Fisher's preferences and trade‐offs between management options

Failure to understand the potential responses of fishers to management measures creates a significant risk of revisiting the familiar scenario of perverse and unintended consequences of those measures. This paper reports on a choice experiment survey to evaluate fisher's preferences for various management measures proposed under the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform process, but the conclusions have wider relevance as similar measures are used by comparable fleets in fisheries globally. The survey was conducted with fishers involved in mixed pelagic and demersal fisheries in Ireland, pelagic fisheries in Denmark and demersal fisheries in Greece. Fisheries management policies were characterized by five attributes designed both to cover the principal CFP reform proposals and to integrate ecological, social, economic and institutional factors affecting fisher's decisions. The study uses a random utility modelling framework to reveal the preferences of the fishers across the alternative policy attributes. Results show that while there are generally preferences both for healthy stocks and for maintaining the importance of fishing to the local community, strong interfishery preference differences exist. These differences are most notable in relation to a discard ban and to the use of individual transferable fishing rights, favoured in Denmark, but not in Ireland for instance. The strength of these interfishery differences supports the assertion that there are no panaceas in fisheries management and that solutions should be tailored within the context of specific fisheries. Not doing so could create a significant risk of inappropriately managed fisheries that may lead to unsustainable outcomes.     

The unfulfilled potential of fisheries selectivity to promote sustainability

The recent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in Europe highlights the need for improvements in both species and size selectivity. Regarding size selectivity, shifting selectivity towards older/larger fish avoids both growth and recruitment overfishing and reduces unwanted catches. However, the benefits to fish stocks and fishery yields from increasing age/size‐at‐selection are still being challenged and the relative importance of selectivity compared to that of exploitation rate remains unclear. Consequently, exploitation rate regulations continue to dominate management. Here, an age‐structured population model parameterized for a wide range of stocks is used to investigate the effects of selectivity on spawning stock biomass (SSB) and yield. The generic effect of selectivity on SSB and yield over a wide range of stocks is compared to the respective relative effects of exploitation rate and several biological parameters. We show that yield is mainly driven by biological parameters, while SSB is mostly affected by the exploitation regime (i.e. exploitation rate and selectivity). Our analysis highlights the importance of selectivity for fisheries sustainability. Catching fish a year or more after they mature combined with an intermediate exploitation rate (F ≈ 0.3) promotes high sustainable yields at low levels of stock depletion. Examination of the empirical exploitation regimes of 31 NE Atlantic stocks illustrates the unfulfilled potential of most stocks for higher sustainable yields due to high juvenile selection, thus underscoring the importance of protecting juveniles. Explicitly incorporating selectivity scenarios in fisheries advice would allow the identification of optimal exploitation regimes and benefit results‐based management.     

Providing context to the global code of practice for recreational fisheries

Abstract An in‐depth explanation of selected content of the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission’s ‘Code of Practice for Recreational Fisheries’ (CoP) is presented. The focus is on core areas that were intensely debated in the drafting the CoP. These include definition of recreational fishing, recreational fishing practices, fish welfare, recreational fisheries management and research. It is anticipated that the CoP for recreational fisheries promotes best practice and management principles for sustainable recreational fisheries, within the recreational fisheries sector and ancillary industries/sectors regionally, nationally, and ultimately globally. To be viable, the CoP for recreational fisheries must be adopted by the international community complementing the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.     

Multi-sector resource allocation and integrated management of abalone stocks in Western Australia: Review and discussion of management strategies

ABSTRACT:   Fishery policy formation is a multilateral political process that typically involves conflicting attitudes towards management, and opposing interests among resource users. As fisheries resources continue to decline, conflict between and within fishing sectors will grow. The challenge for fisheries policy makers is to ensure fisheries resources are evenly allocated among the stakeholders whilst managing resources in a sustainable manner. Australian fisheries management has been revolutionized by the introduction of Integrated Fisheries Management (IFM), which is based on a systematic approach involving the inclusion of all sectors in the management process. This approach means determining the total amount of fish that can be harvested from a fishery and then adopting management strategies for allocating explicit catch shares between the competing sectors. The recent increased burden on fisheries stocks, caused by higher recreational user participation, has forced policy makers to make large changes relating to the allocation of resources. Policy makers in Western Australia, aware of conflict developing between users of the abalone resource, developed a unique management system based on resource sharing. By integrating the recreational sector in the overall management process, the primary objective of the new agenda is to decrease conflict between competing users and develop a management system without partisanship.     

