Feasibility of a single-species quota system for management of the Malaysian multispecies purse-seine fishery

Malaysian fisheries employ multiple measures to improve management; however, not all are well-suited to the multispecies fisheries. As part of a pilot project, an individual quota system was introduced for the purse-seine fishery off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (ECPM), but no assessment of this particular measure nor the feasibly of its implementation has been confirmed. Therefore, this study analysed spatial and temporal patterns of purse-seine fishing, by collecting catch composition data per landing and its fishing ground within three period fishery surveys between August 2017 and September 2018 at six different landing sites. Similarity and cluster analysis examined species composition and diversity to determine the feasibility of implementing a single-species quota system in this multispecies fishery. Some overlapped of indices results and minor difference in catch composition were found due to changes in spatial and temporal fishing activities. However, no specific spatial or temporal patterns were discernible as structuring the fishing grounds used by purse-seiners. The absence of patterns, using the available data, might be attributable to huge species aggregations and widely distributed and homogenously mixed fish stocks. Thus, it is likely impractical to manage species individually in such a multispecies fishery.     

Validation of the accuracy of household reporting of subsistence fishing catch and effort: a Fijian case study

Abstract  The accuracy of household reporting of subsistence fishing catch and effort and seafood consumption on the Fijian island of Ono-i-Lau was studied. A creel survey was carried out concurrently to validate the household survey data. Reported estimates of fishing participation, effort, and fish consumption were not significantly different to the creel survey estimates. Householder's appeared to overestimate the number of fish from the most abundant family Lethrinidae, and underestimate rarer fish. However, there was no significant difference between the reported and observed contribution of the majority of finfish families and invertebrate taxa. The reported and observed catch rate estimates were not significantly different, indicating that Ono-i-Lau villagers are relatively accurate in their estimation of the number and size of fish from recalled catches.     

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.     

Marine fish life history strategies: applications to fishery management

The life history traits of 42 marine fish species were grouped according to the theoretical classifications of life history strategies. This provides a conceptual framework of management options, because life history strategies are the underlying determinants for population responses to climate and ocean changes, they can be used to classify typical population responses. When faced with providing management advice for species for which there is no information on absolute or relative biomass, such as newly exploited species, life history traits can be used to classify the species into a strategist grouping and the appropriate management options can be selected from the conceptual framework.     

Quantifying uncertainty in the wild‐caught fisheries goal of the Ocean Health Index

Sustainability indices are proliferating, both to help synthesize scientific understanding and inform policy. However, it remains poorly understood how such indices are affected by underlying assumptions of the data and modelling approaches used to compute indicator values. Here, we focus on one such indicator, the fisheries goal within the Ocean Health Index (OHI), which evaluates the sustainable provision of food from wild fisheries. We quantify uncertainty in the fisheries goal status arising from the (a) approach for estimating missing data (i.e., fish stocks with no status) and (b) reliance on a data‐limited method (catch‐MSY) to estimate stock status (i.e., B/B_MSY). We also compare several other models to estimate B/B_MSY, including an ensemble approach, to determine whether alternative models might reduce uncertainty and bias. We find that the current OHI fisheries goal model results in overly optimistic fisheries goal statuses. Uncertainty and bias can be reduced by (a) using a mean (vs. median) gap‐filling approach to estimate missing stock scores and (b) estimating fisheries status using the central tendency from a simulated distribution of status scores generated by a bootstrap approach that incorporates error in B/B_MSY. This multitiered approach to measure and describe uncertainty improves the transparency and interpretation of the indicator and allows us to better understand uncertainty around our OHI fisheries model and outputs for country‐level interpretation and use.     

