Examining progress towards achieving the Ten Steps of the Rome Declaration on Responsible Inland Fisheries

Inland capture fisheries provide food for nearly a billion people and are important in the livelihoods of millions of households worldwide. Although there are limitations to evaluating many of the contributions made by inland capture fisheries, there is growing recognition by the international community that these services make critical contributions, most notably to food security and livelihoods in rural populations in those low‐income countries with extensive freshwater resources. With the increasing appreciation of the key role of inland fisheries to the health and well‐being of human populations globally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Michigan State University convened the 2015 global conference, Freshwater, fish, and the future – cross‐sectoral approaches to sustain livelihoods, food security, and aquatic ecosystems. What emerged from the interactions between inland fisheries’ scientists, resource managers, policymakers and community representatives from across the world was a forward‐looking call to action culminating with the 2015 Rome Declaration “Ten Steps to Responsible Inland Fisheries” (FAO & MSU, Rome declaration on responsible inland fisheries: 5735E/1/06.16). Four years after this landmark conference and declaration, we seek to advance discussion on the “Ten Steps,” namely what successful implementation looks like, assess current examples of implementation, suggest potential signals of progress and provide some specific, indicative examples of progress for each step. While there are promising signs of progress, we conclude that there remains a strong need to galvanize momentum for sustained action to ensure that inland fish and fisheries are accounted for and incorporated into broader water resource management discussions and frameworks.     

Putting the fish into inland fisheries – A global allocation of historic inland fish catch

Inland waters support the livelihoods of up to 820 million people and provide fisheries that make an essential contribution towards food security, particularly in the developing world where 90% of inland fisheries catch is consumed. Despite their importance, inland fisheries are overlooked in favour of other water use sectors deemed more economically important. Inland fisheries are also driven by external factors such as climate change and habitat loss, which impedes our ability to manage them sustainably. Using a river basin approach to allocate fish catch, we have provided an integrated picture of how different inland water bodies contribute to global inland fisheries catches. There is a substantial amount of information available on inland fisheries, but it has never been synthesised to build this global picture. Fishery statistics from river basins, lakes, floodplains, hydrobasins, and countries covering a time span from 1960–2018 were analysed. Collation of basin-scale fisheries statistics suggests a global inland catch of ≈17.4 million tonnes (PSE = ±3.93 million tonnes) in 2010, considerably more than the 10.8 million tonnes published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), but in line with estimates based on household consumption. The figure is considered a likely maximum due to recent reductions in catches because of closures, threats, and fisheries declines in the most productive fisheries. It is recommended that sentinel fisheries, which are important for food provision, employment, or where threats facing a fishery could cause a deterioration in catch, are identified to provide the baseline for a global monitoring programme.     

Small-scale fisheries and local food systems: Transformations,threats and opportunities

Fish from marine and inland capture fisheries is an important food that contributes significantly to diets and health, but their contribution is somewhat overlooked in food security and poverty-related policies. Given the current numbers of malnourished people globally, there is a pressing need to consider how to better realize the potential of fish in food systems that can address malnourishment. To do so, we re-examine the fisheries literature from the perspective of food systems. Starting with nutritional needs and considering how these may be met through local food systems reveals an ongoing transformation that has implications for small-scale fisheries, as increasingly become part of globalized food systems. We describe the factors that can change the nature of production, mediate access to fish and the distribution of benefits that can lead to impoverishment. This emphasizes the governance challenges that lie at the heart of complex, contested and increasingly globalized food systems, in which actors interact to shape the systems, determining who benefits and how. We draw attention to critical issues of access, power and the values and norms that underpin efforts to manage and transform fisheries, exposing the unequal struggle to secure access that small-scale fishers and poor people must endure. We suggest a vital challenge for fisheries management is to engage with this struggle and develop policies and management measures that would enable fisheries to make positive contributions to food systems and nutritional security, while meeting global sustainable development objectives.     

