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.     

Habitat mapping of the Atlantic bluefin tuna derived from satellite data: Its potential as a tool for the sustainable management of pelagic fisheries

The feeding and spawning habitats of the overfished Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) are mapped in the Mediterranean Sea and used in the present proposal for selecting restricted fishing grounds. The feeding habitat is mainly traced by oceanic fronts of satellite-derived temperature and chlorophyll while the spawning habitat is mostly characterized by an important heating of surface waters. The proposal recommends opening the fishery in feeding areas in case the BFT stock is low (current situation). Only spawning areas at its latest stage could be opened once the stock has recovered to its optimum yield. Due to the possible concentration of fishing vessels if fishing areas are restricted (e.g. four-fold increase with a 1/16th restriction of the Mediterranean Sea) the inspection activities could be better targeted. Identified spawning grounds, opened or closed to fishing, could also be particularly monitored by control operations. Within the authorized areas, the habitat maps would guide fishermen to the favourable habitat reducing their costs. The habitat guided management could be able to adapt the spatial and temporal distribution of the effort to the requirements of both the fisheries’ control and the resource. Its implementation is likely to protect the stock (a) by apparently decreasing illegal fishing which accounts in the recent years for more than 1/3rd of total catches, (b) by protecting the spawners to ensure a suitable recruitment and (c) by distributing the effort to respect the population structure. The first species studied is the emblematic bluefin tuna which is at high risk of collapse due to overfishing. The approach is a priori transposable to other epipelagic species of commercial importance.     

Pyramids and roses: Alternative images for the governance of fisheries systems

Governors always have some image of what they are governing and why, and of what their role is. These images are often implicit. They are not reflected upon or discussed in the governance process, yet they have real consequences because they are acted upon. Interactive governance theory argues that image formation is an integral part of governance and that images are made as explicit as possible to avoid self-fulfilment. Such a process needs to be interactive and flexible to allow exploration of alternatives to existing governing images for the purpose of enhancing the governability of fisheries systems. In this paper, we contrast the classical image of the governing system (top down decision-making pyramid) and of the human-in-nature system (top down trophic pyramid) with alternative images (roses and inverted pyramid, respectively) and discuss the implication that these different images have on fisheries governance.     

Community involvement in fisheries management: Experiences in the Gulf of Thailand countries

This paper examines the involvement of coastal communities in fisheries management among the countries of the Gulf of Thailand—Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Initiatives to decentralize management to local governing bodies, to utilize traditional management methods and to engage in community agreements to protect local resources are explored. An examination of recent experiences indicates some movement toward more local involvement in management. However, the study also leads to several suggestions for the future: in Vietnam and Cambodia, there is a need for significant legislation to control fisheries operations and greater clarity of the role of communities in management; in Malaysia, there is an overall need for more support to local fisheries management; and in Thailand, the need is for greater support of local-level enforcement and monitoring activities.     

Institutional analysis of UK coastal fisheries: Implications of overlapping regulations for fisheries management

This paper addresses the issue of overlapping fisheries regulations by multiple authorities for coastal fisheries in the United Kingdom. It examines one particular case study of the oyster fishers of the Isle of Wight, focusing on resource management regulations, fishermen's strategies to deal with ambiguous legislation, and the response of the various management authorities. The case study forms the basis on which to discuss institutional implications for effective operational management of the UK's coastal fisheries resource.     

Assessing the feasibility of ecosystem-based fisheries management in tropical contexts

This analysis documents the reasons for emerging interest in ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) and relates this management model to others. It highlights the central challenges to EBFM in the tropical context and examines an ongoing project, Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH), in the Philippines—likely the first EBFM project in the tropics. The Philippine legal and institutional context provides major governance challenges to EBFM, especially as management is scaled up. A monitoring framework with process and output criteria is applied to FISH to establish progress to date. Major institutional and governance challenges for EBFM will require monitoring, evaluation, and adaptation.     

