Chinese public policy on fisheries subsidies: Reconciling trade,environmental and food security stakes

This article provides a historical account of Chinese public policy on fisheries subsidies, and a discussion of problems and limitations resulting from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round fisheries subsidies negotiation. By analyzing subsidization trends and applying a proportional assessment of subsidized areas, the article tracks the evolvement of Chinese fishery policy objective and priorities. Chinese fishery is not historically significantly subsidized in light of its relatively market-oriented structure and a sustained momentum in reducing marine capture capacity. However, due to the commitment to encouraging qualitative growth and to satisfying a rising domestic demand for fish, the government seeks for adequate policy space to employ fuel, distant water fisheries, infrastructure and various ‘green light’ subsidies. Whether or not such a claim can be accepted as a developmental right not an exception remains to be answered by the revision of current negotiation draft.     

Results based management in fisheries: Delegating responsibility to resource users

While the notion of results based management has been devoted recent attention in the context of reforming European fisheries management, it remains unclear what it entails. A conceptual model of results based management in fisheries is proposed as a way for public authorities to delegate specific management and documentation responsibilities to resource users. The model comprises three defining features: (1) That authorities define measurable objectives for the utilization of fisheries resources; (2) that resource users are made responsible for achieving these objectives and for (3) providing documentation that allows for an audit of the extent to which they are met. Selected cases are used to illustrate these features. Rationales and prospects of introducing results based management as an alternative in a European fisheries management context are discussed, giving consideration to how it may be pursued under the reformed common fisheries policy.     

From adoption to implementation? An academic perspective on Sustainable Fisheries Management in a developing country

Despite the fact that Sustainable Fisheries Management (SFM) has long been proposed internationally, it remains controversial. Practical and successful applications are scarce, especially in developing countries with a recent history of massive overfishing, such as Mexico. Although SFM has been adopted at the highest level of the Mexican legal framework during the last two decades, its successful implementation still faces a series of complex challenges. At present, important changes in the Mexican political regime are at a breaking point, motivating the academic discussion about the national implications of adopting SFM approaches. Through the analysis of a series of deep interviews of key actors, combined with published material, the article illustrates how the fast-track adoption of SFM approaches has fared in a national fisheries context, the current situation being largely dysfunctional with regard to the challenges of SFM. A complicated mixture between unbeaten management and academic vestiges caused the present circumstances of an enhanced but limited fisheries system. The article proposes academic initiatives required to improve the implementation of SFM in Mexico based on an enhanced understanding of domestic historic conditions and challenges.     

The effects of stock size and environmental variability on Cape hake recruitment in Namibia: an unsolved puzzle (a comment on Kainge et al. 2013)

Measuring and forecasting recruitment are central to the understanding and management of fish stocks. Kainge et al. (2013) studied the effect of spawning stock size and environmental fluctuations on the recruitment levels of the Cape hake Merluccius capensis in Namibia. However, their study contains some flaws that undermine the conclusion that Cape hake recruitment is under the influence of upwelling in summer. Until those flaws are properly addressed, this conclusion, in our view, should be treated with caution.     

The ebb and flow of capital in Indonesian coastal production systems

The global fisheries sector has undergone both rapid industrialization and considerable resource depletion. Unlike fisheries in the Northern Hemisphere, the Indonesian (and indeed Southeast Asian) sector is still largely dominated by small-scale producers, who are partially embedded within a subsistence economy. Changes in the nature of production and livelihoods in the fisheries sector appear similar to those in land-based agriculture but have received far less attention in the literature and demand further analysis given the distinct characteristics of the natural resource base. Using national datasets complemented by insights from a two-month period of fieldwork in South Sulawesi, this paper presents the process of capital intensification underpinning national fisheries growth and how it is transforming small-scale production systems. Despite increasing market integration, we found that smallholders have persisted across coastal production systems to an even stronger degree than land-based agriculture. We suggest some reasons why this is so. However, we also observed evidence of internal class differentiation within coastal communities. Such differentiation, combined with resource degradation and depletion, exposes the poorest in the community to enhanced livelihood vulnerability.     

