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.     

Masked,diluted and drowned out: how global seafood trade weakens signals from marine ecosystems

Nearly 40% of seafood is traded internationally and an even bigger proportion is affected by international trade, yet scholarship on marine fisheries has focused on global trends in stocks and catches, or on dynamics of individual fisheries, with limited attention to the link between individual fisheries, global trade and distant consumers. This paper examines the usefulness of fish price as a feedback signal to consumers about the state of fisheries and marine ecosystems. We suggest that the current nature of fisheries systems and global markets prevent transmission of such price signals from source fisheries to consumers. We propose several mechanisms that combine to weaken price signals, and present one example – the North Sea cod – to show how these mechanisms can be tested. The lack of a reliable price feedback to consumers represents a challenge for sustainable fisheries governance. We therefore propose three complimentary approaches to address the missing feedback: (i) strengthening information flow through improved traceability and visibility of individual fishers to consumers, (ii) capitalizing on the changing seafood trade structures and (iii) bypassing and complementing market mechanisms by directly targeting citizens and political actors regarding marine environmental issues through publicity and information campaigns. These strategies each have limitations and thus need to be pursued together to address the challenge of sustainability in global marine fisheries.     

Understanding pressures on fishery resources through trade statistics: a pilot study of four products in the Chinese dried seafood market

This study investigates the dried seafood trade, centred in Chinese markets, in order to better understand the pressures its demand exerts on global marine resource stocks. Using Hong Kong, the region's largest entrepôt, as a focal point, the trade in shark fins, abalone, bêche‐de‐mer and dried fish is characterized in terms of product history, volume, source fisheries and species composition. Trends identified in the Hong Kong market are interpreted in the context of the larger Chinese market. Shark fin imports grew 6% per year between 1991 and 2000, most likely because of market expansion in Mainland China, posing increasingly greater pressures on global shark resources. In contrast, the quantities of dried abalone traded through Hong Kong remained steady, but inferences based on this trend are discouraged by suggestions of increasing preferences for fresh product forms and growing domestic production in Mainland China. Hong Kong's imports of dried bêche‐de‐mer (sea cucumber) have decreased, while the percentage of imports re‐exported has remained steady, suggesting that Hong Kong continues as an entrepôt for Mainland China despite declining domestic consumption. Few conclusions can be drawn regarding dried fish products, including whole fish and fish maws, because of a lack of product differentiation in customs data, but a market survey was conducted to provide information on species composition. Comparison of Hong Kong dried seafood trade statistics to those of other key trading partners indicates that, in general, Hong Kong's duty‐free status appears to encourage more accurate reporting of traded quantities. Under‐reporting biases ranged from 24 to 49% for shark fin and bêche‐de‐mer, respectively. Comparison to United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) databases indicates additional under‐reporting for shark fin such that an alternative minimum estimate of world trade is at least twice the FAO estimates in 1998–2000. The results of a survey of Hong Kong traders provide insight into their attitudes toward harvest, economic and regulatory factors, and suggest that conservation efforts are unlikely to emerge from, or be actively supported by, dried seafood trade organizations. The market's apparent sensitivity to economic sentiment, however, reveals an opportunity for consumer education to play a role in shaping future market growth and resource conservation. Recommendations are provided for improving trade statistics and for developing better analytical techniques to complement traditional methods for monitoring the exploitation and management of fisheries resources.     

Community‐based monitoring of small‐scale fisheries with digital devices in Brazilian Amazon

Fisheries management is potentially a short‐term measure for reducing floodplain fisheries degradation. This objective can only be achieved if adequate measures to improve fishery governance and ecosystem conservation are taken. The monitoring of fisheries management is likely to be important for understanding the effectiveness of local rules and the impacts on aquatic biodiversity. Given that monitoring is the periodic assessment of fish stock characteristics regarding reference data, adopting tools and procedures for monitoring at different scales is a challenging task. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have enabled local communities to gather data on key resources in a cost‐effective way. This article presents a community‐based monitoring of fisheries based of smartphones that supports the annual fishing quotas and legal harvest permits procedures. The precision of community‐based monitoring data is assessed and a model to integrate these data into a large‐scale monitoring scheme examined. Data collection performance was evaluated at communities in the Kaxinawá Nova Olinda Indigenous Territory, in the State of Acre, where fishery management was monitored. The results indicate that voluntary collectors are able to provide data with precision comparable with government agency measurements, but at lower cost.     

