Analysis on the development trends of capture fisheries in North-East Asia and the policy and management implications for regional co-operation

The seas in North-East Asia, the Yellow/East China Sea and the East Sea, which are semi-enclosed seas constituting unitary ecosystems are now facing many problems such as depletion of fish stocks, poor fishery management policies, and large-scale deterioration of the marine environment. The fishery resources of the region have long been subject to heavy fishing pressures, and many stocks are now believed to be seriously depleted and may be in danger of extinction because of overfishing. In addition, poor fishery management policies have accelerated overfishing and the rapid depletion of fish stocks. Considering this rapidly deteriorating situation, regional co-operation based on the 1982 UN Convention among coastal states should be given top priority. Most fish stocks in the region migrate beyond the jurisdiction of any one country. Indeed, one state by itself can easily destroy fishery resources because semi-enclosed seas, particularly those such as the Yellow/East China Sea and the East Sea, cannot be managed effectively without close co-operation among the coastal states.     

Cooperation and unregulated fishing: interactions between customary international law,and the European Union IUU fishing regulation

The extent to which flag States are bound by the conservation rules of regional fishery management organisations is an important question in the quest to reduce unregulated fishing. The European Union implemented a trade suspension against Cambodia under Council Regulation 1005/2008, in response to unregulated fishing by Cambodian vessels in high seas areas managed by regional fishery management organisations. Limitations in the arguments underpinning the decision evidence the flaws of unregulated fishing as a legal concept, underlining the need for it to be appropriately interpreted and contextualised in the international legal framework. Clarity on the differences between conventional and customary sources of international legal obligation, and their implications for State consent, should guide the implementation of the Regulation to maximise the normative potential of resulting practices.     

北冰洋公海渔业权益争端的博弈分析——基于环北极国家视角

北冰洋公海尚处于冰封状态,但气候变暖、海冰加速融化使未来公海出现新渔场成为可能,其战略价值因而得到国际关注。当前,环北极国家已率先展开渔业权益争夺。为分析北冰洋公海渔业事务的国际走势,文章基于博弈论思想,构建非对称懦夫博弈模型及古诺模型来模拟和探究环北极国家在渔业利益争夺中的合作或冲突行为,研究得出:现阶段北冰洋公海渔业权益争端主要表现为渔业管理权的争夺,在该博弈中,非北冰洋沿岸国采取退让策略,沿岸国采取进攻策略,可以达到进化稳定均衡;一旦公海具备捕鱼条件,争端将演化为开发模式选择的博弈,此时,北冰洋沿岸国采取合作开发策略可以有效保护公海渔业资源,并实现国家的长期利益。     

Ongoing effects of no-take marine reserves on commercially exploited coral trout populations on the Great Barrier Reef

Networks of no-take marine reserves (NTMRs) are widely used for managing marine resources. Because they restrict fishing, managers need to monitor reserves to reassure stakeholders that they are achieving the intended results. In 2004, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park was rezoned and the area of NTMRs was greatly increased. Using manta tow we assessed the effectiveness of the new NTMRs in conserving coral trout (Plectropomus and Variola spp.), the principle targets of the GBR reef line fishery. Over a six year period, we sampled regional groups of matched pairs of similar reefs, ones closed to fishing under the rezoning and ones that remained open. Coral trout populations were significantly higher in NTMRs. While coral trout populations declined on reefs open to fishing, stocks were maintained in NTMRs, highlighting the ongoing benefits of marine reserves.     

Fishery management techniques: Practical aspects and limitations

This article investigates practical aspects and limitations of various fishery management techniques. Restrictions on catch and fishing effort (active regulations) are described, and the authors point out that catch restrictions are less robust scientifically than effort restrictions. Spatial — temporal restrictions, gear restrictions, and restrictions on the nature of the catch-which are passive with respect to fishing mortality-are reviewed and it is concluded that fishing mortality is theoretically unbounded when only passive methods of fisheries management are applied.     

