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.     

Who benefits from fisheries co-management? A case study in Lake Chiuta,Malawi

The fisheries management policy shift towards resource user participation in Malawi in the early 1990s resulted in mixed benefits among small-scale fishers, with many applauding the changes. This paper considers the impacts of these policy changes on government and within the fishing communities around Lake Chiuta whose fisheries co-management experience is considered successful. Benefits to the communities range from gaining government support in excluding non-local fishers using destructive fishing gear to increased household incomes and improved livelihoods, while benefits to government range from taking credit for establishing a sustainable fishery and co-management arrangements to reduced resource management costs. Community costs include financial resources and time spent by resource user representative organisations in enforcing fishing regulations. These findings enable a more balanced assessment of neoliberal claims about the benefits of delegating management responsibilities and downloading costs of management onto fishing communities and organisations.     

Suggestions for fixing top-down coastal fisheries management through participatory approaches

Marine protected areas created in a top-down way can be costly and ineffective due to low compliance of resource users. Conversely, employing users’ local knowledge and involving them in decision-making processes could decrease costs and conflicts, in addition to increasing the chances of management success. Here the potential to change conflicting MPAs into conservation areas that take into account fishers’ use and knowledge is assessed based on a case study on the Brazilian coast (Paraty town). Fishers (n=206) from 11 villages were interviewed regarding their main fishing targets and gear, and then only the experienced ones (n=41) were interviewed from three main fishing villages about the most important commercial species. Fish landings were sampled for one year in these three villages (n=823), where participatory mapping and group interviews with fishers were also conducted to determine their opinions regarding management and how they thought it should be undertaken. Management measures should not be equivalent across the whole region, as there were clear differences in the target species and gear used. Fishers identified 55 important fishing spots, eight of which were important for more than five villages, while the experts identified 10 important fishing areas for the target species, which was supported by the sampling of fish landings. The fishers were not opposed to management and no-take reserves but would make some changes in the current design of these measures if it were up to them. Based on these data, a few changes were indicated in the design of these areas that would likely reduce the conflict between fishers and enforcement agencies. This kind of approach could be used as a framework for adapting conflictive MPAs or to support the establishment of new ones where fisheries are relevant.     

Taiwan's response to international fisheries management after 2005 as influenced by ICCAT and fishers' perception

It is widely recognized that fishing states are obliged to exercise flag state responsibility over their vessels. In an attempt to become a responsible fishing actor, Taiwan has endeavored to manage its distant water fishing fleet in accordance with international fisheries management. However, the long-standing problems of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fish laundering, and fishing overcapacity, which remained unsolved during the 1990s and early 2000s, brought its management capability into doubt. Failure to address these problems undermined the credibility of all management measures and ultimately resulted in a recommendation adopted by International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in 2005. This recommendation significantly affected Taiwan's distant water fishing policy. This paper examines how Taiwan assimilated this outside force into its fishing policy as a new response to international fisheries management and how fishers perceived this response. It shows that Taiwan's efforts in controlling distant water fisheries marked a big change, specifically manifest in three noticeable actions - reducing excessive bigeye-targeted efforts, deterring IUU fishing, and strengthening fisheries management. The study advises that management of small tuna vessels be effectively exercised and recommends future actions on providing subsidies for fishers to partially offset costs incurred by rule compliance, streamlining their administrative work, enhancing communication with them, putting more enforcement and meaningful penalties in place. Finally, the study indicates the existence of an interaction in the international fisheries management scheme, potentially favoring Taiwan to bargain for fishing rights and a favorable status in the participation of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the future if it continues to exercise effective control of distant water fisheries.     