Assessing East African trade in seahorse species as a basis for conservation under international controls

• 1. Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.), many of which are listed as Vulnerable or Endangered on the IUCN Red List, are traded worldwide as souvenirs, aquarium fish and, primarily, for use in traditional medicines. Given concern over the sustainability of this trade, the genus was added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in May 2004.
• 2. This paper reports findings of the first ever survey of seahorse trade in Africa, conducted in Kenya and Tanzania in May and June 2000.
• 3. Seahorse trade in Kenya was found to be negligible, with approximately 10 live seahorses exported as aquarium fish annually. Until 1998, however, Kenya may have imported somewhere from 1 to 2.3 t of dried seahorses annually from Tanzania for re‐export to Asian medicine markets. Seahorse trade in Tanzania remained substantial, with at least 630–930 kg of dried seahorse exported directly to Asia each year.
• 4. Accounts of declines in seahorse availability and seahorse size, although few in number, could be early warning signs that wild populations are suffering, at least locally. Close monitoring of future developments in the trade will be essential to allow for timely conservation action as and when necessary, and would contribute to our understanding of the ecological and economical implications of small‐scale, non‐food fisheries.

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forage fish fisheries management requires a tailored approach to balance trade‐offs

Ecosystem‐based fishery management requires considering the effects of actions on social, natural and economic systems. These considerations are important for forage fish fisheries, because these species provide ecosystem services as a key prey in food webs and support valuable commercial fisheries. Forage fish stocks fluctuate naturally, and fishing may make these fluctuations more pronounced, yet harvest strategies intended to ameliorate these effects might adversely affect fisheries and communities. Here, we evaluate trade‐offs among a diverse suite of management objectives by simulating outcomes from several harvest strategies on forage fish species. We demonstrate that some trade‐offs (like those between catches and minimizing collapse length) were universal among forage species and could not be eliminated by the use of different control rules. We also demonstrate that trade‐offs vary among forage fish species, with strong trade‐offs between stable, high catches and high‐biomass periods (“bonanzas”) for menhaden‐ and anchovy‐like fish, and counterintuitive trade‐offs for sardine‐like fish between shorter collapses and longer bonanzas. We find that harvest strategies designed to maintain stability in catches will result in more severe collapses. Finally, we show that the ability of assessments to detect rapid changes in population status greatly affects control rule performance and the degree and type of trade‐offs, increasing the risk and severity of collapses and reducing catches. Together, these results demonstrate that while default harvest strategies are useful in data‐poor situations, management strategy evaluations that are tailored to specific forage fish may better balance trade‐offs.     

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.     

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.     

我国渔业风险综合管理研究

渔业风险管理是渔业经济持续健康发展的重要保障。在科学厘定渔业风险综合管理范畴的基础上,指出我国渔业高风险及风险管理低效率的困境在于割裂了渔业风险间的联系及渔业与其他产业的关联性、管理方式单一性和风险作用的复杂性,并从渔业风险管理的基本环境管理、致险因子管理、体制机制管理等方面明确渔业风险综合管理的新思路,提出从组织机构健全、法律法规完善、风险基金设立及渔业风险信息系统建设等方面推进渔业风险综合管理,提高我国渔业抵御风险和降低风险的能力。     

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.     

Current status and future needs of economics research of inland fisheries

Inland capture fisheries (ICFs) provide ecosystem services – fish for food, livelihoods and recreation – to people and therefore have an economic value. Economic valuation can inform the sustainable management of ICFs and ensure they are recognised in trade‐off analysis and decision‐making. This study assesses existing ICFs economic research to identify knowledge gaps. Bibliographic databases were searched for suitable peer‐reviewed articles. The selected studies (n = 75) were analysed for coverage, valuation methodologies and value metrics. A majority of existing studies value recreational ICFs in developed countries. Studies have employed a wide range of valuation methodologies and therefore provide a variety of economic values measured at different units and scales. This study highlights the need for a greater quantity of ICFs economic research that covers a representative sample of ecosystems and fishery types globally. Best practice recommendations are made for a standardised framework to ensure ICFs research generates economically credible and comparable values.     

