more recent historical information are also exemplified and briefly examined for their usefulness in assessing the impacts of commercial fishing. It is argued that fishery managers who adopt a data-less approach to fishery management could profitably use these sources of information to enrich their assessment of the impacts of various management scenarios.     

Transboundary fisheries management in the Amazon: Assessing current policies for the management of the ornamental silver arawana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum)

The management and governance of shared stocks have long been identified as a challenge to achieve long-term sustainability in fisheries. This is the situation of fisheries in the Amazon basin, a region shared by nine countries. This paper provides an overview of the social-ecological outcomes and management implications of sharing fish stocks among countries with different public policies, taking the valuable Amazonian ornamental silver arawana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) trade as a case study. Specifically, it (i) presents and discusses the policies of Colombia, Peru and Brazil for the silver arawana fishery, and how these are conducive for the successful management of this shared transboundary fishery; and (ii) analyzes the market for the ornamental silver arawana and how it affects the ability to sustainably manage the fishery. The interplay between the multiple environmental, economic and social dimensions involved in the ornamental silver arawana fishery affects the sustainability of this species even in Brazil, where this fishing is forbidden but still illegally caught by Colombians and Peruvians. Among the factors that make fisheries policies inefficient in this region are: (i) incongruent policies between the countries and institutions with low organizational capacity to accomplish the established policies; (ii) environmental heterogeneity of Amazonian aquatic systems, which requires local and adaptive measures; and (iii) complex socio-economic relationships in the live-fish trade business. Legally binding efforts to reduce problems derived from shared fish stocks are an urgent need and should be addressed by the multilateral organizations created for the Amazonian sustainable development.     

Integrated coastal fisheries management

There are two principal threats to sustainable coastal fisheries. The concern which has been evident in most parts of the world for many years is the existence of open access to fisheries which has led to over-capitalization, over-fishing of the resource and, often, conflict. Increasingly in recent years, however, a second threat has become apparent. This is the loss of fish habitat and deterioration of water quality brought about by environmental changes generated in other sectors. Integrated coastal fisheries management addresses these issues through a strategy in which the removal of open access plays the key role, supported by elements such as creation of awareness, local participation in management, training and research, and improved sectoral coordination and planning. It is noted that, very often, the amelioration of the second of the two principal threats may be dependent on the fishery sector resolving the first.     

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.     

渔业资源评估在渔业管理中的作用

资源评估是应用各种统计和数学方法量化地于业种群形态对渔业管理选择的反应。资源评估不仅仅是预测静止的最佳捕捞努力量和持续产量，而是评估鱼类和渔民对管理决策和其它变化的动态反应。在动态的渔业系统中帮助管理者进行决策是一个困难的任务，资源评估生物学家要配合管理者和决策者提出适当的问题，和思考渔业对变化的动态反应。     

Interdecadal variability of anchoveta abundance and overcapacity of the fishery in Peru

Paleontological and historical stock abundance estimates indicate that pelagic fish populations inhabiting upwelling ecosystems undergo large interdecadal variations in abundance with amplitudes equal to, if not larger than, the interannual variability. The interdecadal variability is characterized by periods of high and low abundance, termed “pseudo-cycles”, because of their irregular periodicity. Fisheries targeting small pelagic fish suffer from overall overcapitalization, like many other fisheries, but also from an additional overcapitalization problem: a phase displacement between rapid fish population decreases and a slower disinvestment which follows. This lag produces economic hardship.Here we document the fish:fishery relationship for the Peruvian anchoveta. Anchoveta pseudo-cycles of 20 to >100 years are observed, with the present stock abundance most likely located near upper part of the cycle. Fleet overcapacity expressed as the proportion of unused present capacity is estimated at 72% and processing overcapacity at 89%. A simple bio-economic model demonstrates the risks associated with the pseudo-periodicity in fish stock abundance in conjunction with fishery investment, open access, and overcapacity: a timing bomb for the fishing sector. The lag between disinvestment and decrease in fish abundance is quantified. A reduction of the fishing and processing capacity and measures to decrease the investment lag are recommended to limit the social, economical and political tensions that will result from the expected decrease in stock abundance. Finally, some management options to reduce these risks are discussed.     

The role of the capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the Korean national economy: An input–output analysis

The aquaculture industry can meet food security needs and reduce the pressure on marine resources. The expansion of aquaculture allows the fisheries industry to restructure from hunting to farming, and thus drives the need for an analysis of the economic impacts of aquaculture industry in consideration of the interdependence between capture fisheries and aquaculture industry. This study attempts to analyze the economic impacts of two fishery sectors using input–output (I–O) analysis, with specific application to Korea. To this end, this study applies the I–O models to the Korean I–O tables generated by the Bank of Korea, paying particular attention to the two fishery sectors in Korea, considering them as exogenous, and then determining their impacts. Specifically, the production-inducing effects, employment-inducing effects, supply shortage effects, sectoral price effects, forward linkage effects, and backward linkage effects of the two fishery sectors are presented over the period 1995–2010. For example, the production-inducing effect of a KRW 1.0 change in fisheries investment is larger in the petroleum and chemical sectors than in other sectors. Moreover, the aquaculture sector has larger employment-inducing effects than the capture fisheries. Finally, the potential uses of the results of this analysis are presented from the perspective of policy instruments, and policy implications are discussed.     

