The potential compatibility of offshore wind power and fisheries: An example using bluefin tuna in the Adriatic Sea

Given the increasing competition for marine resources, regulatory strategies that benefit multiple stakeholders are increasingly important. Offshore wind power generating facilities are becoming more common in the marine environment and alter the characteristics of the fisheries in the surrounding area. Floating wind turbines can act as fish aggregating devices (FAD), thereby increasing the catchability for some species. Many marine recreational fisheries are open access without effort restrictions; therefore, control of total harvest is difficult. Creating a limited entry recreational fishery and excluding commercial fishing from the area surrounding offshore wind turbines may aid in controlling total harvest and may benefit several important stakeholder groups: (1) recreational and commercial fishermen in terms of higher recreational catch rates and potentially higher overall yield, (2) fisheries managers in terms of more precise control of recreational fisheries harvest, and (3) owners of offshore wind power facilities in terms of reduced risk of damage to infrastructure due to fishing activity. We discuss the compatibility of wind power facilities and fisheries, conditions conducive to this compatibility, and provide an example from a proposed offshore wind power facility in the Adriatic Sea and its potential to affect the fisheries management there, particularly for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus).     

Thirty years after privatization: A survey of Icelandic small-boat fishermen

Iceland's nationwide privatized Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) system is over thirty years old but remains a topic of public and political debate, particularly because of the continued effects on small-scale fisheries. A national survey of small-boat fishermen was distributed to: (1) identify major defining characteristics of participants in ITQ and non-ITQ fisheries, (2) document and examine differences in satisfaction with fisheries management, and (3) evaluate the existing options for newcomers to participate in small-boat fisheries. Survey results indicate that Icelandic small-boat fishermen are engaged in multiple management systems within a wide range of boat sizes. Those who held quota were more satisfied with the current ITQ system compared to those who did not hold quota; however, nearly all fishermen were still critical of fisheries management in Iceland and the two major non-ITQ options of lumpfish and coastal fishing were not perceived to offer significant opportunity for entry-level fishermen. Dissatisfaction stemmed from the lack of decision-making power, a distrust of scientific advice, and the perception that the ITQ system did not serve the purpose of protecting fisheries resources, but was rather oriented only toward economic goals. The dynamic nature of Icelandic small-boat fishing livelihoods and the pervasive negative attitudes thirty years after ITQ implementation demonstrate the need for culturally appropriate and equitable fisheries management schemes where success is measured in social as well as economic and biological terms.     

Enacting and contesting neoliberalism in fisheries: The tragedy of commodifying lobster access rights in Southwest Nova Scotia

Atlantic Canadian fisheries policy exhibits a tension between competing objectives of economic efficiency, and of well-being and equity within coastal communities and small-scale fisheries. The struggle between different actors over these objectives has generated distinct forms of neoliberalism in different regions and fishing fleets. In the lobster fishery, the right to fish has been concentrated since limited-entry licensing policy was introduced in the 1980s. This paper examines actors and events at two scales, including Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 34 Advisory Committee meetings involving fishermen, representatives of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and other stakeholders, and broader scale strategies of the Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation (CIFHF). A Foucauldian perspective aids in understanding how fisheries governance is the product of struggles between the power and agency of individual fishermen, fishing organizations, processing companies, the DFO, the Minister of Fisheries and the courts. While many theorists view fisheries through the lens of the “tragedy of the commons”, alternative tragedies are developing in Atlantic Canadian fisheries. These include rising levels of debt, reduced earnings, vulnerability to financial volatility, loss of fishing rights within communities, and too much processor control.     

Middlemen,a critical social-ecological link in coastal communities of Kenya and Zanzibar

This paper analyzes the middlemen–fishermen link in coastal communities along the coast of southern Kenya and Zanzibar, and explores effects of reciprocal agreements and credit arrangements on social-ecological feedbacks of coastal systems. The existence and generality of such arrangements are mapped and their effect on resource use and ecosystem dynamics is then explored. Data show that credit arrangements are widespread and that fishermen are bound by reciprocal agreements and financial guarantees during periods of lower catches that provide short-term stabilizing social effects. These arrangements create incentives which disconnect resource extraction from ecosystem dynamics and impede development of sustainable use practices. The role of middlemen is seldom accounted for in fisheries governance. Scenarios for the development of small-scale fisheries in the region are outlined and the function of middlemen is discussed considering the influence of external drivers. Policies that incorporate middlemen are recommended to improve the governance of fish stocks and coastal ecosystems in East Africa.     