Cage fish culture in Lake Victoria: A boon or a disaster in waiting?

Fish catches in Lake Victoria have been on the decline while demand for fish has been increasing. Cage culture with >3,000 cages, over 3 million tilapias and valued at US$ 12 million is trying to fill the gap. This study reviews the development of cages and the need to develop a decision support tool for effective management. Existing literature and data on fisheries and cage culture held by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) were used in the analysis. Cage culture is a promising venture that may increase productivity, offer employment and enhance economic well‐being. However, site suitability for the installation of cages is poorly regulated with most developments (>45%) located within 200 m of the shoreline that are breeding grounds of fish and conflict with other lake users. Waste feed increases eutrophication, and enhances growth of algae and water hyacinth in the lake. Recent isolated fish kills were attributed to low dissolved oxygen concentrations (<0.64 mg/L), and an increasing occurrence of fish disease are signs of poor management practices among cage farmers. Cage culture may turn into an environmental disaster if not managed well, and there is need for robust policies and increased awareness to reduce environmental impacts.     

Towards a sustainable fisheries policy in Europe

The reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2013 decides whether the European fisheries can be put on a sustainable course in the next 10 years. The CFP reform must halt overexploitation of fish resources and stop harm to the marine environment by fishing activities. The European Commission published a reform proposal just recently. This proposal is already an important first step in the right direction, but is under threat of being watered down by the Fisheries Council. Necessary improvements of the current CFP include among others a binding definition of a sustainable stock management, a discard ban for all fish species, transferable fishing concessions and a cessation of all aid for building new vessels. These modifications pave the way for placing micromanagement in the hands of regions and fisheries so as to foster self‐responsibility among fishers and give greater consideration to regional circumstances.     

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.     

我国海洋渔业捕捞限额制度实施试点评析与完善建议

2017—2018年我国沿海5省开展了捕捞限额制度实施试点,在实地调查的基础上,对试点渔业的捕捞限额制度实施情况进行了回顾和比较分析。试点渔业在利用专项捕捞许可制度限制捕捞准入、加强渔捞日志管理、试行观察员制度、吸纳基层渔民组织参与监管等方面进行了有益的探索。不同试点之间在实施捕捞限额管理的渔业资源种类选择、渔场和渔船及作业方式的特定性、配套制度等方面具有共性;在捕捞对象种类的单一性、渔场进入的排他性、捕捞限额分配方式、渔获量监测措施方面存在差异。目前我国实施捕捞限额制度仍存在多鱼种渔业问题、捕捞生产监测制度尚未建立、针对性资源调查监测不足、捕捞限制性措施未能有效执行、管理能力和体制不适应需求、违反管理要求的法律责任缺失等问题。建议修改《渔业法》以完善捕捞限额制度体系,加强和完善渔业资源调查、监测,建立综合性渔业数据信息系统,进一步完善基于捕捞许可制度的捕捞作业限制,建立多方参与和跨区域联合的监管机制,根据渔业特点分类设置捕捞限额及其管理机制。     

How fisher‐influenced marine closed areas contribute to ecosystem‐based management: A review and performance indicator scorecard

A rapid review of the literature on closed areas that recognize key ecosystem‐based management (EBM) principles of fisheries and biodiversity conservation and had fisher involvement was employed to review closed areas worldwide from a fisheries perspective and to develop a scorecard that can assess their efficacy. The review provided 523 abstracts of which 19 areas from various regions worldwide had peer‐reviewed studies that met strict selection criteria. Criteria included fisher involvement, biodiversity conservation and fisheries management objectives. A repeat search without “fisher” and synonyms found, 62,622 papers indicating that most closed area studies had no mention of any fisher involvement. The general success of the areas selected suggests that fisher involvement benefits both biological conservation and fisheries management. Fisheries and biodiversity conservation outcomes were not exclusive to any one type of management closure (e.g. MPA, Fishery Closure). Twenty‐four indicators were selected, designed to provide measurable targets. High scoring indicators included management, planning and socio‐economic indicators such as local support (100%), habitat protection (100%), conservation and fisheries objectives (100%), monitoring (91.7%) and fishers concerns (91.7%). Bio‐ecological‐based indicators scored lower in most cases for all types of areas. Fisheries closures rated as highly as the MPAs with respect to both fisheries and bio‐ecological indicators. The scorecard provided a reasonable means to evaluate management success in the light of often qualitative or missing data. Addressing the interests and utilizing knowledge of those affected by closures and familiar with the area, most often local fishers, is key to achieving management objectives.     