Evaluating fisheries systems: A comprehensive analytical framework and its application to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy

Despite regular reforms, problems under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) persist. In order to identify priorities for future reforms of the policy, we developed an analytical framework consisting of 17 criteria and specifying indicators, derived from scientific, wider fisheries, and common resources literature. We applied the framework to the CFP governance system, its regulations, institutions, and processes at EU as well as member state level. The results show that the CFP does not fully meet any of the 17 criteria for an effective resource policy. Its performance was assessed as “neutral” regarding 10 criteria and “negative” regarding seven criteria. Trend analysis shows that there is a slightly positive trend regarding the CFP's performance, with five criteria trending positively, 11 showing a neutral trend and only one criterion trending negatively (simplicity of rules). The analysis identified five criteria which are performing badly and have not improved over time: simplicity of rules, user‐pays principle, resource efficiency, accountability, and compliance mechanisms. Future reforms of the CFP should first and foremost address these criteria while continuing efforts to improve the CFP's performance regarding other criteria. The evaluation of the CFP demonstrates the applicability of the analytical framework which can also be applied to other multilevel fisheries governance systems. Moreover, the results can inform reforms of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. Like the CFP, these institutions manage transboundary fisheries and have not effectively addressed the issues of resource rent capture and resource efficiency.     

Towards sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management in the African Great Lakes

Inland fisheries play important roles in food and economic security in the riparian countries surrounding the Great Lakes of Africa. However, the lakes are being systematically degraded by anthropogenic pressures, in combination with the huge population growth prevalent in the region. This paper summarises the outcomes of an international conference to develop a ‘Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the African Great Lakes Region in a Changing Climate’, held in Uganda in 2017, with particular attention on the potential for fisheries and aquaculture. The paper highlights options for addressing the problems facing the aquatic resources and specifically the importance of effective management of the fisheries and ecosystems of the Great Lakes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals to ensure food and nutritional security and sustainable livelihoods. There is need to improve fisheries assessment and determine the value of the fisheries (and aquaculture). Fisheries legislation, regulation and enforcement need revision and co‐management mechanisms require rethinking. There is considerable potential for aquaculture, and especially cage culture, to increase fish production, but there is an urgent need to address technical, social, environmental and input requirements. It is also imperative that best practices guidelines are developed that will support cage culture production practices.     

Approaches to fully documented fisheries: practical issues and stakeholder perceptions

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform sets out a move to a land‐all catch policy in European Union waters with a requirement for full reporting of fishing and on‐board processing activity. We explore the merits, stakeholder perceptions and applicability of different technology and approaches to the full documentation of fisheries that might be considered in the context of implementing the CFP reform. While recent efforts have focused on demonstrating how remote electronic monitoring (REM) systems can be utilized in fully documented fisheries (FDF), other technologies and approaches such as reference fleet and self‐sampling exist that could contribute to delivering FDF. Perceptions of fishers show that they would prefer using a reference fleet or self‐sampling to REM systems as a future method of implementing FDF. In general, there is support from the fishing industry for data collection and enhancement, but there remains some mistrust concerning the use of the data. Findings show that the most appropriate means and methods of FDF will depend on the circumstances and objectives for full documentation whether in enforcing a discard ban, documentation of total catch or data enhancement. We conclude that any technology or approach that will be used to deliver the monitoring requirements for FDF needs to make practical and commercial sense at the fishing vessel level.     

Narrow lenses for capturing the complexity of fisheries: A topic analysis of fisheries science from 1990 to 2016

Despite increased fisheries science output and publication outlets, the global crisis in fisheries management is as present as ever. Since a narrow research focus may be a contributing factor to this failure, this study uncovers topics in fisheries research and their trends over time. This interdisciplinary research evaluates whether science is diversifying fisheries research topics in an attempt to capture the complexity of the fisheries system, or whether it is multiplying research on similar topics, attempting to achieve an in‐depth, but possibly marginal, understanding of a few selected components of this system. By utilizing latent Dirichlet allocation as a generative probabilistic topic model, we analyse a unique dataset consisting of 46,582 full‐text articles published in the last 26 years in 21 specialized scientific fisheries journals. Among the 25 topics uncovered by the model, only one (Fisheries management) refers to the human dimension of fisheries understood as socio‐ecological complex adaptive systems. The most prevalent topics in our dataset directly relating to fisheries refer to Fisheries management, Stock assessment, and Fishing gear, with Fisheries management attracting the most interest. We propose directions for future research focus that most likely could contribute to providing useful advice for successful management of fisheries.     

