Toward Adaptive Management: The Impacts of Different Management Strategies on Fish Stocks and Fisheries in a Large Regulated Lake

We applied the adaptive management approach to analyze the demand and feasibility of adaptive management of fish stocks in a large regulated lake, Oulujärvi, in northern Finland. The process consisted of four phases: (1) analysis of the current state of the fisheries system (fishers, related markets and industry, fisheries researches and authorities, related organizations, etc.); (2) analysis of the objectives of different stakeholders; (3) the composition of alternative management strategies and assessment of their impacts; and (4) recommendations for future management. We used catch statistics from the period 1973–1995 to analyze fish stocks and fishing. Fish species involved were brown trout (Salmo trutta L.), whitefish [Coregonus lavaretus (L.) sl.], vendace (Coregonus albula L.); and pikeperch (Stizostedion lucioperca L.). Questionnaires and interviews were applied to ascertain the opinions of different groups of fishermen. Several models and cost–benefit analysis were used to assess the ecological, economic, and social impacts of three alternative management strategies. The results emphasize that when determining stocking levels and fishing regulations, the system should be considered as a whole, and impacts on major fish species and different groups of fishermen should be assessed. The stocking policy and fishing regulations should also be flexible to accommodate changing biotic and societal conditions. The key questions in applying the adaptive management process in Oulujärvi fisheries are how to determine clear objectives for fisheries management, find a fisheries management structure that provides workable interactions between different stakeholders, and arrange cost-effective monitoring. The lessons learned from the Oulujärvi experience and recommendations for fisheries management are relevant to other lakes with conflicting objectives of different stakeholders.     

长江中上游流域重点水域禁捕补偿政策满意度及影响因素研究

本文以赤水河和长江洪湖段233名退捕渔民为调查对象,基于偏最小二乘结构方程模型,从家庭禀赋、政策认知、政策执行三个维度构建禁捕补偿政策满意度模型,探究其影响因素和影响路径。研究结果表明:经济资本和社会资本对家庭禀赋具有显著的正向影响,人力资本和自然资本对家庭禀赋的影响未通过显著性检验;从路径系数来看,家庭禀赋、政策认知和政策执行三个维度对禁捕补偿政策满意度的路径系数分别是0.264、0.198和0.435;从中介效应来看,家庭禀赋通过政策认知间接影响政策满意度。基于此,本文认为建立多元化禁捕补偿制度、确保按时发放补偿资金、切实提高退捕渔民受教育水平、积极开拓渔民转产转业渠道可以进一步提升禁捕补偿政策满意度,确保长江大保护政策实施效果。     

By-Catch Impacts in Fisheries: Utilizing the IUCN Red List Categories for Enhanced Product Level Assessment in Seafood LCAs

Overexploitation of fish stocks causes concern not only to fisheries managers and conservation biologists, but also engages seafood consumers; more integrated product perspectives would be useful. This could be provided by life cycle assessment (LCA); however, further complements of present LCA methodology are needed to assess seafood production, one being by-catch impacts. We studied the scientific rationale behind using the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species? for assessment of impacts relating to fish species’ vulnerability. For this purpose, the current Red List status of marine fish in Sweden was compared to the advice given in fisheries as well as key life history traits known to indicate sensitivity to high fishing pressure. Further, we quantified the amount of threatened fish (vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered) that was discarded in demersal trawl fisheries on the Swedish west coast. The results showed that not only did the national Red List of marine fish have a high consistency with advice given in fisheries and indices of vulnerability, the different fishing practices studied were also found to have vastly different amounts of threatened fish discarded per kilo landing. The suggested approach is therefore promising as a carrier of aggregated information on the extent to which seafood production interferes with conservation priorities, in particular for species lacking adequate stock assessment. To enable extensive product comparisons, it is important to increase coverage of fish species by the global IUCN Red List, and to reconsider the appropriate assessment unit (species or stocks) in order to avoid false alarms.     

Marine Protected Area Management in South Africa: New Policies,Old Paradigms

A historical perspective on MPA identification and governance in South Africa reflects the continued influence of a top-down and natural science-based paradigm, that has hardly changed over the past half century, despite the wealth of literature, and a growing consensus, that advocates the need to adopt a more integrated and human-centered approach. Based on extensive research in two coastal fishing communities, the paper highlights impacts and conflicts arising from this conventional approach to MPA identification, planning and management. It argues that failure to understand the particular fishery system in all its complexity, in particular the human dimensions, and involve resource users in planning and decision-making processes, undermines efforts to achieve conservation and fisheries management objectives. The customary rights of local resource users, and their food and livelihood needs in relation to marine resources, need to be acknowledged, prioritized and integrated into planning and decision-making processes. Convincing ecologists, fisheries scientists and managers, that MPA success depends on addressing the root causes of resource decline and incorporating social factors into MPA identification, planning and management, remains a huge challenge in South Africa.     

