Socio-economic drivers and indicators for artisanal coastal fisheries in Pacific island countries and territories and their use for fisheries management strategies

This is the first regional study of artisanal fisheries in Pacific Island countries and territories that demonstrated that the future of the region's artisanal fishery sector and the livelihood of coastal communities will be highly dependent on alternative subsistence and income sources, which are necessary to reduce fishing pressure to a sustainable level to maintain ecosystem services and food security. The overall objective of this study was to identify socio-economic indicators and drivers to improve the understanding of the dynamics between socio-economic conditions and current exploitation levels of finfish and invertebrates of coastal communities in 17 Pacific Island countries and territories. We showed that exploitation rates and thus possible overexploitation are not solely the consequence of a simple demographic growth process but are in fact a result of the choices people have. Our results confirmed a close relationship between resource exploitation rates and economic development at the national level and the availability of alternative income opportunities at the community level. Multivariate analysis results suggest that communities in countries with somewhat unfavourable conditions and limited access to alternatives and fishing households in communities with overall favourable economic conditions are at highest vulnerability as they have the highest dependence on coastal fisheries resources. Alternative economic opportunities at the national scale and availability of alternative income at the community level vary significantly between cultural groups. Based on our results, the development of management strategies with realistic expectations of ensuring livelihood of coastal communities and sustainable resource use in Pacific Island countries and territories requires a hierarchical and integral approach. Major drivers identified at the regional, cultural and local levels should be used to identify priorities, to assess overall advantages and limitations at the different levels as well as the vulnerability of communities targeted, and to develop strategies accordingly.     

Tangled lines in New Zealand's quota management system: The process of including recreational fisheries

This article uses New Zealand as a case study of processes relating to the inclusion of recreational fisheries in modern fisheries management systems based on Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs). The New Zealand case highlights challenges governments often meet when attempting to integrate the recreational sector into fisheries management, including: (a) resistance to restrictions on what has historically been free-of-charge public access to fish for recreational purposes and (b) the fragmented character of the recreational sector, which makes it difficult to have recreational interests attend to their management role and responsibilities.     

Sustainable development: Social outcomes of structural adjustments in a South Australian fishery

The assessment of sustainable development is a relatively recent advent in policy and the evaluation of industry structural adjustments. Although the elements of economic and environmental assessment have been relatively well developed and accepted, the effective inclusion of ‘social’ aspects in assessments of sustainable development are still being grappled with.     

Changing trust relations within the Dutch fishing industry: The case of National Study Groups

This paper focuses on changing trust relationships among fishermen following new governance arrangements. The previous ‘thick’ trust relationships that characterized the Dutch fisheries industry under a neo-corporatist arrangement had resulted in an isolation of local fishermen groups vis-à-vis outsiders. However, under new governance arrangements, in particular the so-called Study Groups, these trust relationships are changing. The establishment of Study Groups, where fishermen from different localities have to cooperate on sustainability innovations in order to receive subsidies, lead to more diversity within the industry, more collaborations across localities and new forms of ‘thin’ trust. As such, these Study Groups can be understood as successful experiments in further opening up of the fisheries community.     

唐山震区深反射剖面分析

为了进一步研究唐山地区深部地壳构造与唐山大地震孕育及发生的关系,国家地震局地球物理研究所在石油部物探局的协助下,于1985年1月在唐山震区完成了64km长的深反射剖面野外观测,获得了高分辨率的整个地壳结构的详细资料。分析结果表明,唐山震区内深度500m以上的沉积层十分破碎;结晶基底为前震旦纪地层,埋深2-7km不等,覆盖地层倾斜,且断层发育,其中陡河断裂为正断层,延深至6-7km,推断该断层为1976年唐山发震的重要构造之一。测线上大约21km深处普遍存在一反射层;莫霍面深度在31-32km左右,与该地区折射剖面得到的结果相当一致。     

Impact assessments and policy responses to sea-level rise in three US states: An exploration of human-dimension uncertainties

Uncertainties in the human dimensions of global change deeply affect the assessment and responses to climate change impacts such as sea-level rise (SLR). This paper explores the uncertainties in the assessment process and in state-level policy and management responses of three US states to SLR. The findings reveal important political, economic, managerial, and social factors that enable or constrain SLR responses; question disasters as policy windows; and uncover new policy opportunities in the history of state coastal policies. Results suggest that a more realistic, and maybe more useful picture of climate change impacts will emerge if assessments take more seriously the locally embedded realities and constraints that affect individual decision-makers’ and communal responses to climate change.     