The contribution of cephalopods to global marine fisheries: can we have our squid and eat them too?

Cephalopods are a key component of marine food webs, providing sustenance for myriad marine species. Cephalopods are also of increasing economic importance as evidenced by the rapid rise in their global landings over recent decades. If fisheries continue on this trajectory, conflicts may transpire among cephalopod and finfish fisheries, particularly in ecosystems where cephalopods are highly valuable both directly as a landed commodity and indirectly as prey for other harvested species. We provide the first measure of the ecosystem services that cephalopods contribute to fisheries in 28 marine ecosystems, both as a commodity and an ecological support service. We also evaluate how current demands on cephalopods compare to mid‐20th century conditions. We find that cephalopod contributions to fisheries vary widely, but are substantial in many ecosystems. Commodity and supportive services provided by cephalopods contributed as much as 55% of fishery landings (tonnes) and 70% of landed values ($USD). The contribution of cephalopods as a commodity was generally greatest in the coastal ecosystems, whereas their contribution as a supportive service was highest in open ocean systems. Further, the commodity and supportive services provided by cephalopods to fisheries landings increased in most of the coastal ecosystems between the mid‐20th century (years 1960–70) and contemporary periods (years 1990–2004), indicating the rising demand for cephalopods. Current demands have no historical precedent and ecosystems in which cephalopods are highly exploited as a targeted resource and as an ecological support service should be further evaluated to prevent the unsustainable development of marine fisheries within them.     

Catching industrial fishing incursions into inshore waters of Africa from space

Small‐scale fisheries contribute substantially to the sustainability of coastal communities by providing livelihood and economic opportunities and ensuring food security. However, their geographic range of operation overlaps with that of industrial fisheries, increasing the resource competition, risk of vessel collision and inter‐sector conflicts, while jeopardizing the sustainability of fish stocks. When industrial vessels venture into waters that are reserved to artisanal fisheries, their operations become illegal. In Africa, the extent of such operations, beyond their legal implications, has resulted in severe economic, food security and maritime safety issues. In this paper, we use automatic identification system data derived from satellite technology to predict fishing operations and find that industrial fleets spend 3%–6% of their time fishing within inshore areas reserved for small‐scale fisheries between 2012 and 2016, of the total 4.2 million industrial fishing hours within the Exclusive Economic Zones of African countries. We assessed the total fishing effort by this form of illegal fishing operations at 166 million kWhours at least out of 4.9 billion kWhours in total. We discuss this dangerous form of illegal fishing, which often results in deadly collisions with small‐scale sector operators, increases competition and conflicts over fisheries access, threatens the sustainability of fish stocks, and calls for better governance, and protection.     

Diagnosis and management of small-scale fisheries in developing countries

Small‐scale fisheries (SSF) make important but undervalued contributions to the economies of some of the world’s poorest countries. They also provide much of the animal protein needed by societies in which food security remains a pressing issue. Assessment and management of these fisheries is usually inadequate or absent and they continue to fall short of their potential as engines for development and social change. In this study, we bring together existing theory and methods to suggest a general scheme for diagnosing and managing SSF. This approach can be adapted to accommodate the diversity of these fisheries in the developing world. Many threats and solutions to the problems that beset SSF come from outside the domain of the fishery. Significant improvements in prospects for fisheries will require major changes in societal priorities and values, with consequent improvements in policy and governance. Changes in development policy and science reflect these imperatives but there remains a need for intra‐sectoral management that builds resilience and reduces vulnerability to those forces beyond the influence of small‐scale fishers.     