The challenges of the landing obligation in EU fisheries

A feasibility study was conducted on the impacts of the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules requiring catches in regulated fisheries to be landed and counted against quotas of each Member State - the landing obligation (LO), and that catch of species subject to the LO below a minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) be restricted to purposes other than direct human consumption. The aim was to estimate the level of discarded fish likely to be covered by the new rules, the impact of the rules on EU fisheries and the regulatory challenges and responses to them. Data from EU's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) database were analysed to estimate the volume of unwanted catches produced by EU fisheries. Views were sought from policy officials and fisheries scientists through a questionnaire on the implications of the LO and the control of fisheries across Member States, and the potential adjustments that might be needed. Findings show that 11% (44,000 t) of the total catches of EU countries from which data were available are of fish under MCRS. The species with the highest volume of undersized discards associated with the lowest quota, which would potentially restrict the fishing opportunities for other quota species (i.e. choke species), are plaice and haddock with 18,000 and 14,000 t of undersized fish respectively, followed by whiting and cod with 5000 and 6000 t of undersized fish respectively. Discards data shows that the Netherlands, United Kingdom, France and Belgium will be most affected by landings for non-human markets. Findings also show that existing infrastructure at landing ports in all Member States is limited because there are currently limited facilities in place to handle animal by-products produced by the catching sector. Policy officials maintained that while they could support the fishing industry through funding programmes, it is the responsibility of fishers to ensure they have the right infrastructure to handle unwanted catches. The expectation is that the LO combined with the restriction to non-human consumption purposes will encourage fishers to internalise the costs of catching unwanted fish and motivate them to avoid unwanted catch. This will be realised if sufficient flexibility is given to fishers to find their own solutions to reducing unwanted catches. It is concluded that gear technology measures exist to enable the regulated fisheries to increase gear selectivity.     

Flexible management of fishing rights and a sustainable fisheries industry in Europe

Although overexploitation of commercial fish stocks in European waters has been in the public debate now for more than 20 years, the European Union has so far failed to implement sustainable fisheries management. Millions in subsidies paid to the fishing industry have led to significant excess capacity in the fishing fleet. Various feeble attempts to stop overexploitation of marine resources have failed. The cause is that fishing policy is highly dominated by short-term socioeconomic interests. There is an urgent need for a new fisheries management system in Europe that supports reductions in the fishing fleet, increases responsibility among fishers and guarantees long-term conservation of natural marine resources.Transferable rights to fish have proved a reliable and effective means of creating incentives to conserve marine resources. By strengthening individual fishing rights under flexible quota management systems, the EU Member States could, within the Common Fisheries Policy, make a significant contribution to conserving fish stocks, to reducing excess capacity and to raising the profitability of the fisheries industry. A closer look at existing reservations against a flexible management system shows most of the objections to be overstated or capable of resolution.     

Conservation and the right to fish: International conservation NGOs and the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF-Guidelines) were agreed with extensive input from small-scale fishers themselves, and hold great promise for enhancing both small-scale fishers’ human rights and fisheries sustainability in a meaningful and context relevant manner. However, this promise will not be fulfilled without continued input from fishing communities as the SSF-Guidelines are implemented. This paper proposes that international conservation NGOs, with their extensive geographical and political networks, can act as a conduit for communication between small-scale fishing communities and other parties and thus catalyse implementation of the Guidelines. In order to do so, they will first need to demonstrate a genuine commitment to people-as-well-as-parks and the human rights based approach espoused in the SSF-Guidelines. This paper reviews current engagement of international conservation NGOs with human rights in fisheries; looks at their potential motivations for doing more; and identifies challenges in the way. It concludes with a proposal for how international conservation NGOs could play a critical part in catalysing the implementation of the SSF-Guidelines.     

Fishers’ knowledge indicates short-term temporal changes in the amount and composition of catches in the southwestern Atlantic

The scarcity of data on fish catches difficult management of small-scale fisheries in developing countries. This study applies fishers’ knowledge to investigate temporal changes in the amount (biomass) and composition (major ecological categories) of fishing resources exploited by small-scale coastal fisheries in the southeastern Brazilian coast. Four hypotheses were investigated: (1) The amount of fish caught reported by fishers would decrease over time. (2) Older fishers would report higher fish catches than younger fishers. (3) Recent interviews would mention large-sized predators less often. (4) Recent interviews would mention less high valued fishing resources. Interviews with 421 fishers in 36 communities in the southeastern Brazilian coast were analyzed, covering a time span of 14 years, from 1995 to 2009. The hypothesis 1 was confirmed, 3 was partially confirmed, while 2 and 4 were not confirmed. Fishers’ age was unrelated to all variables. The results from fishers’ interviews indicated the temporal trends of: (1) a decrease in the biomass of fish caught; (2) an increase in the occurrence of smaller fish and invertebrates in the catch; (3) an increase of high value fishing resources; and (4) maintenance of large predators. The first two indicators suggest excessive fishing, but the later indicators (3 and 4) suggest that the socioecological system of the southeastern Brazilian coast had not yet undergone major ecological shifts.     