The challenge of sustainable use of the Danube Delta Fisheries, Romania

The Danube Delta was designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1990. Subsequently the sustainable use of the fish stocks within the reserve became a challenge for management. The fisheries exploit a variety of habitats distributed over about 580 000 ha of wetland. They yield between 5000 and 10 000 t year^–1, equivalent in value to 6.3 million US$, making this one of the most important inland fisheries in Europe. Approximately 15 000 inhabitants within the Delta and a further 160 000 from adjacent regions depend fully or partly on the fishery resource. The fisheries are diverse, consisting of lake, river, marine coastal and anadromous fisheries. Fisheries in the Delta operated under an open access system during the transition from a fully controlled state economy to a market economy. New fishing regulations have been established to minimise the risk of the fisheries collapsing as a result of the open access regime. Core regulations including close seasons and closed areas, minimum mesh sizes and fish lengths, output controls (catch quota), and input regulations (limited access to fishery) were introduced.     

Could the obligation to land undersized individuals increase the black market for juveniles: evidence from the Mediterranean?

The latest Green Paper on the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) identified the high level of discards in Europe as one of the structural weaknesses of the current CFP. The new CFP introduces a discard ban in European waters, with an obligation to land all regulated species. The fishing management system in the Mediterranean is based on effort control and technical measures, and this is raising some particular concerns about the effective implementation of the discard ban. With the exception of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, Scombridae), there are no quotas in the Mediterranean and this regulation affects all regulated species with the minimum landing size. Under these circumstances, the discard ban may lead to an increase in the amount of juvenile fish caught, because such catches are not counted against a given quota, as is the case in the Atlantic fisheries, and thus, there is no incentive to avoid catching them. On the contrary, the obligation to land the juveniles that are now discarded and their subsequent fishmeal processing might even become commercially interesting. One possible consequence of the new regulation may be an increase in the illegal marketing of fish below the minimum size. The landing, storage and transportation of juveniles will all be legal, and this may simplify their commercialization via the black market. The discard ban and landing obligation should be accompanied by other measures to ensure their successful implementation, including the agreement of the fishing sector to comply with the rules and regulations.     

The evolution of a discard policy in Europe

Ocean sustainability is a widespread public concern in Europe, and the issue of fisheries discards is one that is now widely known. With this increase in public awareness comes the need to adapt fisheries management policies to manage issues like fisheries discards that were not previously taken into account. In this context, this study analyses the evolution of the European Union's discard policy since its inception in 2006 until the present day and the events that shaped its current format. It analyses the policy's advantages and disadvantages, and its political, environmental and scientific consequences. It argues that an increase in public awareness, due to public campaigns against fisheries discards, has focused managers' attention onto a symptom of fisheries mismanagement, rather than on its underlying causes of over‐exploitation and lack of fisheries control. This has distorted the discussion of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and potentially undermined its provisions relating to discards.     

Characterizing state-managed and unmanaged fisheries in coastal marine states and territories of the United States

The status of federally managed fisheries in the United States is well monitored, but the condition of other marine fisheries, whether state-managed, territory-managed or unmanaged, is less understood and often unknown. We used expert surveys to characterize the management systems of non-federally managed fisheries in US coastal marine states and overseas territories. For 311 fisheries, we estimated an overall Fisheries Management Index (FMI) and a qualitative stock status score. These measures were positively correlated, and while a wide range of research, management, enforcement and socioeconomic criteria were partially met (FMI ≥ 0.5) for 66% of fisheries, stock status was considered as partially acceptable (score ≥ 0.5) for only 45% of fisheries and acceptable (score = 1) for only 16% of fisheries. Higher FMI was typically observed in fisheries with greater commercial landed weight, value, or greater recreational catches. Fisheries from continental states had higher FMI than those from overseas territories. Invertebrates and diadromous fish species had higher FMI on average compared to those of marine fishes. Extrapolating results for surveyed fisheries to nearly 2000 non-federally managed US fisheries while stratifying by state and importance designation (based on commercial, recreational, cultural or ecological importance), we estimate a mean overall FMI of 0.48, and estimate that only 19% of fisheries have a reliable estimate of stock status available; both measures are lower than similar estimates for federally managed fisheries. Funding or capacity constraints and information or data limitations were identified as common challenges faced by state agencies in managing fisheries under their jurisdiction.     