Consolidation in an Individual Transferable Quota Regime: Lessons from New Zealand, 1986–1999

Market-based approaches to environmental regulation (such as tradable permits or transferable quotas) are frequently offered as innovative solutions to many environmental problems. Globally, one of the most well-established forms of this approach is individual transferable quotas (or ITQs) in fisheries management. Within the natural resource management community, there is considerable debate over the effects ITQs have on the fishing industry and fisher behavior although this approach is not well-established in the United States. The previously imposed moratorium on ITQs in the United States has expired and the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act explicitly provides for limited access privileges (LAPs). A variety of fishers, regulators, and conservation organizations are enthusiastically seeking to introduce ITQ management. With debate over whether and how ITQs should be used in American fisheries reinvigorated, it is timely to examine the evidence on the social and economic effects of ITQs in other nations’ fisheries. After briefly summarizing the debate on ITQs, we examine the case of New Zealand, one of the earliest and longest-lived ITQ-based fisheries regimes. We use multiple data sources and methods to analyze the extent to which industry consolidation and aggregation has occurred, including surveys of industry participants, expert interviews, reviews of academic reports and analyses, analysis of trade publications, and direct analysis of quota ownership patterns. This analysis shows a more complex outcome than recent debates in the ITQ literature would predict. These findings suggest that policy makers considering ITQs can learn from the experiences of other countries related to key issues such as quota allocation, aggregation limits, transferability, cost recovery, and resource sustainability when designing ITQ and other LAP systems. It is also important to explicitly identify economic and social objectives and then carefully design ITQ regimes to meet these objectives.     

Marine Conservation and Accession: The Future for the Croatian Adriatic

The European Union (EU) is the world’s largest trading bloc and the most influential supra-national organisation in the region. The EU has been the goal for many eastern European States, for Croatia accession remains a priority and underpins many of its national policies. However, entry into the EU requires certain commitments and concessions. In October 2003 the Croatian parliament declared an ecological and fisheries protection zone in the Adriatic. Under pressure the zone was suspended, finally entering into force in March 2008 exempting EU States. There are other marine conflicts between Croatia and the EU, particularly the contested maritime border with Slovenia, and the development of the Croatian fishing fleet in opposition to the Common Fisheries Policy. Conversely, attempts to harmonise Croatian Nature Protection with the EU Habitats Directive, facilitated by pre-accession funding, has galvanised conservation policy. Since 2005 two marine protected areas have been declared, significantly increasing the marine ecosystem under protection. Finally, the development of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is the latest EU attempt to integrate environmental policy in the maritime realm. This will have an effect not only on member States but neighbouring countries. For marine nature protection to be effective in the region the Adriatic Sea needs to be viewed as a mutually important shared and limited resource not a bargaining chip. Negotiations of the EU and Croatia have been watched closely by the other Balkan States and precedents set in this case have the potential to affect EU expansion to the East.     

Governance assessment of small-scale inland fishing: The case of Lake Itezhi-Tezhi,Zambia

The small-scale fishing sector in sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing multiple challenges, mainly related to various governance issues. This study assessed the governance approach at a small-scale Lake Itezhi-Tezhi fishery, Zambia and how it relates to sustainable fishing. Data were collected through a mixed-methods approach. The governance approach was assessed by legitimacy criterion. The study revealed that there was no co-management in place but a dual governance approach—fishing community-based approach and central government-controlled approach. Both were ineffective, mainly due to lack of adherence to the legislation for local community participation in fisheries governance and an inadequate policy framework to guide the governance process. Also, the governance approaches lacked legitimacy with stakeholders. As such, unsustainable fishing practices had continued. To move towards sustainable fishing at the fishery, the study suggested the following measures: active stakeholders' collaboration and engagement with the government for prompt implementation of legislation that promotes active local fishers' participation; establishment of an appropriate fisheries policy; and ultimately, a transformation of the current governance approach into a legitimate co-management governance approach. These suggested recommendations might be useful to other African small-scale inland fisheries with similar governance challenges, and also towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 14 on sustainable fishing.     

Resource scarcity,energy use and environmental impact: A case study of the New Bedford,Massachusetts, USA,fisheries

The commercial fishing fleet in New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, harvests seafood on George’s Bank, home of one of the nation’s most productive fisheries. We calculated the energy return on investment (EROI) and carbon intensity of protein harvest in the New Bedford fisheries from 1968 to 1988. EROI is the ratio of the energy content of the edible fish protein harvested to the quantity of fossil fuel energy used directly in the harvesting process. Carbon intensity is the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released (from the burning of fossil fuels) per calorie of edible fish protein harvested. The results show that the EROI of protein harvest declined from 0.18 to 0.028 from 1968 to 1988, indicating that the energy used to harvest seafood increased from about 6 to 36 kcal of fuel for each kilocalorie of protein harvested. The quantity of CO₂ released per calorie of edible fish protein is a linear function of energy use and therefore increased in a similar manner. During this period there was a large increase in fishing effort (caused by the increase in the real price of seafood products, favorable tax treatment for new vessel construction, and low interest loans from the government), and a decline in several important species of fish. The results suggest that fishing pressure could be managed effectively by the regulation of fuel use by the fleet. Despite the increase in the price of many seafood products, fishermen absorbed many of the costs of increasing scarcity in the form of longer working hours and fewer men per vessel.     