Reconciling traditional inland fisheries management and sustainability in industrialized countries, with emphasis on Europe

In northern industrialized countries, the inland fisheries sector has long been dominated by recreational fisheries, which normally exploit fish for leisure or subsistence and provide many (poorly investigated) benefits to society. Various factors constrain the development and existence of inland fisheries, such as local user conflicts, low social priority and inadequate research and funding. In many cases, however, degradation of the environment and loss of aquatic habitat are the predominant concerns for the sustainability of inland fisheries. The need for concerted effort to prevent and reduce environmental degradation, as well as conservation of freshwater fish and fisheries as renewable common pool resources or entities in their own right is the greatest challenge facing sustainable development of inland waters. In inland fisheries management, the declining quality of the aquatic environment coupled with long‐term inadequate and often inappropriate fisheries management has led to an emphasis on enhancement practices, such as stocking, to mitigate anthropogenic stress. However, this is not always the most appropriate management approach. Therefore, there is an urgent need to alter many traditional inland fisheries management practices and systems to focus on sustainable development. This paper reviews the literature regarding the inputs needed for sustainability of inland fisheries in industrialized countries. To understand better the problems facing sustainable inland fisheries management, the inland fisheries environment, its benefits, negative impacts and constraints, as well as historical management, paradigms, trends and current practices are described. Major philosophical shifts, challenges and promising integrated management approaches are envisaged in a holistic framework. The following are considered key elements for sustainable development of inland fisheries: communication, information dissemination, education, institutional restructuring, marketing outreach, management plans, decision analysis, socioeconomic evaluation and research into the human dimension, in addition to traditional biological and ecological sciences. If these inputs are integrated with traditional fisheries management practices, the prospects for sustainability in the inland fisheries will be enhanced.     

Macroalgal meadow habitats support fish and fisheries in diverse tropical seascapes

Canopy‐forming macroalgae can construct extensive meadow habitats in tropical seascapes occupied by fishes that span a diversity of taxa, life‐history stages and ecological roles. Our synthesis assessed whether these tropical macroalgal habitats have unique fish assemblages, provide fish nurseries and support local fisheries. We also applied a meta‐analysis of independent surveys across 23 tropical reef locations in 11 countries to examine how macroalgal canopy condition is related to the abundance of macroalgal‐associated fishes. Over 627 fish species were documented in tropical macroalgal meadows, with 218 of these taxa exhibiting higher local abundance within this habitat (cf. nearby coral reef) during at least one life‐history stage. Major overlap (40%–43%) in local fish species richness among macroalgal and seagrass or coral reef habitats suggest macroalgal meadows may provide an important habitat refuge. Moreover, the prominence of juvenile fishes suggests macroalgal meadows facilitate the triphasic life cycle of many fishes occupying diverse tropical seascapes. Correlations between macroalgal canopy structure and juvenile abundance suggests macroalgal habitat condition can influence levels of replenishment in tropical fish populations, including the majority of macroalgal‐associated fishes that are targeted by commercial, subsistence or recreational fisheries. While many macroalgal‐associated fishery species are of minor commercial value, their local importance for food and livelihood security can be substantial (e.g. up to 60% of landings in Kenyan reef fisheries). Given that macroalgal canopy condition can vary substantially with sea temperature, there is a high likelihood that climate change will impact macroalgal‐associated fish and fisheries.     

Biogeographic freshwater fish pattern legacy revealed despite rapid socio‐economic changes in China

Understanding drivers of freshwater fish assemblages is critically important for biodiversity conservation strategies, especially in rapidly developing countries, which often have environmental protections lagging behind economic development. The influences of natural and human factors in structuring fish assemblages and their relative contributions are likely to change given the increasing magnitude of human activities. To discriminate natural and human drivers of fish diversity and assemblage patterns in developing countries with rapid socio‐economic development, a dataset of 908 freshwater fish species and 13 metrics including three categories of both natural (i.e., biogeographic) and human drivers (i.e., economic growth, inland fisheries) in China were analysed with machine learning algorithms (i.e., self‐organizing map, random forest). Here, we found that biogeographic drivers explained 21.8% of the observed fish assemblage patterns in China and remained stronger predictors when compared to human drivers (i.e., 15.6%, respectively). Freshwater fish species richness was positively correlated to rainfall, air temperature, surface water area and inland fisheries production but negatively correlated with urbanization. In addition, the strong structuring effects of climatic variables on Chinese fish richness patterns suggested that the fish assemblages could be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Our results showed that natural biogeographic factors still dominate in driving freshwater fish assemblage patterns despite increased human disturbances on aquatic ecosystems in a rapidly developing country. These findings consequently suggested that we should consider both natural (e.g., climate) and human (e.g., urbanization, inland fisheries) factors when establishing aquatic conservation strategies and priorities for developing countries that are experiencing rapid socio‐economic changes.     

