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.     

Contribution of marine fisheries to worldwide employment

Marine fisheries contribute to the global economy, from the catching of fish through to the provision of support services for the fishing industry. General lack of data and uncertainty about the level of employment in marine fisheries can lead to underestimation of fishing effort and hence over‐exploited fisheries, or result in inaccurate projections of economic and societal costs and benefits. To address this gap, a database of marine fisheries employment for 144 coastal nations was compiled. Gaps in employment data that emerged were filled using a Monte Carlo approach to estimate the number of direct and indirect fisheries jobs. We focused on estimating jobs in the small‐scale fishing sector. We characterized small‐scale fishing as (i) primarily geared towards household consumption or sale at the local level; (ii) conducted at a low level of economic activity; (iii) minimally mechanized; (iv) conducted within inshore areas; (v) minimally managed; and/or (vi) undertaken for cultural or ceremonial purposes. In total, we estimated that 260 ± 6 million people are involved in global marine fisheries, encompassing full‐time and part‐time jobs in the direct and indirect sectors, with 22 ± 0.45 million of those being small‐scale fishers. This is equivalent to 203 ± 34 million full‐time equivalent jobs. Study results can be used to improve management decision making and highlight the need to improve monitoring and reporting of the number of people employed in marine fisheries globally.     

Are fishers poor? Getting to the bottom of marine fisheries income statistics

Fishers’ economic status is hard to assess because fisheries socio‐economic data, including earnings, are often not centrally available, standardized or accessible in a form that allows scaled‐up or comparative analyses. The lack of fishing income data impedes sound management and allows biased perceptions about fishers’ status to persist. We compile data from intergovernmental and regional data sets, as well as case‐studies, on income earned from marine wild‐capture fisheries. We explore the level and distribution of fishers’ income across fisheries sectors and geographical regions, and highlight challenges in data collection and reporting. We find that fishers generally are not the poorest of the poor based on average fishing income from 89 countries, but income levels vary widely. Fishing income in the large‐scale sector is higher than the small‐scale sector by about 2.2 times, and in high‐income versus low‐income countries by almost 9 times. Boat owners and captains earned more than double that of crew and owner‐operators, while income from fisheries is greater than that from agricultural work in 63% of countries in this study. Nonetheless, incomes are below national poverty lines in 34% of the countries with data. More detailed fishing income statistics is needed for quantitative scientific research and for supporting socio‐economic policies. Key gaps to address include the lack of a centralized database for fisheries income statistics and the coarse resolution at which economic statistics are reported internationally. A first step to close the gap is to integrate socio‐economic monitoring and reporting in fisheries management.     

When is a fisher (not) a fisher? Factors that influence the decision to report fishing as an occupation in rural Cambodia

In the developing world, the majority of people who fish in inland areas do so primarily for subsistence needs. This suggests that survey or census questionnaires which collect information concerning the occupations of respondents will underreport the number of people who fish, and corollary to this, misrepresent dependence on fishing as a support service for food and supplemental income. This study uses the results of a household survey conducted in 37 villages across Cambodia to quantify the amount of fishing that is done by inland fishers who do not report fishing as a primary or secondary occupation. The study also identifies the household characteristics which influence the decision of an individual who fishes to report fishing as an occupation. Fifty‐eight percent of households whose members engaged in fishing activities did not report fishing as an occupation. Individuals whose household owned farmland, earned off‐farm income and fished primarily for subsistence needs were significantly less likely to report fishing as an occupation. When assessing the importance of fishing to inland rural communities for the purposes of rural planning and policy development, relying solely on census‐style occupation or employment data will misrepresent the contributions of subsistence fishing to household welfare.     

Artisanal fisheries in urban reservoirs: a case study from Brazil (Billings Reservoir, São Paulo Metropolitan Region)

Billings Reservoir is an urban reservoir located in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region. It supports 101 active artisanal fishermen. To describe this fishery, landings were recorded daily between February 1996 and January 1997 at Colônia (23° 50' 57' S; 46° 40' 02' W). In every landing, a data collector recorded catch, effort, fishing gears and fishing grounds. A total of 147 593 kg of fish were recorded in 3515 fishing trips. The exotic Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), was the main species exploited (81.4% of the annual catches). Five other species were also targeted: the characid Astyanax eigenmaniorum (Cope) (13.0% of the annual catches); the erythrinid Hoplias aff . malabaricus (Block) (2.1%); the exotic cyprinid Cyprinus carpio L. (Campos & Fernández-Yépez) (2.4%); the curimatid Cyphocharax modestus L. (1.1%); and the pimelodid Rhamdia sp. (0.1%). Two main groups of fishermen were discriminated using Principal Components Analysis; these were associated with the type of fishing gear and fishing strategies, i.e. those who exploited Nile tilapia with cast nets and beating gill nets, and those who exploited other species with set gill nets. Management and maintenance of this fishery should consider the positive top-down effects that Nile tilapia could have in controlling eutrophication and also the social benefits.     

The behavioural dynamics of fishers: management implications

In pursuing their livelihood, fishers develop strategies when faced with changes in regulations and other fishery conditions. Changes involve each individual in a decision‐making process governed by his/her own goals or constraints. Despite this reality, the complex dynamics of fishing has usually been ignored in designing management initiatives, which has contributed to management failures in many parts of the world. Fishers have generally been treated as fixed elements, with no consideration of individual attitudes based on their operating scales (geographical, ecological, social and economic) and personal goals. We review existing research on the social, economic and behavioural dynamics of fishing to provide insight into fisher behaviour and its implications for fisheries management. Emphasis is placed on fisher perception, and how fishers develop dynamic fishing tactics and strategies as an adaptive response to changes in resource abundance, environmental conditions and market or regulatory constraints. We conclude that knowledge of these dynamics is essential for effective management, and we discuss how such information can be collected, analysed and integrated into fisheries assessment and management. Particular emphasis is placed on small‐scale fisheries, but some examples from industrial fleets are provided to highlight similar issues in different types of fisheries.     

海洋捕捞技术、渔具渔法研究进展与趋势

综合应用船舶、机械、信息、新材料等技术,从海洋中捕捞经济渔获物并综合利用,是现代海洋捕捞业的主要特征。海洋捕捞技术的发展和创新,对保障我国食物安全、保护近海生态与资源、实现渔民增收和新渔村建设、推动渔业产业结构调整和转型、维护我国海洋权益等方面具有非常重要的作用。本文通过简析海洋捕捞渔场探测、渔具渔法与高效自动化辅渔助渔技术等方面的研究进展,提出海洋捕捞技术的重点发展方向,以期为我国海洋捕捞实现节能高效、生态友好和资源可持续利用,海洋捕捞技术升级和产业高质量发展提供参考。