Neoliberalism and the politics of enclosure in North American small-scale fisheries

This paper reviews the ways in which policies of enclosure, privatization, and deregulation have unfolded in several regions of North America and examines the consequences they have had for small-scale fisheries in practice. This introductory essay provides a brief overview of the history of neoliberal thought, discusses some of the key ways it has influenced fisheries policies in North America and around the world, and presents a thematic overview of the papers included in this special issue.     

Evaluating the basic elements of transparency of regional fisheries management organizations

This paper reports on the first global study of regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) transparency. It was prompted by recent scholarship that suggests that RFMOs are failing to meet their conservation and management mandates and that transparency is a critical element of this performance. In this study, 11 RFMOs were evaluated using 34 questions, divided into three sections: (i) access to full, up-to-date and accurate information; (ii) public participation in decision-making; and (iii) access to outcomes. Secretariats for all 11 RFMOs were contacted, and all responded, to correct and comment on initial findings and to share additional information. The total scores in this study reflect transparency as measured against current good practices in RFMOs as a whole, rather than some sort of idealistic benchmark. Each question should therefore be seen as a diagnostic tool that shows where some RFMO(s) fall short and how they can correct the shortfall based on the practices of their peers. These results have highlighted a number of good practices amongst RFMOs, with no single RFMO standing out as having particularly poor transparency practices. On the other hand, there also were not any RFMOs that had exemplary transparency practices in every respect and all RFMOs still have room to improve upon their basic transparency practices. This first transparency assessment is necessarily broad in nature and considers only very basic elements of transparency. It is to be expected that as RFMO practices become more sophisticated, so will the techniques and criteria of future transparency assessments.     

Subsidies to tuna fisheries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean

Tuna fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean are among the most valuable resources in the region. These fisheries, worth an estimated $4.1 billion each year, play a pivotal role in supporting incomes and development goals in the region. However, due to the twin, and potentially inter-related effects of harmful fishing practices such as the use of fish aggregating devices, overcapacity, and fisheries subsidies, many of these tuna fisheries are currently at risk of over-exploitation—putting the livelihoods of countless local fishers at risk. This study finds that government fisheries subsidies in the region represent 37% of the ex-vessel value of tuna fisheries in the region. Fuel subsidies are estimated at US$ 335 million and non-fuel subsidies are estimated at US$ 1.2 billion for the year 2009. Developed countries are responsible for more than half of the subsidies spent in the predominantly developing region, underlying the fact that the majority of tuna value extracted from the national waters of developing countries in the region benefit larger, developed countries. The total resource rent, or return to society, from tuna fisheries, once adjusted for subsidies is a net negative US$750 million in 2009. Fisheries subsidies are enabling foreign fleets to operate at sub-market rates, putting local fleets out of competition for their own fishery resources.     

Au-Sb association and fractionation in micro-disseminated gold deposits,southwestern Guizhou--geochemistry and thermodynamics

The dual geochemical character of paragenesis and fractionation between gold,arsenic and antimony in micro-disseminated gold deposits in southwestern Guizhou is discussed in terms of spatial distribution of independent deposits,lateral and vertical enrichment,mineralization stage and factor and correlation analyses.Thermodynamic calculations of solubility and speciation of gold and antimony minerals indicate that gold is transported in hydrothermal solution as Au(HS)-2 and antimony is mainly as Sb(OH)03 although HSb2S-4 may be of increasing importance in acid environment at low temperatures during the late stage of mineralization.Changes in physicochemical conditions hold the key to the association and fractionation between gold and antimony.Gold and antimony response differently to physicochemical variations because they are distinct from each other in soluble speciation and mineral solubility,leading to precipitation at different times and localities during hydrothermal evolution.     

Distribution,behaviour and photo-identification of Atlantic humpback dolphins Sousa teuszii off Flamingos,Angola

Atlantic humpback dolphins Sousa teuszii are a priority for research due to their restricted geographic range, narrow ecological niche and the paucity of existing information. The distribution and behaviour of S. teuszii off Flamingos, southern Angola, was investigated during summer and winter 2008 using boat- and shore-based surveys. In all, 71 S. teuszii sightings were recorded, ranging from one to eight animals. Sousa teuszii inhabited shallow, nearshore waters throughout the region, with the exception of southern areas adjacent to fishing villages. Small bays, sheltered waters behind reef-breaks and areas off dry river mouths were used for foraging/feeding behaviour, whereas most travelling occurred along exposed coast. Ten individual S. teuszii were photo-identified. Multiple resightings (and absence of unmarked animals) indicate that all individuals present at the time of the surveys were photocaptured, exhibited high site fidelity and had year-round occurrence. Association indices of 0.77-1.0 indicated strong social affiliation between eight individuals, particularly in winter. Off Flamingos, S. teuszii occurs in small numbers and exhibits high site fidelity to a relatively small stretch of nearshore habitat, making the species vulnerable to local extirpation. Wider-scale surveys and development of a management plan are crucial to ensuring the long-term conservation of S. teuszii off Flamingos.     