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.     

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.     

Assessment and management of the trochus fishery at West Nggela, Solomon Islands: An interdisciplinary approach

A proper understanding of the management status of small-scale subsistence and artisanal fisheries requires not only detailed sociocultural study, but comprehensive analysis of the state of the fished population(s), using rigorous stock assessment and other fisheries biology tools. In this article I describe several approaches taken to assess the artisanal trochus fishery at West Nggela. This includes stock density and other data, that demonstrate many reefs are overfished. I discuss the social and economic factors influencing the performance of the fishery. The importance of an understanding of property tenure is dealt with in some detail. An analysis of the various categories of fishers’ ecological knowledge about trochus is also presented, and discussed with respect to the categories of biological and ecological information considered by most fisheries biologists as essential to the assessment and management of a fishery.     

The money side of livelihoods: Economics of an unregulated small-scale Indonesian sea cucumber fishery in the Timor Sea

Fishers from several ethnic groups on islands in eastern Indonesia seasonally fish for sea cucumbers at Scott Reef in Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Timor Sea. Despite evidence suggesting that sea cucumbers are severely over-exploited fishers continue to voyage to the reef. How the traditional fishery operates under this condition and more broadly what economic drivers cause fishers to make the long and arduous voyage is vital to understanding this small-scale fishery and developing appropriate strategies for management. This study is the first to investigate these dynamic livelihood aspects using semi-structured interviews and fishers’ voluntarily recorded data on their catches, costs of fishing and the sales of those catches and income received over a six year period. The study demonstrated that costs, borrowings, and revenues differed between crews, leading to widely varying profits. Nevertheless, every crew that recorded the sale of their catches made a profit. Rapidly appreciating prices for their sea cucumber harvest, predominantly comprising low value species, was critical to maintaining the fishery's profitability. The income earned by some crews and boat owners were far greater than those potentially available to them through other livelihood strategies such as agriculture, coastal fisheries or trade opportunities. This study also suggests the depletion of high value sea cucumber species is ongoing. This Indonesian sea cucumber fishery at Scott Reef illustrates the linkages between stock sustainability, fishers’ livelihood outcomes, and the burgeoning Asian demand for sea cucumbers and the findings can inform the current management discourse on this small-scale transboundary fishery.     

Estimation of fisheries removals and primary economic impact of the small-scale and industrial marine fisheries in Colombia

Colombia has coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but its marine fisheries are limited by the relatively small size of commercially important stocks. However, diverse fishery resources have traditionally been exploited by coastal communities, and industrial fisheries have grown in recent years with the intensification of tuna fishing in both oceans. The management of Colombia's fisheries has been hampered by frequent administrative changes, which has notably led to the disappearance of a part of the official landings data. We estimated total fisheries removals (reported plus discards and unreported catches) in the Colombian Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the period 1950–2006. We used secondary sources of information to estimate missing data, and we estimated subsistence fishing and the unreported by-catches of the shrimp and tuna fisheries. We used available information on seafood prices to estimate the relative economic impact (gross revenues) of the small-scale and industrial sectors for the period 2000–2006. Our results suggest that for the period 1950–2006, the Colombian marine fisheries catches may have been almost twice the landings reported by FAO on behalf of the country (2.8 times higher in the Atlantic; 1.3 times higher in the Pacific). Although the total gross revenues of industrial fisheries were higher than those of the small-scale sector, the latter commanded higher gross revenues in the Atlantic in 2006.     

Fish harvest tags: An alternative management approach for recreational fisheries in the US Gulf of Mexico

This paper explores the potential adaptation of harvest tags to the Gulf of Mexico recreational reef fish fishery. The discussion addresses conceptual, theoretical, and practical issues surrounding the application of harvest tags, as well as challenges and opportunities related to the design of tag programs. A review of hunting and fishing tag programs around the world and analysis of Gulf recreational fisheries suggests that tags have the potential to improve control over total catches, increase economic benefits and provide better information for fishery management. Results also provide insight into potential use of fish tags in large-scale recreational fisheries nationwide.     

Overview of West African fisheries under climate change: Impacts,vulnerabilities and adaptive responses of the artisanal and industrial sectors

Climate change affects ocean conditions, fish stocks and hence fisheries. In West Africa, climate change impacts on fisheries were projected to be mainly negative through multi-facet ways. However, analysis of adaptation responses of fishers to climate change impacts is scarce. This paper reviews the impacts on climate change on fisheries in West Africa and discusses the potential adaptation strategies adopted by both the artisanal and industrial fishing sectors. Overall, climate change and over-exploitation have altered species composition of fisheries catches in West Africa. The effect of ocean warming on fisheries is indicated by the increase in dominance of warmer water species in the landings, shown from an increase in Mean Temperature of Catch, in the region. Climate change induced changes in potential catch and species composition, which inherently have similar symptoms as over-exploitation, are expected to have repercussions on the economic and social performance of fisheries. Both artisanal and industrial sectors may adapt to these changes mainly through expansion of fishing ground that increases operation costs. Our results highlight that historical changes in target species are more common in industrial than artisanal fisheries. This result challenges the prevailing assumption that artisanal fisheries, given their limited movement capacity, would adapt to climate change by shifting target species and/or gear type.