Fishery cooperatives and the Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative: Lessons and application to non-industrial fisheries in the Western Pacific

The last 20 years have seen a fundamental shift in fishery management from reliance on open access and regulated open access to systems based on individual user rights. In some cases, the allocation of harvest rights to defined harvest or community sectors has served as a catalyst to drive the formation of voluntary agreements among fishermen in creating self-governed systems of catch shares. A number of voluntary cooperatives including the Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative – which served as the model for the American Fisheries Act – provide examples of self-governing systems which have successfully achieved management objectives including greater economic performance, equity, and conservation. Cooperative arrangements have functioned to devolve some of the responsibilities of management to the cooperative – allowing fishermen greater operational flexibility in achieving individual or community goals, while reducing the burden of management on formal managing bodies. Analysis of voluntary cooperatives shows that their success is based on the existence of certain core conditions including relatively small homogeneous groups of players, secure sector-allocated and divisible rights, and the ability to form binding contracts among coop members. Cooperatives, however, face a number of internal and external threats that can undermine their success and existence. Whether voluntary or designed through regulation, cooperatives may be a promising approach for addressing challenges in non-industrial fisheries in the United States including the Western Pacific – especially if coupled with user rights based on geography, territory, and culture. However, the sheer geographical size and cultural diversity of regions such as the Western Pacific suggests that no single approach may be appropriate throughout the entire region.     

Category, narrative, and value in the governance of small-scale fisheries

Since the 1970s, small-scale fisheries have had an important place in fisheries social science and in fisheries management. While there has been substantial discussion of what constitutes the category of small-scale fisheries, its considerable ambiguity is nevertheless often passed over. This paper argues that while the category of scale fisheries can be best understood in terms of scale, the underlying reason for the power of the category lies in the values of social justice and ecological sustainability that it has come to represent in response to dominant high modern narratives of change. Fisheries governance may better be served by prioritising these values rather than by making a fetish out of small-scale fisheries.     

Toward shared understandings of ecosystem-based fisheries management among fishery management councils and stakeholders in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and New England regions

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is often discussed by fisheries managers and stakeholders as a potential goal. EBFM is based on a multi-species approach, which varies significantly from the single species fisheries management (SSFM) approach currently practiced under the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA). EBFM is “holistic” and considers “all factors,” but it is impossible for management to incorporate all factors into EBFM. This study sought to improve understanding of factors contributing to or preventing progress toward EBFM implementation in the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), focusing on Council member and stakeholder beliefs, attitudes, and mutual understanding. Objectives included determining mutual understanding between MAFMC and NEFMC members and stakeholders about EBFM and identifying MAFMC and NEFMC member and stakeholder preferences for EBFM definitions, practices, and outcomes, and prioritizing which aspects of EBFM managers and stakeholders find most important. Stakeholders included commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, and Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) members. Over 1000 survey responses about EBFM from council members and stakeholders in the Mid-Atlantic (MA) and New England (NE) regions were analyzed. The Coorientation Model was used to characterize understanding between the Council and fisheries-related stakeholder groups. For the MA and NE regions, most stakeholders agreed on definitions, practices, and possible outcomes for EBFM. Results suggest that most Council members and stakeholders in the MA and NE regions support a change from SSFM to EBFM at an incremental, intermediate, or complete, gradual (5–10 years) pace. The application of the Coorientation Model to EBFM and the fishery management councils provided insights into how an improved understanding of the attitudes, beliefs, and mutual comprehension of Council members and stakeholder groups could potentially facilitate the implementation of EBFM. Council members and stakeholders responded similarly to, and Council members correctly predicted stakeholder responses about, EBFM definitions, practices, and outcomes. These findings suggest that Council member and stakeholder agreement and understanding are not barriers to MAFMC and NEFMC adoption of EBFM.     

The social licence to operate and its role in marine governance: Insights from Australia

Traditionally, the ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) refers to the societal expectations imposed on corporate and commercial activities, often displayed by the willingness for corporations to go beyond the requirements of formal regulations. Alternatively, this paper investigates the emerging influence of the SLO in shaping government decisions regarding the use and impact of the marine environment and its resources. Using expert interviews, text analysis and case study analysis, this research delineated the contemporary SLO as it has manifested in Australian marine governance, with the results indicating that this is potentially occurring at a pace faster than can be systematically reacted to within the current political decision-making processes. Under these emerging conditions, the risk has been identified that traditional government decision-making and stakeholder consultation processes are lagging in their capacity to adapt to ensure that public policy processes can support and engage in this shifting dialogue and ensure the influence of information is appropriately weighted. This research highlights an emerging adjustment of community presence in marine governance and the immediate complexities and challenges this creates for government decision-making. In particular, it begins to explore the interaction of differing information, how this information is carried through communication channels, stakeholder behaviour, approaches to withholding or granting a SLO and the responsibility this carries.     

