WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations: implications for fisheries access arrangements and sustainable management

The paper considers the WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies and the implications that envisaged disciplines will have on coastal developing countries. This is considered in relation to fisheries access agreements in the Central and Western Pacific where several least developed but resource rich island states such as Kiribati and Tuvalu are highly exposed to the risks associated with new WTO fisheries subsidies disciplines that do not consider their particular vulnerabilities. The paper considers some of the issues that coastal developing countries should incorporate into their emerging negotiating positions at the WTO. State-to-Sate fisheries access agreements which are often highly subsidised but where fishing vessel owners pay the equivalent of lump sum tax are paradoxically, the least distortionary and damaging to the environment. Strategies for managing the possible new disciplines are considered.     

The EU restrictive trade measures against IUU fishing

The opportunities for operators to increase their revenue when illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing catches are converted to currency through the market encourage the persistence and growth of this activity. It is often the same market that is targeted for the legal trade of fish. Thus, paradoxically, the market demand creates and incites it, at least from an economic point of view. To deter IUU fishing activities, some fish and fishery products importing countries have started to enact or implement additional regulatory measures, the goal of which is to tackle the problem from a new trade-related perspective. This contribution provides an analysis of various aspects of the market state competence. Within the framework of the European Union (rights and markets) the study analyses the emergence of regional trade-related measures and explore how they are linked to the international trade law regime especially the World Trade Organization rules. Finally, the paper draws implications for the market state measures and considers their limits and potential in combatting IUU fishing.     

Global seafood trade flows and developing economies: Insights from linking trade and production

Knowing the patterns of marine resource exploitation and seafood trade may help countries to design their future strategic plans and development policies. To fully understand these patterns, it is necessary to identify where the benefits accumulate, how balanced the arrangements are, and how the pattern is evolving over time. Here the flow of global seafood was traced from locations of capture or production to their countries of consumption using novel approaches and databases. Results indicate an increasing dominance of Asian fleets by the volume of catch from the 1950s to the 2010s, including fishing in the high seas. The majority of landings were by high-income countries’ fishing fleets in their own waters in the 1950s but this pattern was greatly altered by the 2010s, with more equality in landings volume and value by fleets representing different income levels. Results also show that the higher the income of a country, the more valuable seafood it imports compared to its exports and vice versa. In theory, this implies that the lower income countries are exporting high value seafood in part to achieve the broader goal of ending poverty, while achieving the food security goal by retaining and importing lower value seafood. In the context of access arrangements between developed and developing countries, the results allow insights into the consequences of these shifting sources of income may have for goals such as poverty reduction and food security.     

Fishing for the future: An overview of challenges and opportunities

This paper surveys the current state and major trends in global fisheries; the environmental and social dimensions of fisheries; and explains how the international community has tried to meet the policy challenges associated with oceans and fisheries. The ocean and the freshwater ecosystems of the world make significant contributions to people's well-being via the many vital social and environmental services they provide (for example, food and nutrition, employment and incomes, carbon cycling and sequestration). The impact that the increase in fishing since the 1950s has had on wild fish stocks, and the significant increase in aquaculture production in the 20th century, have resulted in severe environmental impacts. This has significant effects on marine ecosystems and the health of oceans. The erosion of the resource undermines communities' long-term interests, including food security, employment, and income. Attempts by the global community to address challenges of sustainable production by improving the governance and management of fisheries resources range from national management of fisheries resources, to regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) for international fisheries stocks. These attempts have not always successfully met the challenge of balancing current and future use of fisheries.     

Improving market access for salmon through free trade agreements: The role of interests and institutional frameworks

This article compares the strategies of Chile and Norway toward free trade agreements (FTAs) and the market access results achieved for salmon, showing that Chile has been more successful than Norway. Hence, the article addresses whether Norway will be able to compete with Chile with regard to better market access for salmon through FTAs. The second part of the article analyses the trade interests and the institutional frameworks chosen to pursue FTAs, emphasizing how these two countries operate under different conditions for market access improvement, which in turn can make it difficult for Norway to take the market access lead from Chile.     