基于栖息地指数的西北太平洋日本鲭渔情预报模型构建

根据2014-2017年5-11月西北太平洋公海灯光围网日本鲭(Scomber japonicus)生产数据,结合同期的环境遥感数据,分别基于捕捞量和作业次数,构建日本鲭栖息地适宜性指数(Habitat Suitability Index,HSI)模型。选取海表水温、海面高度异常和叶绿素a浓度,采用一元指数回归拟合,建立各个环境变量的适应性指数模型,并利用线性规划方法确定各环境因子的权重,从而提高日本鲭HSI模型对渔场的预报精度。利用2018年5-11月的实际捕捞数据对模型进行预报准确率验证,在基于渔获量和作业次数构建的HSI模型中,HSI大于0.7的海域,渔获量平均占比分别为77.29%、76.79%,这表明基于不同权重环境因子的HSI模型能够较好地预测西北太平洋公海日本鲭中心渔场。     

Managing straddling stocks: the interplay of global and regional regimes

During the past decade, a number of rivalries over fish stocks straddling from coastal zones into the high seas turned into bitter disputes involving some of the world's foremost fishing nations. This article examines the interplay of global and regional efforts to strengthen the basis for management of high seas fisheries. The overall effect of the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement for the effectiveness of regional management of straddling stocks is to support and globalize institutional features, especially regarding compliance control, that had so far been confined to the most advanced regional regimes. Such interplay between regimes can usefully be analyzed by distinguishing four causal pathways: (1) diffusion, in that one regime may influence the material contents of another; (2) political spillover, when interests or capabilities defined under one regime influence the operation of another; (3) normative interplay, when the rules upheld in one regime conflict or reinforce those established under another; and (4) operational interplay, referring to deliberate coordination of activities under separate regimes in order to avoid normative conflict or wasteful duplication. The article seeks to pinpoint the conditions under which these types of interplay are triggered.     

海洋作业渔船管理系统的设计与运行试验

对渔政管理指挥系统建设项日中的业务软件部分渔船管理系统的设计方案进行了介绍。根据我国渔洋作业渔船的实际管理模式，提出了渔船管理系统设计方案。系统通过网络化的业务处理和管理流程，规范渔船建造、审批、登记以及捕捞许可证发放等管理业务，实现渔船控制指标的统一分配，以控制捕捞业发展规模和保护我国的渔业资源。系统以Microsoft VB6．0，Delphi6．0开发，在Window98／2000／XP环境下运行。通过运行试验，对系统运行环境进行了评估，为渔政管理信息化的建设、系统升级提供了经验和技术依据。     

The effect of fishing the anguillid elver (Anguilla japonica) on the fishery of the Yangtze estuary

Based on the fishing net surveying data about anguillid elver of the Yangtze estuary collected in 2006 and historical data from previous research of the region, this study was focused on analyzing the fishing effort and catch variations of the elver, revealing the effects on fishery resources caused by elver fishing activities. It was found that the elver fishing activities took place in the tidal area of the Yangtze estuary from January to April. The yearly elver catch in 2000–2006 was 3 times greater than that in the 1970s–1980s. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) (ind./net/day) of the elver had some characteristics of temporal variation. It was higher in spring tide periods than that in neap tide periods, and the CPUE in February and March was 3–4 times greater than that in January. Twenty-eight fish species, 6 shrimp species, 2 crab species and 8 other invertebrates were found in the by-catch of the eel nets. Among the fishes, shrimps and crabs, the individual proportion of fishes is the highest, and they are mostly juveniles or small-size fishes, while the shrimps and crabs also make up a certain proportion. Most of the individuals in the by-catch were juveniles and were dead when they were harvested. It was proven that the activity of elver fishing has a great negative effect on regional fishery resources, though it has brought great commercial benefit. Relevant management and conversation should be reinforced.     

海洋捕捞与海水养殖监管系统研究

文章针对海洋渔业由于过度捕捞造成渔业资源枯竭的问题,提出了一种基于海洋遥感(ORS)、全球定位系统(GPS)和海洋地理信息系统(MGIS)等高新技术的海洋捕捞与海水养殖监管系统设计方案,可以远程自动对海洋渔业区域的水质多参数信息和养殖环境视频信息进行综合采集、传输及监控,也可以自动采集传输渔船RFID身份识别信息、渔船AIS自动识别信息、渔船GPS定位信息和捕捞生产视频信息等,并通过海洋精细渔业专家系统ES进行渔业养殖监控、渔业环境资源监测评估、渔船船数和功率数控制和海洋捕捞生产渔情监测等。该系统可以实现海洋渔业精细化捕捞和海洋渔业精细化养殖,促进海洋渔业可持续发展。     

A New model to forecast fishing ground of Scomber japonicus in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