新疆阿尔泰南缘早—中泥盆世东西部火山岩源区及矿床物质来源差异

阿尔泰南缘发育大量火山岩及硫化物-Fe 多金属矿床。从东向西,成矿元素组合依次为 Pb-Zn、Fe-Pb-Zn和Cu-Zn。本文对阿尔泰南缘东部的萨吾斯矿床的火成岩做了主微量元素、Sr-Nd和锆石Hf-O同位素及闪锌矿的Pb同位素组成测定。对比了阿尔泰南缘东部、中部和西部5个铁-硫化物矿床的Pb和Sr-Nd同位素。康布铁堡组流纹岩来自于多旋回风化-剥蚀-搬运-再沉积碎屑物质的重熔,富集Zn,表现出碎屑物质的微量元素特征,导致萨吾斯和可可塔勒 Pb-Zn 矿床的高207Pb/204Pb、208Pb/204Pb 及低206Pb/204Pb、εNd(t)。康布铁堡组下亚组中基性火山喷发为蒙库Fe矿的初始富集奠定了基础。中部的克兰盆地形成于洋陆过渡弧或属弧间盆地,康布铁堡组中下段中基性火山岩和上段流纹岩分别为Fe和Zn的富集奠定了基础,碳酸盐岩则造成了Pb的富集,从而形成铁木尔特Fe-Pb-Zn矿床。铁木尔特和蒙库矿床的206Pb/204Pb比值最高且变化大,反映了大洋岛弧火山岩的特征。在西部,阿舍勒组富镁英安岩来自流体交代的地幔楔,导致了阿舍勒矿床Cu的富集,赋矿岩石的εNd(t)值高,(87Sr/86Sr)i和矿石Pb同位素比值低。     

全国极端气温事件的空间关联模式挖掘研究

根据全国739个气象台站1961年1月至2005年12月的逐日气象数据记录建立时空序列数据集,提取极端高温事件和极端低温事件。结合传统关联规则挖掘技术和地理空间数据分析方法,对极端气温事件数据集进行了空间关联模式的分析。实验结果显示,所得空间关联模式中涉及的区域在空间上具有明显的聚集性;在东北、华中两个局部地区的台站中,极端气温事件的发生存在较强的关联规则（支持度阈值6%,置信度阈值95%）,而在其他区域的台站中,极端气温事件不存在类似的关联规则,且极端高温事件的关联规则数量要明显高于极端低温事件。对存在关联规则的台站进行空间分析发现,同一关联规则内的各台站具有空间邻近性,其邻近范围约为200 km。以上空间关联模式的挖掘分析,可以为我国极端气温事件的预警和防控提供有价值的参考。     

An assessment of the current status of the chokka squid fishery in South Africa and an evaluation of alternative allocation strategies

The South African squid fishery is based on a single species, Loligo reynaudi, locally referred to as chokka and commonly found around the Agulhas Bank and West Coast shelf of South Africa. The existing long term rights for participation in the fishery expire at the end of 2013 and a new set of rights will have to be issued. Progress made to date in achieving the objectives of the South African Marine Living Resources Act of 1998 (MLRA), including progress towards greater equity, will be an important consideration in allocation decisions. The draft Small-Scale Fisheries Policy, scheduled to be adopted in 2013, could also influence the criteria to be used. This study updates the information on the current structure and functioning of the squid jig sector and considers the likely performance of two alternative access allocation scenarios against the current and evolving policy goals. The study reaffirms that the squid fishery is an important contributor to human well-being in South Africa and particularly in the Eastern Cape Province but there is scope for improvement in the extent of transformation and equity. The study concludes that, as a result of a common lack of experience and capital amongst potential new entrants, the risks associated with transformation in this fishery are likely to be high, especially if the option of allocating rights to community-based legal entities was to be used. The risks could be reduced by ensuring that a number of pre-conditions were met. These include, amongst others, not allowing total effort in the fishery to increase; ensuring effective management by the responsible government authorities; adequate capacity building of new entrants, whether individuals or cooperatives; and ensuring new entrants have viable business plans.     

Stock size matters more than vessel size: The fuel efficiency of Swedish demersal trawl fisheries 2002–2010

Fisheries management determines how much of each stock can be landed when, where and how fishing is permitted. It has been identified to strongly influence the environmental performance of the fishing industry, including fuel use. As fuel data for fisheries is scarce, especially on a detailed level, the aim of this study was to develop an approach for utilizing fleet-wide fuel data to estimate the fuel use of individual fisheries and mapping how fuel efficiency in Swedish fisheries is influenced by management. Swedish demersal trawl fisheries were studied between 2002 and 2010. Results show that the overall fuel efficiency has improved and interesting patterns between different fisheries and vessel sizes emerged. The difference in fuel efficiency per kilo landing between large and small trawlers was generally small, unless catch capacity was lowered e.g. by selective grids. Stock rebuilding was shown to be highly important for fuel efficiency, as fuel use was inversely correlated to the biomass of eastern Baltic cod. However, rebuilding can also lead to trade-offs e.g. in the case of selective trawling, where protection of depleted stocks comes at the cost of higher fuel intensity per landing. Finally, tax exemption of fuel use in fisheries was shown to maintain inefficient fisheries. These results could be used to reduce overall environmental impacts of fishing further by incorporating fuel use as an additional aspect into the fisheries management system.     

The use of a consequential perspective to upgrade the utility of Life Cycle Assessment for fishery managers and policy makers

Attributional LCA, which monitors specific production systems in steady state conditions, is increasingly used in fisheries to assess the environmental profile of fleets and seafood supply chains. However, this approach is not pertinent to assess the environmental consequences of (large scale) policies. In contrast, consequential LCA (CLCA) has been successfully implemented in other sectors to assess the expected changes in environmental impacts of a given production system and other (marginal) production systems that may be affected in response to changes driven by policy or strategic decisions. CLCA commonly combines LCA with economic models to simulate the interactions occurring between the analysed systems. However, the use of these models may not be the most appropriate approach to follow for fisheries. Hence, it seems feasible that CLCA should be combined with stock prediction tools rather than with economic models, to determine how changes in stock sizes and quota restrictions may cause variations in the environmental impact of fishing fleets.