Ecological indicators for coral reef fisheries management

Coral reef fisheries are of great importance both economically and for food security, but many reefs are showing evidence of overfishing, with significant ecosystem‐level consequences for reef condition. In response, ecological indicators have been developed to assess the state of reef fisheries and their broader ecosystem‐level impacts. To date, use of fisheries indicators for coral reefs has been rather piecemeal, with no overarching understanding of their performance with respect to highlighting fishing effects. Here, we provide a review of multispecies fishery‐independent indicators used to evaluate fishing impacts on coral reefs. We investigate the consistency with which indicators highlight fishing effects on coral reefs. We then address questions of statistical power and uncertainty, type of fishing gradient, scale of analysis, the influence of other variables and the need for more work to set reference points for empirical, fisheries‐independent indicators on coral reefs. Our review provides knowledge that will help underpin the assessment of the ecological effects of fishing, offering essential support for the development and implementation of coral reef fisheries management plans.     

Elasmobranch fisheries in the Arabian Seas Region: Characteristics,trade and management

The Arabian Seas Region plays an important role in the global landings and trade of sharks and rays. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen, two countries with stark socio‐economic differences, serve as major regional trade hubs for shark and ray products and four countries (Oman, Pakistan, UAE and Yemen) supply nearly 11% of dried fin exports to Hong Kong. Yet, little information is available on the characteristics of this trade and the fisheries contributing to it. Here, we review the fisheries characteristics, trade, utilization and distribution chain of sharks and rays in 15 countries of the Arabian Seas Region based on published and grey literature, landing surveys, field observations and interviews with fishermen and traders. Although regional shark fisheries remain mostly artisanal, reported shark and ray landings represent 28% of the regional total fish production, reaching 56,074 mt in 2012 (7.3% of total world catches), with Iran, Oman, Pakistan and Yemen ranking as the primary catchers. Utilization and distribution patterns are complex, vary between landing sites and countries, and remain unmonitored. Based on widespread over‐exploitation of most teleost fisheries, current exploitation levels for most sharks and rays are potentially unsustainable. The situation is exacerbated by limited research and political will to support policy development, the incomplete nature of fisheries data, as well as insufficient regulations and enforcement. A better understanding of shark and ray fisheries will be key for regulating trade, promoting conservation and developing management initiatives to secure food security, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the region.     

Fishing for conservation of freshwater tropical fishes in the Anthropocene

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Fishery yields vary with land cover on the Amazon River floodplain

Inland fisheries underpin food security in many tropical countries. The most productive inland fisheries in tropical and subtropical developing countries occur in large river–floodplain systems that are often impacted by land cover changes. However, few studies to date have assessed the effects of changes in floodplain land cover on fishery yields. Here, we integrated fisheries and satellite‐mapped habitat data to evaluate the effects of floodplain deforestation on fishery yields in 68 floodplain lake systems of the lower Amazon River, representing a wide range in relative amounts of woody, herbaceous and non‐vegetated land cover. We modelled relative fish yields (fish capture per unit effort [CPUE]) in the floodplain lakes as a function of the relative amounts of forest, shrub, aquatic macrophyte and bare/herbaceous habitats surrounding them. We found that forest amount was positively related (p = .0003) to multispecies CPUE. The validity of these findings was supported by rejection of plausible alternative causative mechanisms involving habitat‐related differences in amount of piscivores, fishing effort, lake area, and habitat effects on CPUE of the nine taxa dominating multispecies yields. Our results provide support to the idea that removal of floodplain forests reduces fishery yields per unit effort. Increased protection of floodplain forests is necessary to maintain the food, income and livelihood security services provided by large river–floodplain fisheries.     