The pelagic species is closely related to the marine environmental factors, and establishment of forecasting model of fishing ground with high accuracy is an important content for pelagic fishery. The chub mackerel(Scomber japonicus) in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea is an important fishing target for Chinese lighting purse seine fishery. Based on the fishery data from China's mainland large-type lighting purse seine fishery for chub mackerel during the period of 2003 to 2010 and the environmental data including sea surface temperature(SST), gradient of the sea surface temperature(GSST), sea surface height(SSH) and geostrophic velocity(GV), we attempt to establish one new forecasting model of fishing ground based on boosted regression trees. In this study, the fishing areas with fishing effort is considered as one fishing ground, and the areas with no fishing ground are randomly selected from a background field, in which the fishing areas have no records in the logbooks. The performance of the forecasting model of fishing ground is evaluated with the testing data from the actual fishing data in 2011. The results show that the forecasting model of fishing ground has a high prediction performance, and the area under receiver operating curve(AUC) attains 0.897. The predicted fishing grounds are coincided with the actual fishing locations in 2011, and the movement route is also the same as the shift of fishing vessels, which indicates that this forecasting model based on the boosted regression trees can be used to effectively forecast the fishing ground of chub mackerel in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.     

世界海洋捕捞业发展概况、趋势及对我国的启示

由于海洋渔业资源的衰退,目前世界海洋捕捞业进入"零增长"的徘徊期。当前世界海洋捕捞业呈现以下发展趋势:海洋渔业资源争夺日益激烈,海洋捕捞业管理制度日益严格,世界海洋捕捞业产业转移趋势日趋明显,海洋捕捞业技术装备要求越来越高,国际社会越来越重视海洋捕捞业可持续发展。面对世界海洋捕捞业的发展趋势,我国应当继续发展资源养护型海洋渔业,从生态系统角度考虑海洋捕捞业管理措施,积极稳妥发展远洋渔业,参与国际渔业资源的开发,重视海洋捕捞业装备技术水平的提高。     

区域渔业管理组织对脆弱海洋生态系统的保护浅析

21世纪以来底拖网渔业的快速发展给脆弱海洋生态系统（VME）带来极大威胁,导致公海深海渔业发展不可持续以及海洋生物多样性降低。为更好地实现养护海洋渔业资源和保护海洋生物多样性的目标,同时为我国在保护VME以及管理公海深海渔业方面提供参考,文章分析八大区域渔业管理组织（RFMO）针对VME保护采取的系列措施及其保护VME的可行性,针对存在的问题提出对策建议,并对我国在RFMO中保护VME进行展望。研究结果表明：《公海深海渔业管理国际准则》在RFMO保护VME的实践中发挥重要的指导作用;RFMO采取的措施限制深海渔业活动,但为保护VME和养护海洋渔业资源提供重要基础和保障;未来RFMO应加强信息共享和技术合作,发展VME分布预测技术,同时在保护海洋生物多样性方面积极开展双边和多边合作;我国应进一步研究和实践基于生态系统的渔业管理方法,平衡保护与开发利用的关系,积极参与国际渔业管理和VME保护并促进合作,加强南极海域海洋保护区综合治理。     

论渔业法之违反捕捞许可规定到共同管理渔区作业行为的法律责任

近年来我国渔业作业群体的数量明显增多,同时违反捕捞许可到共同管理渔区作业的违法行为也日益严重。在《中华人民共和国渔业法》及相关渔业立法中已经存在明确界定,但是对于法律责任没有具体阐明,严重影响了渔业活动的正常秩序与渔业资源的可持续发展。文章根据违反捕捞许可到共同管理渔区作业的现状出发,结合渔业法等相关规定,分析增设法律责任的必要性与可行性,提出完善相关法律责任,细化责任认定;加大惩治力度,提高违法成本等建议。     

基于BiLSTM模型的远洋渔船类型识别研究

船舶自动识别系统(Automatic identification system,AIS)为渔业资源和渔船捕捞活动管理和研究提供了可能.明确船舶作业类型是开展AIS信息渔业研究应用前提,为渔业研究和管理提供渔船捕捞类型基础数据支撑,保障渔船作业安全和监督非法捕捞渔业活动,作者通过搜集整理3000多艘已知类型船舶信息,从...     

