The migrant anchovy fishery in Kabui Bay,Raja Ampat,Indonesia: Catch,profitability, and income distribution

We estimate the unregulated catch and fisher income of the Kabui Bay migrant anchovy fishery operating in the Raja Ampat regency, Papua, Indonesia. Interviews with migrant fishers were conducted in April and November 2006, and estimates were generated through Monte Carlo simulations. Anchovy fisher income averaged US $1835 per year, about twice the average fisher income in the area. The income levels estimated by this study suggests that there is potential for the Raja Ampat Fisheries Bureau to capture some economic rent from the fishery to help fund a fisheries management program, from which Raja Ampat could benefit.     

Socioeconomic dynamics of the Ghanaian tuna industry: a value-chain approach to understanding aspects of global fisheries

This study investigated how an industrial tuna fishery functions in terms of procedures, practices, governance and finance in the context of Ghana, West Africa. Tuna is Ghana’s biggest seafood export, contributing significantly to the domestic fisheries sector. A case-study approach was used to analyse relevant social and economic factors at the local scale to better understand how the global seafood industry operates in a low-income country. A value-chain framework was adopted to assess market structures, sales pathways and revenue distribution. We also investigated the role of actors engaged in the industry using secondary data, interviews, questionnaires and participant observations. The results revealed a changing organisational structure in tuna production, moving from bait-boat fishing with smaller companies to large-scale purse-seine fishing backed by consolidated Asian seafood companies. Production was found to depend significantly on local female intermediaries for access to funds through prefinancing arrangements. Considerable illegalities were identified within the value chain, highlighting the need for improved partnership and licensing negotiations, and for low-cost marine control and surveillance tools. As vertical integration increases within the industry, the influence of corporations as keystone actors becomes evident for the future social and ecological sustainability of the industry.     

Assessment of IUU fishing for Southern Bluefin Tuna

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is recognized as one of the largest threats to the sustainability of the world's fisheries. This paper focuses on IUU fishing in the context of unreported catches by members or co-operating non-members of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and their implications for scientific assessments of stock status and management advice. A review of Japanese market statistics was undertaken in 2006 by an independent panel in relation to catches of southern bluefin tuna (SBT). Based on this review, the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) concluded that very substantial and continuous unreported catches of SBT had been taken by longline vessels since at least the early 1990s. While uncertainty exists about the fleets contributing to these IUU catches, the assumption used within the CCSBT Scientific Committee is that a significant proportion of these were taken by Japanese longliners. Implications of these unreported catches for the stock assessments by RFMOs are discussed in light of the central role that Japanese vessel reported data have in the assessment of the world's tuna and billfish stocks. Results indicate that it is plausible that the unreported catches of SBT stem from the misreporting of catches as other tuna species and/or the location of fishing effort. The magnitude and extended period of the unreported SBT catches highlight the wide-spread risks of relying on fishery dependent logbook data in the absence of verification. An urgent need exists for minimum standards of verification of catch, effort and landing statistics for use in scientific assessments. The fisheries science community needs to be more pro-active in the development of such standards and the implementation of independent monitoring and verification. In addition, there is a need to reform the operation of the scientific bodies of RFMOs in terms of transparency, the treatment of uncertainty and the burden of proof if they are to be effective in providing objective scientific advice consistent with the intent of international agreements.     

西非海洋渔业资源非法捕捞现状和对策

海洋渔业(尤其是小型海洋渔业)为世界各地的沿海居民提供了重要的食物来源、就业、经济收入。西非临近海域是世界上海洋渔业资源最丰富的地区之一,在西非沿海地区数百万居民以捕鱼为生,然而,西非众多捕鱼区却是最贫穷的地区。在全球化不断推进的今天,非法捕捞已严重威胁到海洋生态系统安全。西非临近海域的非法捕捞问题尤为严峻。在整合相关文献资料的基础上,分析了非法捕捞的主要影响,并对西非地区的非法捕捞现状和问题进行了讨论,认为部分欧盟国家是非洲西部海洋渔业资源主要非法捕捞者,西方学者认为中国是西非地区主要的非法捕捞者是不符合事实的。非法捕捞的根本原因是持续的鱼类需求和捕捞活动缺乏控制。基于以上分析,提出了西非非法捕捞的应对措施,以期有助于解决西非非法捕捞问题。