Perceptions of fishing access restrictions and the disparity of benefits among stakeholder communities and nations of south‐eastern Africa

Achieving high compliance with resource‐use management policies is a critical concern to achieving sustainability, particularly in poor countries. Willingness to comply may depend on the values and perceptions of benefits and legitimacy of the restrictions. Consequently, we interviewed and evaluated the perceptions of fishing restrictions among ~2100 marine fisheries stakeholders (resource users and managers) in 102 fishing villages in Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania. We hypothesized that perceived benefits would decline and social inequity increase along a hypothesized gradient of increasing access restriction – ranging from minimum size of fish to fisheries closures. Managers did not recognize the hypothesized access restriction gradient, seeing most restrictions as beneficial, but with some nation‐specific distinctions. Village‐level responses of resource users varied by country, and overall perceived benefits of access restrictions increased with the wealth, education and membership in fishing organizations. In Kenya and Tanzania, some communities with views that differed greatly from managers were, in places, found near marine protected areas and they perceived more benefits accruing to the government than resource users for the strongest access restrictions. Madagascar and Mozambique fishing villages had low between‐community variability, and their responses did not reflect the hypothesized restriction gradient or strong social disparity, which may reflect limited practical experience with restrictions. These results suggest that countries with stronger central governments contained villages with more between‐community variability and perceived social disparity than weaker governments. We argue that transparent negotiations with stakeholders about the scales of costs and benefits should increase compliance with selected fisheries regulations.     

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.     

Developing robust frequentist and Bayesian fish stock assessment methods

Errors in fitting models to data are usually assumed to follow a normal (or log normal) distribution in fisheries. This assumption is usually used in formulating likelihood functions often required in frequentist and Bayesian stock assessment modelling. Fisheries data are commonly subject to atypical errors, resulting in outliers in stock assessment modelling. Because most stock assessment models are nonlinear and contain multiple variables, it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify outliers by plotting fisheries data alone. Commonly used normal distribution‐based frequentist and Bayesian stock assessment methods are sensitive to outliers, resulting in biased estimates of model parameters that are vital in defining the dynamics of fish stocks and evaluating alternative strategies for fisheries management. Because of the high likelihood of having outliers in fisheries data, frequentist or Bayesian methods robust to outliers are more desirable in fisheries stock assessment. This study reviews three approaches that can be used to develop robust frequentist or Bayesian stock assessment methods. Using simulated fisheries as examples, we demonstrate how these approaches can be used to develop the frequentist and Bayesian stock assessment approaches that are robust to outliers in fisheries data and compare the robust approaches with the commonly used normal distribution‐based approach. The proposed robust approaches provide alternative ways to developing frequentist or Bayesian stock assessment methods.     

New mitigation measures reducing seabird by‐catch in trawl fisheries

This paper provides an update on an earlier review [Fish & Fisheries 8 (2007) 31] of mitigation methods used to reduce seabird by‐catch in trawl fisheries. Interactions of seabirds with trawl vessels fall into two broad categories: those focused on the trawl warps and those focused around trawl nets. For reducing seabird strikes on trawl warps, the use of bird‐scaring lines has been proved to be the most effective mitigation device in the trawl fisheries in which comparative studies have been undertaken. However, the retention or strategic management of fish waste (offal and discards) is recommended as the most effective primary measure for by‐catch reduction, and as such should be viewed as the best long‐term solution to reducing seabird by‐catch in trawl fisheries. Coincident with effective fish waste management, measures such as cleaning the net prior to shooting and reducing the time the net is on the surface should be viewed as best practice measures and incorporated into normal fishing activities. While a number of methods have been trialled to reduce the incidence of warp strikes, there continues to be the need for more work on effective measures for reducing interactions of seabirds with the trawl net.