Climate change adaptation in fisheries

We conducted a global systematic literature review of climate change adaptation in fisheries. We addressed three specific questions: (i) What are fisheries adapting to? (ii) How are fisheries adapting? and (iii) What research gaps need to be addressed? We identified, characterized and examined case studies published between 1990 and 2019 that lie at the intersection of the domains of climate change, adaptation and fisheries. We characterized the documented climate change effects in fisheries that are being adapted to multiple stressors, general climate impacts, extreme events, ocean conditions, marine system shifts, climate variability, fishery dynamics, species distribution and atmospheric warming. Three categories of adaptive responses came to light: coping mechanisms (e.g. changing fishing location, use of traditional knowledge); adaptive strategies (e.g. livelihood diversification, incorporation of technology); and management responses (e.g. adaptive management, adaptation planning). We identified key potential areas for future research, including studies on the limits and barriers for adaptation, studies using specific conceptual and methodological approaches, and studies focussing on the top-producing countries such as China, Indonesia, Peru and Russia. This analysis gives broader insights to the fisheries industry and to climate change adaptation research to proceed in the face of new global challenges.     

Contemporary and emerging fisheries in The Bahamas—Conservation and management challenges,achievements and future directions

The harvest of marine resources has long‐standing cultural and economic importance to The Bahamas and other small island developing states. Tourists and residents place a demand on local marine resources, particularly Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille), queen conch, Lobatus gigas (Linnaeus) and Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Bloch), and many fishery products are also sold on the global market. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing coupled with inadequate regulations and enforcement are the main factors contributing to the decline of Bahamian fisheries along with other anthropogenic impacts. This article reviews the status of fisheries management in The Bahamas using economically and ecologically important species as case studies to highlight conservation successes, knowledge gaps and deficiencies in existing management approaches. The review concludes with an examination of how emerging fisheries and improved conservation management strategies have the potential to improve economic and food security throughout the archipelago.     

Fish spawning aggregations: where well‐placed management actions can yield big benefits for fisheries and conservation

Marine ecosystem management has traditionally been divided between fisheries management and biodiversity conservation approaches, and the merging of these disparate agendas has proven difficult. Here, we offer a pathway that can unite fishers, scientists, resource managers and conservationists towards a single vision for some areas of the ocean where small investments in management can offer disproportionately large benefits to fisheries and biodiversity conservation. Specifically, we provide a series of evidenced‐based arguments that support an urgent need to recognize fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) as a focal point for fisheries management and conservation on a global scale, with a particular emphasis placed on the protection of multispecies FSA sites. We illustrate that these sites serve as productivity hotspots – small areas of the ocean that are dictated by the interactions between physical forces and geomorphology, attract multiple species to reproduce in large numbers and support food web dynamics, ecosystem health and robust fisheries. FSAs are comparable in vulnerability, importance and magnificence to breeding aggregations of seabirds, sea turtles and whales yet they receive insufficient attention and are declining worldwide. Numerous case‐studies confirm that protected aggregations do recover to benefit fisheries through increases in fish biomass, catch rates and larval recruitment at fished sites. The small size and spatio‐temporal predictability of FSAs allow monitoring, assessment and enforcement to be scaled down while benefits of protection scale up to entire populations. Fishers intuitively understand the linkages between protecting FSAs and healthy fisheries and thus tend to support their protection.     