Patterns of species composition of beach seine fisheries off North-Western coast of Sri Lanka,fishers’ perceptions and implications for co-management

As in many developing countries, small-scale fisheries including beach seining contribute significantly livelihoods and food security of coastal communities. Beach seining in Sri Lanka is seasonal mainly during calm season deprived of strong monsoonal winds, and essentially a multi-species fishery. Knowledge about the seasonal occurrence of pelagic species is important to be known for proper planning of the fishing activity, especially due to the reason that beach seine fishers in many parts of Sri Lanka make decisions to attach the cod-end of correct type depending on the target species. The possibility of identifying pattern of seasonal occurrence of target fish species in beach seine fishing sites off the southern region of north-western coast of Sri Lanka was therefore investigated using Self Organizing Maps (SOM). The analysis indicated that beach seine fishers’ local knowledge to predict the occurrence of certain species in the fishing sites to adjust their fishing strategies to target desirable species was consistent with the findings of SOM approach. Consequently, it was concluded that as beach seine fishers use indirect indicators such as colour of sea water and behaviour sea birds predict the species occurrence fairly accurately, their local knowledge can be incorporated in the management planning of beach seine fisheries in the North Western coastal area of Sri Lanka.     

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.     

Lessons for fisheries management from the EU cod recovery plan

The performance of the EU long-term management plan for cod stocks, in force since 2009, is analysed focusing on the human and institutional factors. The plan operates through landings quotas (TACs) and effort restrictions following a Harvest Control Rule, and deploys a novel instrument allowing Member States to ‘buy back’ or increase fishing effort for fleet segments engaged in cod-avoidance measures. The stipulated fishing mortality reductions have not been achieved. On the positive side, the ‘buy-back’ instrument has led to increased uptake of selective gear and implementation of permanent and real-time temporary closures. On the negative side, ignoring the dimension of fishers as reactive agents in the design, the impact assessment, and the annual implementation of the measures has contributed to the failure to adequately implement the plan and achieve its objectives. The main problem is that the landings quotas taken in a mixed fishery did not limit catches because fishers were incentivised to continue fishing and discard overquota catch while quota for other species was available. The effort limitations intended to reduce this effect were insufficient to adequately limit fishing mortality in targeted fisheries, although fishers experienced them as prohibiting the full uptake of other quotas. Recommendations for future plans include (i) management through catch rather than landings quotas, (ii) the internalisation of the costs of exceeding quotas, (iii) use of more selective gear types, (iv) the development of appropriate metrics as a basis for regulatory measures and for evaluations, (v) participatory governance, (vi) fishery-based management, (vii) flexibility in fishing strategy at vessel level.     

Effectiveness of conventional management in Mediterranean type artisanal fisheries

Artisanal fisheries throughout the Mediterranean region are managed mostly by applying gear specific regulations. The data about the extent and dynamics by which littoral fish resources respond to commonly proposed changes of such regulations are lacking. Here the results of a 15 year (1995–2009) monitoring programme of littoral fish resources in a pilot region of island Vis aquatorium, central Adriatic Sea, are reported with the scope of investigating whether a more restrictive fishing regime (encompassing an increase in minimum inner layer mesh size of trammel net from 28 to 40 mm and excluding the trammel net from subsistence artisanal fishing) that has progressively been put in place during the study period has been accompanied by expected positive changes of littoral fish resources’ abundance, biomass and structure. Significant increases over time were observed in most of the community indices analyzed (abundance and biomass catch per unit effort, diversity indices) as well as a directional change in abundance and biomass catch composition of littoral fish resources. Positive responses were, however, primarily related with a recovery of Mullus surmuletus stock. Additionally, time-series analysis of ABC curves and their corresponding W index revealed that fish community in the study area was still moderately disturbed. Limited extent of conventional management restorative potential is further exacerbated by social issues – noncompliant behavior mainly among subsistence artisanal fishers and consequent resentment of commercial artisanal fishers. In order to improve further the state of the resources a more comprehensive set of management measures incorporating closed areas and a new approach actively involving fishers in the management process should be adopted.     