漂浮通量箱法和扩散模型法测定内陆水体CH_4和N_2O排放通量的初步比较研究

采用漂浮通量箱法和扩散模型法同步地观测了模拟内陆水体在不同条件下的CH4和N2O的水-气交换通量,旨在比较两类方法取得结果的异同。结果显示:这两类方法所测得的绝大多数CH4排放通量都与水中溶解氧呈显著线性负相关(显著性系数P0.001)。同时N2O排放通量与表层水温及水中铵态氮、硝态氮、溶解碳和溶解氧的关系可用包含所有上述水环境因素的Arrhenius动力学方程来表达,这些因素可以共同解释86%~90%的N2O通量变化(P0.0001),且不同方法测定的N2O通量的表观活化能和对表层水温的敏感系数分别介于47~59 kJ mol-1和1.92~2.27之间;扩散模型法所获得的CH4和N2O通量分别是箱法测定值的13%~175%和15%~240%,差异程度因模型而异;不同模型取得通量间相差20%~1200%,平均相差2.3倍。上述结果表明:仅用一种模型方法来取得CH4或N2O排放通量易形成较大偏差;不同扩散模型法和箱法测定的通量在反映CH4和N2O排放的内在规律方面具有一致性,但它们对真实气体通量的测量是否都存在不同程度的系统误差,尚需进一步研究。     

What makes a “successful” marine protected area? The unique context of Hawaii′s fish replenishment areas

In 1998, in order to combat the degradation of yellow tang populations on the west coast of Hawaii Island, fish replenishment areas (FRAs) were established prohibiting aquarium fishing along more than thirty percent of the coastline. Unlike other marine management approaches in Hawaii, which have largely been controversial, fraught with confusion over regulations, inadequately enforced, and lacking public support, these FRAs have been lauded as a marine conservation success, with wide-ranging support and evidence of rapid replenishment of the yellow tang population. In order to better understand the contextual factors contributing to the success of the West Hawaii FRAs, this research explores the following questions: (1) What factors documented in the literature on marine protected areas (MPAs) have been demonstrated to contribute to or inhibit MPA success internationally; (2) which of these factors do the FRAs of West Hawaii exhibit; and (3) are there additional factors that may have contributed to their wide acceptance and success? Common factors contributing to MPA success are determined through a synthesis of the literature. These include: level of community engagement, socioeconomic characteristics, ecological factors, MPA design, governance, and enforcement. The outcomes of West Hawaii′s FRAs are examined in the context of these factors. While the common factors agreed upon in the literature were key to the success of the FRAs, additional contextual factors such as the unique nature of the aquarium fishery and its social marginalization also played a vital role.     

Constraints and solutions for managing Pacific Island sea cucumber fisheries with an ecosystem approach

The ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) is a holistic paradigm that considers stocks of exploitable species, marine ecosystems and stakeholders. Management agencies must strike a balance between their capacity constraints and the requisites of management measures. Most small-scale sea cucumber fisheries of Pacific Islands have been plundered while others are being opened to commercial exploitation. Data from fishery managers and a regional workshop were used to assess the current problems, institutional constraints and solutions to the management of sea cucumber fisheries in 13 Pacific Island countries (PICs). Technical capacity was often strong for some management actions such as developing marine reserves but weak for others, such as enforcement. Using multi-disciplinary indicators, half of the fisheries were diagnosed by their managers as being overfished or depleted, despite evidence of optimistic bias. Fishery governance varied greatly among the PICs, and co-management frameworks were not typical of any cultural region. Management objectives were prioritised differently among managers but most highly ranked was to protect ecological resilience. The fishery managers proposed different sets of regulatory measures and various management actions, such as surveys to collect socio-economic and fishery-dependent data, support for local governance and strong enforcement – all widely under-practised. Pacific sea cucumber fisheries exemplify how the transition to an EAF by management institutions must involve reorganisation of their technical and human-resource capacities among management tasks. Levies on exports need to be internalised to fund improved management. Management agencies should consider a shift in resources from developing marine reserves, conducting underwater surveys and aquaculture-based restocking to strengthening enforcement capacity, stakeholder involvement and communication with fishers. In concert with these actions, short fishing seasons, shortlists of allowable species and tighter enforcement at export points may serve to turn the tide on boom-and-bust exploitation and safeguard biodiversity.     

Using individual transferable quotas (ITQs) to achieve social policy objectives: A proposed intervention

ITQs offer environmental and economic benefits, including better conservation of a fish stock and greater profitability for fishers. With some limitations, they achieve fairly good alignment between the profit incentive and stewardship objectives. Nevertheless, critics have objected to ITQ schemes because of such factors as the “armchair fishing” phenomenon, unfairness to the public (the owner of the fish), economic and social damage to remote communities, and increased concentration within the fishery. Economists generally dismiss these as distributional issues rather than matters of efficiency or economics, but economic principles are clearly not the only factors that may require attention or action from a government or regulator. This paper proposes an intervention that addresses these concerns within the context of an ITQ scheme. The intervention does not reduce the permanence or values of ITQs, and therefore retains the benefits that ITQs are designed to deliver. Nevertheless, the intervention addresses the criticisms identified above. Modifications of the intervention may enable additional goals and benefits to be achieved as well.