Fact or fiction? Assessing governance and co-management of Marine Reserves of Fishing Interest in Cedeira and Lira (NW Spain)

A large number of the marine protected areas (MPAs) designated in Spain have been proposed by public authorities or conservation NGOs in conjunction with their own administrations and other social and economic stakeholders. The only examples to date of MPAs proposed by fishing interests – the fishermen and their organizations – are located at Cedeira and Lira, two small communities in North West Spain. These fishing interests have been involved in these two proposals from the start, including design and development, as well as internal awareness-raising. However, 5 years from the outset, both marine reserves have failed to meet the conditions and essential requirements of a successful fisheries management system. This paper evaluates how the artisanal fishing sector has been identified with the idea of sustainability; and how the role and power relations of the Galician regional administration acquired both the key institutions of co-management and their associated functions which have conditioned the consolidation process of these marine reserves.     

Norwegian aquaculture expansion and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM): Simmering conflicts and competing claims

ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management) is a decision-making process for sustainable use, development and protection of coastal marine areas and their resources, in continuous realization. Norway is currently dependent upon the commitment and motivations of the municipalities to fulfill its ICZM initiatives. These communities are lacking epistemic communities that can help prevent the simmering conflicts surrounding aquaculture expansion, as demonstrated by media data from 1984–2010. With the forthcoming harvest of the zooplankton redfeed in Norwegian and surrounding waters, the Aquaculture industry could be in a situation of expanded feed resources, which would ensure its expansion if localities are made available. This would also be in line with the Norwegian government's commitment to the expansion of this industry. A government-endorsed growth of the Aquaculture industry will add fuel to these simmering conflicts concerning the use of the eco-system of collective goods and services available along national coastline in Norway for Aquaculture purposes. The suggestions from the recently released report from the Select Committee appointed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs in Norway on Effective and Sustainable Area Use in the Aquaculture Industry cab be an aid to supporting the growth of epistemic communities and a subsequent successful national ICZM implementation, thereby paving the way for a conflict-less coastal area management.     

Engaging Los Angeles County subsistence anglers in the California marine protected area planning process

Ecosystem-based management is more successful when a great diversity of stakeholders is engaged early in a decision-making process. Implementation of the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) has been stakeholder-based, coordinating the participation of a wide range of people including divers, fishermen, conservationists, local officials, business owners and coastal residents. Although commercial and recreational fishermen have actively participated throughout the MLPA implementation process, and research related to California’s sport and commercial fisheries has been integrated into the process, pier and shore anglers have been relatively unengaged as stakeholders. This study was completed to generate information about pier angler understanding and sentiment towards marine protected areas (MPAs), as well as to educate anglers on the MLPA implementation process in southern California and inform them on involvement opportunities. Of the 3030 pier anglers surveyed over 12 months, 78% only fish for subsistence from piers and from shore (never from boats); 84.6% are of non-White/Euro-American ethnicity and speak English as a second language; and 82% indicated that they were supportive of establishing a strong network of MPAs in southern California, specifically fully-protective no-take marine reserves. This study is an example of an alternative and customized method of outreach designed to reach a unique and previously unengaged stakeholder group, which stands to be affected by the implementation of the MLPA in California. Engaging such non-traditional stakeholders in public policy may be critical for decision makers to gauge all views from those standing to be affected by a policy—not just the views of those that regularly attend policy meetings—and for the ultimate success of policy implementation and community support.     