The Global Seafood Market Performance Index: A theoretical proposal and potential empirical applications

The objective of this paper is to create the Global Seafood Market Performance Index (GSMPI) in order to compare fisheries-related impacts of different countries across spatial and temporal scales. The article presents the first effort to investigate the trade-offs among marine ecosystems, seafood markets, poverty alleviation, food security and governance at worldwide level by creating the GSMPI. The GSMPI will provide relevant information on environmental, governance, socioeconomic, food security, corruption, seafood market, and corporate social responsibility issues for individual decision-makers and scientists, national governments, and stakeholders as well as international fishing and aquaculture industries.     

Policy and practice in the live reef fish for food trade: A case study from Palawan,Philippines

The live reef fish for food trade is a highly significant fishery that provides income for many coastal communities in the Asia-Pacific region but faces challenges relating to sustainability. This paper draws attention to the large gaps that exist between policy and practice in the live reef fish for food trade in Palawan, Philippines. While many policies have been introduced over many years, effective implementation remains a challenge. We show how the implementation of successive sets of policies has been hindered by three broadly inter-related features of the local social landscape: the capacity of government institutions and legal frameworks to implement regulations, the distinctive culture of fisheries governance in the Philippines, and the perspectives and practices of local fishers themselves. By focusing on the gaps between policy and practice, we highlight the ongoing need to examine more explicitly the ways in which local contexts shape the effectiveness of implementation, enforcement and policy more generally.     

Tackling illegal, unregulated, and unreported trade towards Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) recovery in Sabah, Malaysia

The live reef food fish trade (LRFFT) has caused severe depletion of the Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) populations globally, a species considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In 2010, signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora recognized that illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) activities in the LRFFT were undermining the efforts to protect this species. Management recommendations have yet to be effectively implemented at national and local levels where the fish is harvested. This paper analyzes the threats to, and socio-economic impacts of, Humphead wrasse recovery in Sabah, Malaysia, and offers both short- and longer-term recommendations for the local recovery of the species. Key issues addressed centre around understanding the threats to recovery, specifically the role of IUU and the context-specific considerations, including the socio-economic aspects of the IUU trade in Sabah. The analysis confirms that deliberate management planning and action at multiple levels are required to prevent local-scale extinction. Lessons for other species and countries involved in the LRFFT suggest that to be effective, broad management frameworks must be tailored to local situations and must focus on gaining support and participation of fish harvesters if the recovery and long-term sustainability of both the Humphead wrasse and the LRFFT are to be achieved.     

Trade measures and the combat of IUU fishing: Institutional interplay and effective governance in the Northeast Atlantic

The use of trade measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Northeast Atlantic has evolved from unilateral denial of the landing of fish taken outside international quota arrangements to a multilateral Scheme of Control and Enforcement under the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). International trade rules have not constrained this development, mostly due to successful management of the interplay between international resource management and trade regimes. States protect resource management objectives from such constraint by inserting clauses that establish a normative hierarchy, or they employ various means for adapting IUU measures to the ‘environmental window’ of the global trade regime. The fact that regional states have introduced trade restrictions only when non-restrictive or less restrictive measures have failed enhances such compatibility, as do the gradual shift from unilateral to multilateral measures and the rise in transparency, openness and target-state involvement. None of those features reduces the effectiveness of regional trade measures; they minimize tension with trade commitments and largely strengthen their clout in the struggle to combat IUU fishing in the Northeast Atlantic.     

Quota concentration in the New Zealand fishery: Annual catch entitlement and the small fisher

New Zealand's quota management system (QMS) was introduced in 1986 to enhance the sustainability of New Zealand's fishery. This paper examines trends in quota and catch share concentration across a range of important fish stocks. It demonstrates that continuing concentration is occurring in the ownership of quota for deepwater species. At the same time there has been an increase in participation by small scale fishers in the inshore fishery. This appears to be driven by the introduction of the Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) regime, allowing annual catch shares to be accessed at reduced transaction cost.     

An economic analysis of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing: Key drivers and possible solutions

The fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities has recently become a high priority in the international fisheries management agenda. While a number of academic contributions have sought to improve the understanding of the problem, most remain limited in scope. To help policy makers obtain a more comprehensive picture of the situation, the OECD Committee for Fisheries recently completed a study addressing the full economic dimensions of IUU fishing in an integrated manner. This paper presents the analytical framework developed by the OECD as well as some of the key results of the study regarding the causes of and the potential solutions to this widespread problem.     