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.     

Is catch-and-release recreational angling compatible with no-take marine protected areas?

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have become a common conservation and management tool for reducing exploitation from the commercial and recreational fisheries sectors. However, the recreational fisheries sector has the potential to be compatible with no-take MPAs when catch-and-release angling is practiced because, in theory, no fish are actually harvested. This presumes that the effects of catch-and-release angling and related activities do not cause appreciable declines in fish populations as a result of direct mortality, sub-lethal effects, or indirect effects on fish habitats, or other problems contrary to the goal of a given MPA. Here, we explore the idea that recreational catch-and-release angling may be compatible with some no-take MPAs provided there are no substantive negative ecological consequences. We argue that it is not currently possible to answer definitively the question of whether recreational catch-and-release fisheries can be compatible with no-take MPAs. Mortality rates of released fish vary extensively (between zero and near 100%) and are influenced by a number of factors including environmental conditions, fishing gear, angler behavior, and species-specific characteristics. Nevertheless, research in the field of catch-and-release is beginning to show that certain handling techniques can significantly reduce post-release mortality in fish. With appropriate regulation and angler education, catch-and-release could help enhance conservation and management goals associated with MPAs while maintaining public support and providing alternative tourism-based revenues for displaced fishers. Until sufficient data are available, research should focus on contrasting the fish community characteristics in regions with no fishing and those that permit catch-and-release fishing (i.e., opportunistic observations and controlled manipulations) as well as population-level mathematical modeling to assess the effects of angling on long-term population viability and ecosystem dynamics. Additional efforts should focus on education and outreach that provide anglers and fishing guides with the best available information to reduce catch-and-release mortality, sublethal angling-induced impairments, and broader effects on aquatic environments.     

Responses and adaptation strategies of commercial and charter fishers to zoning changes in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Fishers' responses to changes in resource access through the imposition of marine protected areas can be a critical factor influencing the likelihood of achieving management objectives.Face-to-face interviews with 114 commercial and charter fishers were conducted to investigate their responses and adaptation strategies to the increase in the size and number of no-take zones imposed by the 2004 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning plan. Despite holding positive attitudes towards marine biodiversity protection, fishers were generally unsupportive of the new zoning plan 5 years after its implementation. Fishers' lack of support was related to the perception that they had not been adequately engaged in the rezoning process and the perception of significant impacts of the zoning plan on fishing businesses. Fishers generally believed that the new zoning plan had a negative impact on their access to productive fishing areas, the numbers of fish they catch, the profitability of their fishing business, and their personal income. In response to the new no-take zones, fishers tended to redistribute their fishing activity to locations closer to their home port, and to locations already known to them through their previous fishing, resulting in an increase in high density fishing locations within the park. Despite the impacts that fishers experienced, most reported that they have adapted their fishing activity and fishing business at least moderately well to the new zoning plan, suggesting that many of the impacts experienced by fishers might be short-term and may decline over time as fishers learn to adapt to the new zoning system. The information provided should prove valuable as a baseline for continued monitoring of the costs and benefits of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park rezoning into the future.     

Perceptions and preferences of commercial fishers for dedicated access privilege framework in a multispecies fishery

The decline of the world's fisheries and the inability of traditional management frameworks to maintain them, has led managers to adopt alternative management frameworks. The use of dedicated access privileges have often been shown to have varying popularity among factions within the commercial fishing industry and managers. Here, we examine commercial fishers' preference for alternative management frameworks in the context of a unique multispecies fisheries of the Florida Keys. By surveying commercial fishers, we find that that the size of operation plays no role in affecting fisher perception regarding dedicated access privileges. Furthermore, fishers who are organized are less likely to support dedicated access privilege frameworks. Overall, we do not find enough support in the fishing industry for the implementation of dedicated access privileges in the Florida Keys. These findings can provide inputs in developing effective management plans in the region.     