Sea cucumber fisheries: global analysis of stocks,management measures and drivers of overfishing

Worldwide, most sea cucumber fisheries are ineffectively managed, leading to declining stocks and potentially eroding the resilience of fisheries. We analyse trends in catches, fishery status, fishing participation and regulatory measures among 77 sea cucumber fisheries through data from recent fishery reports and fishery managers. Critical gaps in fisheries biology knowledge of even commonly targeted species undermine the expected success of management strategies. Most tropical fisheries are small‐scale, older and typified by numerous (>8) species, whereas temperate fisheries are often emerging, mono‐specific and industrialized. Fisher participation data indicated about 3 million sea cucumber fishers worldwide. Fisher participation rates were significantly related to the average annual yield. permanova analysis showed that over‐exploited and depleted fisheries employed different sets of measures than fisheries with healthier stocks, and a non‐metric multidimensional scaling ordination illustrated that a broad set of regulatory measures typified sustainable fisheries. SIMPER and regression tree analyses identified that the dissimilarity was most related to enforcement capacity, number of species harvested, fleet (vessel) controls, limited entry controls and rotational closures. The national Human Development Index was significantly lower in countries with over‐exploited and depleted fisheries. Where possible, managers should limit the number of fishers and vessel size and establish short lists of permissible commercial species in multispecies fisheries. Our findings emphasize an imperative to support the enforcement capacity in low‐income countries, in which risk of biodiversity loss is exceptionally high. Solutions for greater resilience of sea cucumber stocks must be embedded within those for poverty reduction and alternative livelihood options.     

Filling a blank on the map: 60 years of fisheries in Equatorial Guinea

Despite a scarcity of pertinent information, it has been possible to reconstruct time series of marine fisheries catches for Equatorial Guinea from 1950 to 2010 using per capita fish consumption and population numbers for small‐scale fisheries, catch rates and number of vessels for industrial fisheries and discard rates to estimate the discarded bycatch. Small‐scale fisheries, industrial large‐scale fisheries, domestic and legal and illegal foreign fisheries and their discards are all included. Total catches were estimated at 2.7 million tonnes over the time period considered, of which 653 000 t were caught domestically compared to 187 000 t reported by FAO. This shows that fisheries have more importance for Equatorial Guinea's food security than the official data suggest. In contrast to what is suggested by official figures, fisheries were shown to be strongly impacted by civil and political unrest; notably, they declined overall because of civil and political conflicts, socio‐demographic dynamics, and a growing role of the newly discovered oil resources, which directly and indirectly threaten the food security of the people of Equatorial Guinea.     

Trends,current understanding and future research priorities for artisanal coral reef fisheries research

Artisanal coral reef fisheries provide food and employment to hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, making their sustainability a high priority. However, many of these fisheries are degraded and not yielding their maximum socioeconomic returns. We present a literature review that evaluates foci and trends in research effort on coral reef fisheries. We describe the types of data and categories of management recommendations presented in the 464 peer‐reviewed articles returned. Identified trends include a decline in articles reporting time‐series data, fish catch biomass and catch‐per‐unit effort, and an increase in articles containing bycatch and stakeholder interview data. Management implications were discussed in 80% of articles, with increasing frequency over time, but only 22% of articles made management recommendations based on the research presented in the article, as opposed to more general recommendations. Key future research priorities, which we deem underrepresented in the literature at present, are: (i) effectiveness of management approaches, (ii) ecological thresholds, trade‐offs and sustainable levels of extraction, (iii) effects of climate change, (iv) food security, (v) the role of aquaculture, (vi) access to and control of fishery resources, (vii) relationships between economic development and fishery exploitation, (viii) alternative livelihoods and (ix) integration of ecological and socioeconomic research.     

Social, economic and cultural perspectives of European inland fisheries: review of the EIFAC symposium on fisheries and society

The contributions presented at the EIFAC Symposium on Fisheries and Society in 2000 are reviewed. There have been considerable advances in many sectors of inland fisheries over the past decade. Nowadays the value of inland fisheries to society is generally better understood and increasingly recognized. However, it was recognized that the allocation of fishery resources and their management could still be made more effective through more extensive application of the recent approaches and techniques discussed during the Symposium and reviewed in the paper.