Community based fishery management within the Menai Bay conservation area: A survey of the resource user

Management strategies are challenging to implement in Zanzibar's fisheries because the local people depend upon these resources for basic subsistence. This difficulty epitomizes the vital need for sustainable management: the more people need a fishery, the harder it is to limit fishing to allow regeneration. Comparing fisheries management strategies in two coastal villages in Unguja, the largest island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, this paper confirms the results of existing scholarship that communitybased strategies provide the most promising solutions to this challenge. Interviews with officials from the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Village Fishermen Committees, and 51 fishermen in the villages of Kizimkazi Dimbani and Jambiani reveal the efficacy of strategies where local fishermen are centrally involved. The fishermen interviews reveal ignorance of existing fishing regulations and a lack of enforcement while fishermen at both sites noted that many illegal methods of fishing are still in use and expressed concern that such methods damage fish stocks. The Village Fishermen Committees, a recently implemented community-based initiative, are well attended by fishermen, and constitute a management strength that this paper concludes should be the foundation of future policy. To be successful, these committees need additional educational and financial resources.     

Escape the lion cage: Social networks by catch zones of small-scale fisheries in the oil settlement of Lobitos (Peru)

Artisanal fishing communities are often in conflict with the interests of the oil extraction industry, industrial fishing fleets and tourism. This paper considers Lobitos, a fishing enclave in northern Peru, where the oldest oil settlement in Latin America was established. The primary focus is community organization and development of the fisheries. Using a mixed methods approach, intensive ethnographic observation and analysis of the social networks of the skippers of small-scale fishing vessels was conducted by in-depth interviews with 30 artisanal fishermen, together with a social network survey involving 43 boat captains in Lobitos. The results showed the mistrust and negative attitudes of fishermen towards oil companies and the industrial fishing fleet. However, they expressed positive expectations regarding tourism development, as well as favorable attitudes towards the diversification of fishing activity through tourist services. The networks of acquaintances, social support and exchange of ecological information allowed us to identify three different groups of fishermen according to preferential fishing zones. The skippers of vessels that prefer to fish in intermediate zones have a prominent role, both in terms of local leadership and through the connection with boats belonging to other bays near Lobitos. This subgroup acts as an intermediary in the networks a whole and has an integrated vision of the coastal ecosystem. Network measures and preferential fishing zones can be used as indicators to assess the degree of availability and preparation for the implementation of new uses in the fisheries sector associated with tourism and heritage.     

Developing a sustainable indicator system based on the pressure–state–response framework for local fisheries: A case study of Gungliau,Taiwan

To sustain fishery development and ensure the supply of fish, the role that a sustainable development indicator system plays in the evaluation of fishery management performance is becoming increasingly important. A sustainable indicator system based on the Pressure–State–Response (PSR) framework was developed for local fisheries in Gungliau, Taiwan, between 1995 and 2003. Factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis were also applied to aggregate indicators and analyse the linkage of indicators. The most serious problem facing fishery system in Gungliau is conflicting local and higher levels of enforcement that result in the problems of effort, harvest and fleet age composition related to the pressure component. Fishery resources and the state of ecosystem were also affected by marine environmental change, especially by El Ñino. Consequently, fishermen adjusted their effort and investment to the variation of Fishery resources, leading Gungliau fisheries to unsustainability.     

Punishment and compliance: Exploring scenarios to improve the legitimacy of small-scale fisheries management rules on the Brazilian coast

This study investigated the effects of legal and societal punishment on fishermen's compliance behaviour, according to fishermen's age and level of dependency on fisheries, through the use of interviews and scenarios. Ninety-five fishermen living in a coastal park (Ponta do Tubarão Sustainable Development Reserve) in the Brazilian northeast, where controlled exploitation of natural resources is allowed, took part in this study. The results showed that age alone would not affect compliance, regardless of the level of enforcement. However, it was noticed that the fishermen who claimed to depend on the money provided by fisheries, regardless of their age, were more likely to say that they would not comply, even if enforcement were stricter. The scenario analysis showed that increased monitoring and punishment (including societal pressure) could enhance compliance, especially among younger fishermen, who claimed not to depend solely on fisheries. Therefore, fisheries management should also consider differences in social groups, and not focus solely on the enforcement and punishment mechanisms, assuring that livelihood options that consider different social needs are provided.     