Who's who in the Kenai River Fishery SES: A streamlined method for stakeholder identification and investment analysis

The Kenai River Fishery is a unique social–ecological system (SES) with nearly 50 federal, state, local, and nonprofit groups influencing its political, ecological, and social structure. While ecological data exists for this fishery, the complexity of its stakeholder relationships has not been investigated. Stakeholder interactions can directly influence how science is integrated into management decisions and therefore affect the adaptive capacity of SES, such as the Kenai River Fishery. Drawing from the existing stakeholder literature, this methods identifies and ranks the key SES stakeholders and describes their roles. This study approached the question of which stakeholders should be included in a future SES adaptive capacity study by (1) identifying the key stakeholders within the Kenai River Fishery, (2) ranking each stakeholder’s investment within the fishery using eleven categories of interaction, and (3) using these eleven categories to characterize each stakeholder's role within the SES. The largest number of stakeholders fall into the secondary investment category, showing that a relatively small number of resource managers are interacting with a large number of diverse nonprofit organizations. The top ranking stakeholders in this study will be invited to attend participatory scenarios workshops that will build the foundation for a deeper scenarios-based analysis of SES adaptive capacity.     

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.     

Scientific inference and experiment in Ecosystem Based Fishery Management,with application to Steller sea lions in the Bering Sea and Western Gulf of Alaska

Learning about ecosystem processes and patterns is an essential component of Ecosystem Based Fishery Management and the sustainable use of natural resources.     

Key challenges for maritime governance in West Africa: Fishery-based lessons from Guinea and Mauritania

Maritime governance stakes are important in West Africa, if only due to the dominant role of fisheries, which coastal populations mainly depend on. In this context, with reference to the fishery sector mostly studied in two countries (Guinea and Mauritania), this paper aims to identify and synthesize the challenges to be met towards developing the governance of marine spaces. To this end, the analysis is based on field knowledge, which provides input into a grid set according to the various integration levels of the concept of ICZM. This paper thus reports the major methodological obstacles to be overcome, commensurate to the stakes insofar as marine policies can and must contribute to the economic and social development of this region.     

Network approach for understanding small-scale fisheries governance: The case of the Chilean coastal co-management system

Recent studies have focused on the study of social networks among local resource users, but few have attempted to study co-management networks. The objective of the research was to assess the Chilean shellfish co-management system from an organizational network perspective. Starting with one detailed case study, representatives of 38 small-scale fisher associations from two administrative regions were interviewed to investigate: (1) networks of actors in each co-management case, (2) the functions of these actors in co-management, and (3) fisher perceptions about Chile's co-management arrangement. Results indicate that decision-making is highly centralized and power is concentrated in government, with little horizontal exchange and cooperation among fisher associations. However, the network approach indicates the presence of a rich set of players, some seven sets of actors by function. Grassroots management innovations are hampered by the existing co-management structure, suggesting that the system may benefit from a modification of the policy to allow greater learning-by-doing and flexibility.     

Economic tradeoffs in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem: Herring and whale-watching

This research attempts to quantify some of the effects of localized depletion of herring by examining the search times of commercial whale-watching vessels. Whale-watching vessels are indirect users of herring; whales feed on herring and may disperse when prey availability is low. A dataset of daily whale-watching outcomes is combined with fishing effort and oceanographic data to test the hypothesis that intensive fishing effort increases the search time of whale-watching companies. Our results suggest that fishing may have a detrimental impact on search time; however, the magnitude of this effect is fairly small. We find policy that the recently enacted policy which prohibits fishing for herring in whale-watching areas would decrease search times by a small amount. We find some evidence of a localized aggregation effect; search times are the lowest when herring are spawning in the inshore areas. These results should be of interest to policymakers in determining future fishing regulations in an ecosystem-based fisheries management context.     

Applicability of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) in Japanese fisheries: A comparison of rights-based fisheries management in Iceland, Japan, and United States

ITQs have not yet been introduced by the Government of Japan. In coastal areas, fishery cooperative associations have traditionally played an important role in managing fisheries through self-imposed rules and peer-monitoring systems. Recently, however, the economic competitiveness of Japanese fisheries in the international market is being questioned. In this paper, a detailed examination of the pros and cons of the current system in Japan is compared to the current fishery management measures of Iceland and the United States, where attaining economically or biologically efficient outcomes may be prioritized in making fisheries management decisions. For many coastal fisheries in Japan, maintaining a management scheme in which stakeholders play an active role in determining fisheries measures seems more relevant if their priority is to maintain the stability of coastal communities and equity of stakeholders. Intensive dialog among stakeholders would be necessary to identify shared objectives of their fishery operations and to make decisions to establish specific steps toward the goal of increasing economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, or stability of communities and equity of stakeholders.