Catch me if you can: Non-compliance of limpet protection in the Azores

Signs of changing marine ecosystems due to increasing human use of marine resources are recognised worldwide. Legislation and regulations are often at the core of fisheries management and harvesting control. However, these are ineffective without the respective compliance, often requiring an effective surveillance and enforcement in support of conservation success. Limpets are a popular seafood and traditionally collected and consumed in the Azores, Northeast Atlantic, leading to a fisheries collapse in the 1980s and the subsequent implementation of limpet protected zones (LPZs) and seasonal fishing closures. A roving creel survey was used in two islands of the Azores to assess the level of compliance with the existing regulations. Results indicate that shore-based limpet collection is mainly influenced by environmental conditions, including wave height and tide, and general temporal constraints, including time of day, day type, and season. A high level of non-compliance with spatial (i.e. about 40% of the harvesting events inside no-take zones) and temporal conservation measures was observed. Harvesting effort in the closed and open season was not significantly different. Recently new regulations for limpet harvesting were implemented in the Azores, extending recreational harvesting techniques to snorkelling but potential long-term effects are unknown. This study shows how on-site recreational fishing survey methods can assist managers to assess the level of illegal fishing and support the development of adaptive conservation strategies for vulnerable inshore species.     

Being heard: Thinking through different versions of rationality,epistemological policing and dissonances in marine conservation

Emerging from ethnographic research conducted on the west coast of South Africa, this paper explores the ways in which fishers contrast their experience of fishing prior to the implementation of the Marine Living Resources Act, and the rise of fortress style conservation in fisheries management. Conservation as rhetoric has been used as a powerful means of supporting and justifying fisheries management objectives. The paper argues that fishers engage with their environments in ways that are different from how management understands human–nature relations. As a consequence, fortress style fisheries management and policing disallow fishers to engage with the sea in the ways that are intrinsic to their fishing practices. This results, in many instances, in curtailing the ways in which fishers are allowed to think about and interact with the sea. With the impending implementation of EAF in South Africa and the global call for working with multiple knowledges, the paper calls for relational ways of engaging in conservation.     

Building adaptive capacity to climate variability: The case of artisanal fisheries in the estuary of the Patos Lagoon,Brazil

The vulnerabilities of fishing communities to climate and environmental change represent major issues for the governance of fisheries resources which have a direct effect on human security, livelihoods and rights. This paper explores the dynamics of social-ecological systems in the estuary of the Patos Lagoon in southern Brazil. The paper identifies key factors that increase and/or minimize the vulnerabilities of the fishing communities in this lagoon with the objective of understanding: (a) the degree to which fishing communities are able to build adaptive and learning capacities to minimize/reduce vulnerabilities and maintain their livelihoods; and (b) how and under what circumstances external and internal factors may influence and disrupt the social-ecological resilience in this lagoon system. Results show that fishing communities with a higher degree of self-organization are able to create ways to minimize their vulnerability to adverse climatic conditions. However, only a few communities have developed adaptive mechanisms to cope with the influence of climate on resource abundance and availability. Little external institutional support for small-scale fishing communities, erosion of their traditional resource use systems and decreasing fish stocks in recent decades have all led to a gradual increase in the vulnerability of fishing livelihoods in this lagoon. The uncertainties associated with climate are related to increasing vulnerability and influence the degree of resource conservation and exploitation. The lack of public policies to deal with the impact of climate variability on the livelihoods of fishing communities and the presence of weak institutions in resource governance represent major threats to the social security of fishers in this region.     

Social indicators of vulnerability for fishing communities in the Northern Gulf of California,Mexico: Implications for climate change

Marine fisheries support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. These fisheries and the communities that depend on them are highly vulnerable to climate change and other interacting anthropogenic threats. The cumulative and interacting effects of these stressors could potentially produce declines in fish production, which would significantly impact artisanal fishers. Assessing relative vulnerability of fishing communities to anthropogenic stressors is an important first step to identifying mitigation or adaptation strategies. This study assessed the vulnerability of 12 coastal communities in the Northern Gulf of California to disruptions in fishing activities from anthropogenic stressors, including climate change. The Northern Gulf is a megadiverse area and a major source of fishery resources. Quantitative indicator indices based on secondary and primary data were developed to assess the three aspects of vulnerability: sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity. The key components of vulnerability varied amongst communities. Vulnerability was higher in communities with higher fishing dependence and lower socioeconomic diversification. The approach presented here provides important insights into the type of policy actions that might be needed in different communities for adaptation and mitigation.