海洋渔业产业结构优化对碳排放效率的影响 ——基于我国沿海地区的空间计量分析

研究海洋渔业产业结构优化对碳排放的影响,对于促进海洋渔业高质量发展具有重要的现实意义。文章基于2008—2017年我国沿海9省(自治区)的面板数据,运用数据包络方法计算海洋渔业碳排放效率,并采用空间计量模型,探讨海洋渔业产业结构优化对碳排放效率的影响。研究结果表明:我国海洋渔业碳排放效率的地区差异显著,除河北和广西外,其他地区均具有较高的海洋渔业碳排放效率;从空间特征看,海洋渔业产业结构优化水平具有显著的空间集聚性,海洋渔业碳排放效率也存在一定的空间依赖性,碳排放效率的"高-高"集聚特征较为明显;从回归结果看,海洋渔业产业结构优化和海洋渔业经济水平对海洋渔业碳排放效率具有显著的正向影响,这种影响不仅作用于本地区,而且辐射和扩散到邻近地区;渔民收入、渔业科研投入和渔业对外开放水平对海洋渔业碳排放效率存在一定的负面影响。     

Managing sino-ghanaian fishery relations: A political ecology approach

A global recurring challenge for marine managers and policy makers is the effective management of fisheries conflicts. This study demonstrates the usefulness of a political ecology approach in understanding the complexity of conflict in increasingly internationalized national fisheries. By doing so it aims to provide an alternative approach to the environmental security perspectives, predicated on scarcity narratives, that often underpin policy on fishery conflicts. Using a localised example of industrial Chinese and local artisanal fishermen conflict in Ghana, this paper reveals a complex account of contesting ‘access’ to resources, in material and nonmaterial terms, that moves beyond an ‘absolute scarcity’ driven narrative. The conflict is shown to be one, in part, focussed around spatially fixed areas as well as moral claims of correct ways of fishing that reflect social tensions within the local fishing community. Both aspects show long term motivations to keep resource access, rather than being concerned with in the moment struggles over scarce resources. This work also highlights the existence of cooperation between groups of artisanal fishermen involved in transhipment with Chinese fishermen, revealing the complex nexus of winners and losers produced by environmental, social and political factors. In sum, policy must acknowledge that conflict is rarely produced purely by scarcity, and that broader social and political factors often combine in a variety of forms to produce localised conflict. If these complexities are ignored, fisheries policy runs the risk of unintentionally exacerbating conflicts and disadvantaging those who it aims to help.     

Local community training and education in southern Tanzania—a case study

Local coastal communities are highly dependent upon the marine environment not only for protein but also as a primary source of income. In addition, there are growing economic opportunities offered within the coastal zone. As populations increase in these areas there is an increasing demand on coastal resources. This in turn requires effective management initiatives at regional, national and local levels.The Marine Education and Training Programme in Mtwara, southern Tanzania was a small scale capacity building project that incorporated two elements; a primary schools field day education programme and a marine coastal resources course for fishermen and women from the Mtwara District. The programme ran for a period of 1 year and during that time 14 schools, 198 children, 34 fishermen, 2 women and 14 villages participated. Results from preliminary evaluation indicated that such education is not only welcome by the local government offices, teachers, village chairmen and fishermen as an expansion of the knowledge base, but is also an important and valuable stepping stone for the local communities to become active in issues regarding the management of coastal resources.     

Adapting towards climate change impacts: Strategies for small-scale fishermen in Malaysia

As with the global scenario, a number of climate change ‘symptoms’ are being detected in Malaysia. Local scholars have looked into the problems of rising temperature, rising sea level, extreme rainfall and extreme winds, which are causing coastal and mangrove erosion and degradation of marine resources. In turn, these issues are affecting the small-scale fishermen who rely heavily on weather stability to conduct their social and economic routines. This paper analyses six adaptation strategies, namely, reducing the risks associated with fishing routines, strengthening social relationships, managing fishermen's climate change knowledge, facilitating the community's learning of alternative skills, involving fishermen in climate change adaptation planning, and enhancing fishermen's access to credit. These suggestions are hoped to provide basis for concerned parties to develop adaptation strategies that are in line with small-scale fishermen's needs, abilities and interests.     