新海洋法与世界渔业的发展趋势

一、新海洋法中的渔业规则 (一)1982年海洋法公约中的渔业规则在国际法中的地位 联合国第三次海洋法会议于1978年底召开,经过长期协商,于1982年4月23日通过了《海洋法公约》,公约于1982年12月10日开始签字,有119个国家立即签了字。到1985年11月为止,共有159     

地理信息系统在海洋渔业中的应用现状及前景分析

地理信息系统（geographic information system,GIS）作为一种高效的时空分析工具,于20世纪80年代末期应用于海洋渔业领域,并在渔海况数据采集与分析、渔业资源与海洋环境关系、水产养殖选址、渔业资源评估与分析、标志放流、海洋生态系统以及渔情预报等方面得到广泛应用。但GIS在渔业方面的应用仍然面临着巨大挑战,渔业信息已不再局限于渔业数据及相关环境数据,还应包含与渔民本身相关的社会经济数据,即未来的海洋渔业GIS应是一个集自然资源与环境系统、人类系统、社会系统与经济系统为一体的综合系统。基于生态系统的海洋渔业管理及可持续性已得到全社会和国际组织的共同关注,GIS相比于传统分析方法具有很大的优势,将有助于提高海洋渔业信息决策分析。未来GIS在海洋渔业中的应用将注重以下几个方面：（1）基础数据库的建立及数据标准化;（2）鱼类关键栖息地的分析与研究;（3）海洋保护区的确定;（4）渔业资源的长期监测与管理;（5）鱼类洄游分布及海洋环境的三维化。结合我国大洋渔业的研究现状,提出了建立基于GIS我国大洋渔业信息系统的框架。     

从文化渔业的角度谈休闲渔业发展的新路径

休闲渔业是实现现代渔业转型发展的重要途径,然而我国雨后春笋般出现的休闲渔业产业如出一辙的模式使休闲渔业发展陷入瓶颈期,本文试图从“文化学”角度探讨,重新整合运用现有资源,尝试为休闲渔业的发展寻找新的突破口.     

新区背景下舟山捕捞渔业转型升级战略研究

2011年6月30日国务院批复设立浙江舟山群岛新区后,舟山捕捞渔业如何实现新的更好的发展,发挥好在新区建设中的独特优势和作用,继续为全国海洋渔业发展做出开创性贡献,成为新的历史时期的重大而现实课题。本文从舟山捕捞渔业一个时期以来的发展变化入手,分析了在群岛新区建设背景下推进捕捞渔业转型升级的背景和意义,并提出了实施捕捞渔船现代化、捕捞渔业集群化、捕捞渔业多样化、捕捞渔业低碳化、捕捞渔业法人化、捕捞渔业品质化、捕捞渔业综合化等"七化"工程为载体的舟山捕捞渔业转型升级工作重点。     

Competition for shifting resources in the southern Benguela upwelling: Seabirds versus purse-seine fisheries

In the southern Benguela upwelling ecosystem off the west coast of South Africa, seabird populations are decreasing dramatically because of reduced availability of pelagic fish. We tested the hypothesis that the west coast fishing industry is competing for the remaining stocks of anchovy and sardine with the largest colony of Vulnerable Cape Gannets (Morus capensis) along the Atlantic coast. Using GPS-tracking of the birds, echo-sounding of pelagic fish, and vessel log books, we located overlap areas between bird foraging ranges, pelagic fish distribution, and fishing activities. We then compared fish catches by gannets and vessels within their joint foraging zones. In October 2007, purse-seine fishing grounds and gannet foraging areas overlapped by only 13%. However, for a 1-month period, the amount of fish removed from this area by purse-seine boats amounted to 41% of the food requirements of the 72,000 gannets breeding on Malgas Island (25% of the world population). The fishery’s catch in this area is significant in terms of its potential impact on gannets, but comprises only 3.6% of total fishery catch. Based on this finding, the rapidly decreasing size of the gannet colony and the stated objectives of South Africa’s Marine Living Resources Act of 1998, the case for considering and experimenting with at-sea ‘no-take’ areas for the purse-seine fishery is strong. Efforts to establish whether ‘no-take’ fishing zones increase food availability for top predators is an important next step in conservation of the southern Benguela Ecosystem.