The unintended consequences of formal fisheries policies: Social disparities and resource overuse in a major fishing community in the Gulf of California, Mexico

This study investigates the local social and fisheries impact of formal fisheries policies in Bahía de Kino, one of the most important fishing villages in terms of extraction of benthic resources in the Northern Gulf of California, Mexico. The paper focuses on cross-scale institutional interactions, describing how existing formal policies are functioning on the ground, how these policies interact with local arrangements, and how this interaction may affect the incentives of different actors towards sustainable fisheries. Besides providing lessons on how the performance of a local fishery could be improved, this paper addresses the question of whether the formal institutional structure of Mexican fishing regulations is effective in promoting responsible behavior by small-scale fishery stakeholders. It is argued that the design of the most widely used management tool to regulate access to marine resources throughout Mexico -the permit (licensing) system- provides the wrong incentives for sustainable-use. Granting secure rights to resources to those actively involved in the fishery is a necessary step for promoting sustainable fishing practices.     

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.     

Fishery provisions of the ICNT: Part 2

In the second of two articles analysing the fishery provisions of the ICNT/Rev 2, the author concentrates on unresolved legal problems of the world's marine fisheries. Difficulties associated with MSY and OSY, TAC, surplus, coastal state control over the EEZ, high-seas fishing, anadromous species, land-locked and geographically disadvantaged states, and sedentary species are discussed, and an assessment is made of the ICNT's attempt to ensure a more equitable distribution of world fishery resources.     

Fishing access agreements and harvesting decisions of host and distant water fishing nations

The declaration of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) granted coastal states sovereign rights over the marine resources in their EEZs and enabled developing coastal states to legally charge access fees to distant water fishing (DWF) nations for access to the resources in these waters. Despite the potential for economic gains, however, the ability of coastal states to benefit from the granting of sovereign rights and to ensure the sustainable use of their fisheries resources depends on how domestic fishing effort responds to the harvesting decisions of the DWF nations. We develop a stylized bioeconomic model to explore the change in fishing behavior of host and DWF nations when the two nations enter into an access agreement with varying levels of access fee. We further conduct an econometric analysis of changes in Pacific island nations’ harvesting behavior in response to the harvest decisions of DWF nations using data from the Western and Central Pacific tuna fishery. Our model results show that there is a range of variable access payment levels over which the host nation substitutes benefits from its domestic fishing activity with access payments from the DWF nation and that setting fees in this range can create a trap whereby host nations are forced to trade-off receiving a fair return to their fishery resources through access fees and retaining their own active fleet capacity. Our empirical analysis further shows a gradual shift in the way in which Pacific island host nations responded to the harvest decision of DWF nations as a result of the creation of the 200-nautical-mile EEZ.     

Socio-economic characteristics of gillnet and beach-seine fishers in the Western Cape,South Africa

Data collected by questionnaire and telephone surveys conducted during 1998 and 1999 are used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of inshore netfishers in the Western Cape. Approximately two-thirds of netfishers work or have worked in other fishing sectors and a further 6–50%, depending on the area surveyed, are retired. Very few (0–11%) permit-holders in most areas classified their occupations as netfishers and the majority claimed to make <5% of their income from netfishing. Estimated costs and returns to net permit-holders suggest that, in most areas, commercial netfishing at current levels of catch and effort is not economically sustainable in the long-term. Only Saldanha-Langebaan gillnetters and beach-seine permit-holders, on average, manage to cover their opportunity costs and make an economic profit. The lack of profits in other areas is compelling evidence that the net fisheries are at or beyond the open access equilibrium point, suggesting that effort reduction in the order of 60% is necessary if maximum economic yield is to be obtained from the fishery. The netfisheries provide part-time employment for approximately 2 000 crew in the Western Cape. Additional economic benefits and employment directly related to the fishery in the form of equipment and fuel purchases made by fishers, maintenance of fishing gear and the sale of fish are estimated to contribute at least R15 million to the regional economy annually. Between 42 and 76% of respondents felt that their catches had declined since they had started netfishing and most felt that no new permits should be issued. Knowledge of catch restrictions among respondents was low (53–73%), indicative of a lack of communication between management and fishers, poorly defined permit conditions and a lack of enforcement. Many fishers interviewed feel it is unfair that they are restricted to catching only low-value target species and do not adhere to the catch restrictions, even if they do know them. The importance of the netfishery for participants varies greatly between and within areas. In order to reduce effort equitably, current and potential new permit-holders should be assessed on an individual merit basis.