Power and perspective: Fisheries and the ocean commons beset by demands of development

Marine renewable energy (MRE), though a relative newcomer to the ocean and coastal commons, has become a significant driver of marine spatial planning in the US, posing particular challenges to commercial fisheries and fishing communities. State and federal agencies with primary oversight for MRE development have focused on the identification of places where MRE might proceed unhindered by other uses, most notably coastal fisheries. These agencies and MRE developers have focused on potential space-use conflict and standard mitigation measures for loss of access to that space. However, discussions with fishery participants and other community members, as well as observations of processes on the US West and East Coasts, reveal a complex, multi-faceted social–ecological system not easily parsed out among users, nor amenable to classic mitigation formulas. Recent ethnographic research on potential space-use conflicts and mitigation for MRE demonstrates that marine space use is dynamic and multi-dimensional, with important linkages among fisheries, communities and other interests. Although experiences vary within and across regions and fishing communities, this research illustrates the weak position of fishing communities in marine spatial planning in the context of MRE development. This paper considers the implications of MRE for US East and West Coast fisheries and fishing communities situated within the larger context of neoliberalism and commodification of the ocean commons.     

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.     

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.     

Review of marine recreational fisheries regulations in Argentina

The effects of recreational fishing on marine stocks and ecosystems have raised global concern in recent years. In Argentina, Southwest Atlantic, angling, netting and spearfishing of coastal bony fishes, sharks, rays and chimaeras are very popular pastime activities with more than 50 years of history. Despite the perceived traditional and economic relevance of these activities in the country, marine recreational fisheries were largely unregulated, and no official fisheries monitoring programs at the national level have been ever put in place. Except for a few particular systems for which some catch-and-effort data were collected by research institutions and non-governmental organizations, no comprehensive surveys aimed at describing the ecological, social or economic aspects of these fisheries have been made. Here, an updated review of the regulations in place for marine recreational fisheries along the Argentine coastline is presented. Of the five coastal provinces encompassing ca. 8400 km and about 20 latitude degrees (~36°S to 55°S) of coastline, only Buenos Aires province has a thorough legislation for its whole territory, which includes 15 protected areas. In the remaining provinces, the regulations for marine recreational fisheries are limited to a few protected areas (seven out of 37 coastal areas under provincial, national or shared jurisdiction). This lack of legislation encourages alleged recreational fishers to develop small-scale commercial fishing operations that are neither controlled nor monitored as such, contributing to the overexploitation of some key coastal stocks.     

Perspectives of the coastal and marine fisheries of the Bay of Bengal,Bangladesh

Bangladesh has vast coastal and marine resources along its south edge. Due to the geographical position and climatic condition, the coastal area of the country is known as one of the highly productive areas of the world. Bangladesh is rich not only in terms of its vast water areas but also in terms of the biological diversity. One of the unique features of the coastal areas is the influence of the mangrove forests, which support a high number of fishes and other commercially important aquatic organisms. The biological and ecological values of the Bay of Bengal have been pointed out by many authors. The coastal and marine fisheries have been playing considerable roles not only in the social and economic development of the country but also in the regional ecological balance. A large number of commercially important fishes have long been exploited which are of high export values. Shrimp aquaculture has become a highly traded export-oriented industry for the last few decades. In spite of having bright prospects, marine aquaculture on a commercial basis as well as marine stock enhancement and sea ranching are yet to be developed. The marine fisheries sector has been suffering from chronic disintegration and mismanagement that have led to many consequences. Most of the commercially important fish stocks are either overexploited or under threat. Marine pollution has reached a level that could create an unmanageable situation in the near future; coastal shrimp farming has generated considerable debates due to its adverse environmental and socioeconomic impacts. The Bay of Bengal and its coastal areas are one of the most poorly studied areas of the world although it possesses high potential for further stock improvement. Proper attention is needed in every aspect of exploitation, handling and processing, export and marketing as well as in biological and institutional management strategies. The Bay of Bengal has been increasingly important for local development as well as for a global perspective. The coastal and marine fisheries of the Bay of Bengal are briefly reviewed in this paper to provide a salient feature of the available information and resource base and to identify future research and management needs.