Approximation of interfacial properties in multiphase porous medium systems

We investigate the estimation of interfacial areas, curvatures, and common curve lengths in multiphase porous medium systems. Algorithms are developed to obtain estimates of these quantities based upon a variety of potential data sources and estimation approaches. The accuracy of the derived approximations are evaluated as a function of the data type and resolution of the data. The methods advanced improve upon standard approaches now in use and show excellent accuracy at resolutions on the order of five lattice points per minimum radius of curvature of the object being resolved. Finally, we suggest a promising class of extensions that could lead to further improvements in the accuracy of such methods.     

EROD activity, serum SDH and PAH biliary metabolites in sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis) collected in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

In order to evaluate the health status of fish inhabiting Port Phillip Bay, Australia, southern sand flathead (Platycephalus hassensis, N = 133) were collected at six stations throughout the Bay. Fish had a similar serum sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) activity level (p = 0.12), indicating that they were not experiencing hepatocellular injuries. Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity was generally lower in the non-urbanized and non-industrialized southern part of the Bay. The highest EROD activity was observed in Hobson Bay, the closest station from Melbourne city. Naphthalene-type biliary metabolites were also highest in Hobson Bay with intermediate levels found in Corio Bay where refineries are present. An opposite trend was observed with the pyrene-type bile metabolites, the highest levels being observed in Corio Bay while intermediate levels were found in Hobson Bay. The ratio of naphthalene-type to benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P)-type metabolites indicate that relatively to other sites sampled in Port Phillip Bay, Corio Bay is subjected to enriched petroleum hydrocarbons of pyrolytic origin. Temporal trends indicate that the availability of xenobiotics to fish remained unchanged over the 1990s.     

An interval-parameter multi-stage stochastic programming model for water resources management under uncertainty

In this study, an interval-parameter multi-stage stochastic linear programming (IMSLP) method has been developed for water resources decision making under uncertainty. The IMSLP is a hybrid methodology of inexact optimization and multi-stage stochastic programming. It has three major advantages in comparison to the other optimization techniques. Firstly, it extends upon the existing multi-stage stochastic programming method by allowing uncertainties expressed as probability density functions and discrete intervals to be effectively incorporated within the optimization framework. Secondly, penalties are exercised with recourse against any infeasibility, which permits in-depth analyses of various policy scenarios that are associated with different levels of economic consequences when the promised water-allocation targets are violated. Thirdly, it cannot only handle uncertainties through constructing a set of scenarios that is representative for the universe of possible outcomes, but also reflect dynamic features of the system conditions through transactions at discrete points in time over the planning horizon. The developed IMSLP method is applied to a hypothetical case study of water resources management. The results are helpful for water resources managers in not only making decisions of water allocation but also gaining insight into the tradeoffs between environmental and economic objectives.     

Defending community? Indigeneity, self-determination and institutional ambivalence in the restoration of Lake Whakaki

Conservation practitioners have scrutinized the credibility and effectiveness of community-based natural resource management, noting its romantic misconceptions about communities and their capacities. Early approaches failed to acknowledge the heterogeneity of collective agents, the synergy between decentralization and neoliberalism, or the need to affirm rural peoples’ entitlements to resources. A Maori community’s attempt to restore Lake Whakaki on New Zealand’s east coast confirms many of these critiques. The restoration confronts institutional ambivalence, obstructive forces from beyond the zone of Maori influence and non-correspondence between community and catchment dynamics. Fulfilment of the project requires exogenous resources and authority, but state conservation agencies are ambivalent towards local demands for self-determined development. Nonetheless, an uncommon degree of agency which is grounded within community aspirations for sovereignty suggests that the motivational characteristics of community retain their importance in debates about integrated conservation and development.