Economic impacts of TAC regulation: A supply-driven SAM approach

The Galician fishing fleet is one of the most important of all the European fleets that fish in European Union waters and hake is its vital species. The aim of this article is to estimate some of the economic impacts that a reduction in the TAC of hake during the period 1999–2003 have on the entire Galician economy. We use a “supply-driven” Social Accounting Matrix (SDSAM) model for the Galician fishing sector that takes hake production as exogenously given. In this respect, the present work constitutes a first attempt at applying a SDSAM model to fisheries. It also presents both the traditional backward linkage effects as well as the lesser known forward linkage effects. The SDSAM model allows us not only to compute impacts on production but also to estimate the impact distribution on household incomes and production factors. Impacts on employment have also been calculated. These results may be useful to policy makers as they provide some perceptions into the consequences of one of the measures of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and may help to design policy initiatives.     

Evaluating and implementing social–ecological systems: A comprehensive approach to sustainable fisheries

Fisheries sustainability is recognized to have four pillars: ecological, economic, social (including cultural) and institutional (or governance). Although international agreements, and legislation in many jurisdictions, call for implementation of all four pillars of sustainability, the social, economic and institutional aspects (i.e., the “human dimensions”) have not been comprehensively and collectively addressed to date. This study describes a framework for comprehensive fisheries evaluation developed by the Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) that articulates the full spectrum of ecological, economic, social and institutional objectives required under international agreements, together with candidate performance indicators for sustainable fisheries. The CFRN framework is aimed at practical fisheries evaluation and management and has a relatively balanced distribution of elements across the four pillars of sustainability relative to 10 alternative management decision support tools and indicator scorecards, which are heavily focused on ecological and economic aspects. The CFRN framework has five immediate uses: (a) It can serve as a logic frame for defining management objectives; (b) it can be used to define alternate management options to achieve given objectives; (c) it can serve as a tool for comparing management scenarios/options in decision support frameworks; (d) it can be employed to create a report card for comprehensive fisheries management evaluation; and (e) it is a tool for practical implementation of an integrated social–ecological system approach.     

水产技术推广资源配置效率及其区域差异分析

渔业在我国国民经济中占有重要地位和作用,水产技术推广体系是保证我国渔业持续健康发展的基础。本文采用数据包络分析(data envelopment analysis,DEA)中的BCC模型分析2013—2015年全国各地区的水产技术推广资源配置效率,以探究我国各地区水产技术推广资源配置效率的差异。结果表明,我国水产技术推广资源整体配置效率不高,区域间的配置效率差异明显,中南地区水产技术推广资源配置综合效率、纯技术效率和规模效率都高于全国平均水平,东北地区低于全国平均水平。建议通过增加水产技术推广资源总量、因地制宜的配置水产技术推广资源、建立水产技术推广体系联合协作工作机制等方法来提高水产资源配置效率。     

渔业管理理论与中国实践的回顾与展望

渔业管理一直是世界各渔业国家所面临的难题。本文首先分析了中国渔业的特点,指出中国的渔业管理比世界上任何国家都更为复杂、更为困难,描述了中国渔业管理的历史沿革和中国渔业政策的发展脉络,指出在中国的渔业发展中渔业政策对渔业生产始终起着指导和推动的作用,认为中国初步形成了以《中华人民共和国渔业法》为基本框架,层次结构完备,措施有力,不断完善和强化的渔业管理制度。然后,介绍了渔业管理的主要理论,梳理了中国学者对渔业管理研究的主要文献,指出中国通过水产养殖支撑不断增长的水产品消费需求,成功解决了水产品需求与资源环境约束之间的矛盾,对减少捕捞野生渔业资源发挥了重大作用。文章归纳了中国渔业管理的主要制度和措施,并对其效果进行综合评述,认为几十年来,特别是改革开放以来,中国不断引进先进的渔业管理理念,促进养殖业、捕捞业、加工流通业、增殖渔业、休闲渔业等五大产业蓬勃发展,渔业生态环境修复力度不断加大,依法治渔能力显著提升;但是由于中国渔业的特点和渔业的复杂性和不确定性,中国渔业仍存在着一些明显的问题。最后,本文根据相关的渔业发展规划,展望了中国的渔业管理将朝着渔业资源总量控制、强化资源保护及生态修复的方向发展。     

Using fish landing sites and markets information towards quantification of the blue economy to enhance fisheries management

Fisheries management uses important fish market information and information from Communication Technology (ICT) to improve fish trade by identifying inefficiencies, inequity and post‐harvest losses. The current study reports fisheries output using ICT at major landing sites and markets in Kenya and Uganda from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) Enhanced Fish Market Information Service (EFMIS) database for 2009 – 2017. Catch assessment survey data validated the use of market data in drawing conclusions. Regional Frame Survey data provided information before EFMIS, enabling comparisons of fish trade costings. The average quantity of fish traded in Kenya depended on seasons of active lake fishing, which occurs in January – March and August – October, while Uganda had an irregular pattern associated with fish trade throughout the year. The quantity of fish traded weekly depended on the average price of fish. Lower sales margins during the EFMIS project showed the merits of information sharing using ICT platforms for efficient and equitable fish trade. Such evaluation of fish market information is useful in fish trade policy formulation and for fisheries management and ecological sustainability in rural and peri‐urban communities.     