Fishing occupational health and safety: A comparison of regulatory regimes and safety outcomes in six countries

The actual or potential effects on fishing health and safety of the full scope of national and international regulatory regime components governing commercial fishing are often poorly understood. Especially lacking are comprehensive reviews of all the government policies that directly and indirectly affect fishing risk within countries with significant commercial fisheries. We present the results of a comprehensive, multi-national project that compares the regulatory regimes of six countries (Canada, US, UK, Iceland, New Zealand, and South Africa) and examines the impacts (either real or perceived) of legislation and regulations on fishing occupational health and safety outcomes. A conceptual model is proposed that identifies potential sources of direct and indirect risks to fishing health and safety in order to throw light on potential pathways from regulation to fishing safety. Our results highlight differences and gaps in the regulatory frameworks of the countries studied and point to the urgent need for improved assessment and for access to accurate and standardized statistics regarding fishing-related injuries and illnesses. We conclude with several recommendations for moving forward.     

The structure of tuna access agreements in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean: Lessons for Vessel Day Scheme planning

The tuna industry in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) is one of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the world. Since the 1980s, Pacific island countries have used licensing agreements with foreign fishing interests—known as access agreements—to earn tuna-related revenue and control the environmental impacts of fishing, with only minimal success. To date, there has been little work detailing the structure of access agreements and assessing how this structure relates to economic and environmental outcomes in the sector. This article helps to fill this gap by providing an overview of various access structures and a detailed empirical assessment of how these structures are applied in access agreements between Pacific island countries and the major foreign fishing interests active in the WCPO. This analysis is placed in the context of evolving regional fisheries management structures. The study reveals that while there is no uniform formula for access agreements, each structure is subject to distinct political, economic and environmental considerations that influence outcomes for Pacific island countries. As Pacific island countries develop the mechanism to allocate fishing rights under the new Vessel Day Scheme, drawing on their long history with access agreements will assist efforts to use access to achieve policy objectives. Improved transparency will enable Pacific island countries to identify successes and problems and adapt the Vessel Day Scheme allocation mechanisms accordingly.     

Food web and fish stock changes in central Chile: comparing the roles of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) predation,the environment,and fisheries

We analyzed recent food web and fish stock changes in the central Chile marine ecosystem, comparing the roles of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) as predator, the environment, and fishing. To accomplish this we used food web modeling and the Ecopath with Ecosim software (EwE). The principal fish stocks have experienced wide decadal fluctuations in the past 30 years, including stock collapses of horse mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) and hake (Merluccius gayi), and there was a large influx of jumbo squid during the mid-2000s. We used two EwE models representing the food web off central Chile to test the hypothesis that predation by jumbo squid has been significant in explaining the dynamics of the main fishing resources and other species in the study area. Results indicate that predation by jumbo squid on fish stocks is lower than that of other predators (e.g. hake) and the fishery. Long-term fluctuations (1978–2004) in the biomass of the main fish stocks (as well as other components of the food web) seem to be related to fishing and to variation in primary production, rather than to predation by jumbo squid alone. Jumbo squid seems to play a role as predator rather than prey in the system, but its impacts are low when compared with the impacts of other predators and fishing. Therefore, we conclude that jumbo squid predation on its prey was not the primary force behind the collapse of important fish stocks off central Chile. Future efforts should be directed to better understanding factors that trigger sudden increases in jumbo squid abundance off central Chile, as well as modeling its trophic impacts.     

Global Exploration Models for Polymetallic Sulphides in the Area: An Assessment of Lease Block Selection under the Draft Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Sulphides

Draft regulations for prospecting and exploration of polymetallic sulphides in the “Area” are currently being considered for implementation by the International Seabed Authority. This paper examines possible models for allocation of lease blocks for exploration and the proposed schedule for relinquishing blocks during the exploration phase. One model for granting of exploration licenses under the proposed regulations involves contiguous lease blocks, similar to that being considered for nodules and crusts; another model involves non-contiguous blocks. An analysis of the occurrence and distribution of known polymetallic sulphides in 32 training areas shows that the regulations for prospecting and exploration of crusts likely cannot be applied equally to polymetallic sulphides.