Fishing impacts and the degradation or loss of habitat structure

The wider effects of fishing on marine ecosystems have become the focus of growing concern among scientists, fisheries managers and the fishing industry. The present review examines the role of habitat structure and habitat heterogeneity in marine ecosystems, and the effects of fishing (i.e. trawling and dredging) on these two components of habitat complexity. Three examples from New Zealand and Australia are considered, where available evidence suggests that fishing has been associated with the degradation or loss of habitat structure through the removal of large epibenthic organisms, with concomitant effects on fish species which occupy these habitats. With ever-increasing demands on fish-stocks and the need for sustainable use of fisheries resources, new approaches to fisheries management are needed. Fisheries management needs to address the sustainability of fish-stocks while minimizing the direct and indirect impacts of fishing on other components of the ecosystem. Two long-term management tools for mitigating degradation or loss of habitat structure while maintaining healthy sustainable fisheries which are increasingly considered by fisheries scientists and managers are: (1) protective habitat management, which involves the designation of protected marine and coastal areas which are afforded some level of protection from fishing; and (2) habitat restoration, whereby important habitat and ecological functions are restored following the loss of habitat and/or resources. Nevertheless, the protection of marine and coastal areas, and habitat restoration should not be seen as solutions replacing conventional management approaches, but need to be components of an integrated programme of coastal zone and fisheries management. A number of recent international fisheries agreements have specifically identified the need to provide for habitat protection and restoration to ensure long-term sustainability of fisheries. The protection and restoration of habitat are also common components of fisheries management programs under national fisheries law and policy.     

Checking the pulse of the major commercial fisheries of lake Victoria Kenya,for sustainable management

The present study demonstrates the declining state of the major commercial fisheries of Lake Victoria, Kenya, a situation threatening sustainability of the lake's fishery. Data in the present study were derived from resource monitoring programmes that included hydro‐acoustics (2009–2018), trawl net fishing (2011–2018), frame surveys (2000–2016) and catch assessment surveys (2000–2015). The activities provided information on fish stocks and supported advice for fisheries management. The average fish stock densities for Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya of 8.92, 8.25 and 8.19 t/km², respectively, were relatively similar. Diplomatic and sustainable efforts for harmony in fish harvesting among the fishers of the riparian countries are encouraged given the interdependence of the lake. The Kenyan and River Kagera regions had a higher proportion (≈ 4% each) of big‐sized Nile perch (≥50 cm total length) in 2018, signifying the critical breeding areas for Nile perch. To sustain the fishery, there is need to enforce a 36%–44% effort reduction for all the major fisheries, and enforcement of gear limits to avoid harvesting of immature fish and destruction of the lake ecosystem.     

Management effectiveness of large pelagic fisheries in the high seas

Large pelagic fishes are assessed and managed by tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs). These organizations have been criticized for not meeting conservation objectives, which may relate to aspects of governance and management. No previous studies have systematically evaluated why management performance differs among tRFMOs and among stocks within each tRFMO. In this study, we collected data on the nature of research, management, enforcement and socioeconomics of management systems in the five principal tRFMOs of the world's oceans. We quantified influences of economic and fishery‐related factors on these management characteristics and examined how these factors vary among tRFMOs. We found that tRFMOs with a greater number of member countries, a greater economic dependency on tuna resources, a lower mean per capita gross domestic product, a greater number of fishing vessels and smaller vessels were associated with less intensive research, management and enforcement in these tuna fisheries. We also quantified the influence of specific management attributes and of biological, economic and fishery‐related factors on the trends and current status of large pelagic fish stocks in these regions. The most important factors correlated with trends and current stock status were external to the management systems, and included stock size, age at maturity, ex‐vessel price and economic dependency of countries on tuna fisheries. To improve the overall status of large pelagic fish stocks in the global high seas, more intensive data collection, research and management are needed in certain areas, especially in the Indian Ocean, and for certain stocks, especially non‐target species.