Wildlife conservation through people-centred approaches to natural resource management programmes and the control of wildlife exploitation

While the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) introduced a new and progressive outlook on conservation, the South African government has failed to produce a comprehensive legal body of legislation to give effect to its varied obligations. Inconsistency and incompleteness of regulations governing wildlife conservation in conjunction with the failure to implement objectives to conserve wildlife through restricted exploitation with the political, social and economic motives of community conservation must be seen as major contributions to failed conservation goals. This paper analyses post-apartheid conservation laws and policies and argues that current plans for people-centred approaches to natural resource management programmes have been unsuccessful in operationalizing policy goals of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development into transparent plans for implementation. In fact, legal instruments and implementation plans seem to focus on the benefit-sharing components of community participation and therefore fail to address important issues of resource exploitation. It is suggested that where communities are expected to take part in the management of wildlife resources, the responsibility for sustainable wildlife management must be linked to the benefit-sharing instruments of the programmes. However, these would not deal with 'outsiders' like poachers and poaching driven by commercial interests. The paper proposes a model that allows communities to take control over wildlife resources.     

Fishing Farmers or Farming Fishers? Fishing Typology of Inland Small-Scale Fishing Households and Fisheries Management in Singkarak Lake, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Technical and socio-economic characteristics are known to determine different types of fishers and their livelihood strategies. Faced with declining fish and water resources, small-scale fisheries engage into transformations in livelihood and fishing practices. The paper is an attempt to understand these changes and their socio-economic patterns, in the case of Singkarak Lake in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Based upon the hypothesis that riparian communities have diverse, complex yet structured and dynamic livelihood systems, the paper’s main objective is to study, document and model the actual diversity in livelihood, practices and performance of inland small-scale fisheries along the Singkarak Lake, to picture how households are adapted to the situation, and propose an updated, workable model (typology) of those for policy. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to develop a typology of fishing households. The results show that small-scale fishers can be classified into different types characterized by distinct livelihood strategies. Three household types are identified, namely “farming fishers” households (type I, 30 %), “fishing farmers” households (type II, 30 %), and “mainly fishers” households (type III, 40 %). There are significant differences among these groups in the number of boats owned, annual fishing income, agriculture income and farming experience. Type I consists of farming fishers, well equipped, with high fishing costs and income, yet with the lowest return on fishing assets. They are also landowners with farming income, showing the lowest return on land capital. Type II includes poor fishing farmers, landowners with higher farming income; they show the highest return on land asset. They have less fishing equipment, costs and income. Type III (mainly fishers) consists of poorer, younger fishers, with highest return on fishing assets and on fishing costs. They have little land, low farming income, and diversified livelihood sources. The nature of their livelihood strategies is discussed for each identified group. This helps to understand the complexity and diversity of small-scale fishers, particularly in the study area which is still poorly known. This paper concludes with policy implication and possible management initiatives for environmentally prudent policy aiming at improvement of fishers’ livelihood.     

Facing limits in oceanic fisheries

Research from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and fishery scientists indicates that the wild catch of fish and other marine life from the oceans will not be able to increase significantly in the future, except through rehabilitation and better management of stocks. Despite the limited potential for bigger catches, fishing fleets have expanded rapidly in recent decades under government subsidies. Fishers now have approximately twice the capacity necessary to make the annual catch from the oceans. The juxtaposition of natural limits and overinvestment has created a crisis situation for the world's fishers, fishing communities, and traditional fishing cultures. Part I of this article (Natural Resources Forum, November 1994) discussed policy responses at the national and international level. How policy makers respond to the overextension of the marine fishing industry will determine the extent of job loss, hunger and dislocation that will result. Part II examines the social aspects of the world's fishing industry, including the demography of fishers, utilization of fisheries products, the relative social contribution of aquaculture and policy responses to overcapacity. Policy makers could enhance the social benefits of marine fisheries – both jobs and food – through a combination of government oversight and community-based management .     

Facing limits in oceanic fisheries

Research from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and fishery scientists indicates that the wild catch offish and other marine life from the oceans will not be able to increase significantly in the future, except through rehabilitation and better management of stocks. Despite the limited potential for bigger catches, fishing fleets have expanded rapidly in recent decades under government subsidies. Fishers now have approximately twice the capacity necessary to make the annual catch from the oceans. The juxtaposition of natural limits and overinvestment has created a crisis situation for the world's fishers, fishing communities and traditional fishing cultures. Part I of this article discusses policy responses at the national and international level. How policy makers respond to the overextension of the marine fishing industry will determine the extent of job loss, hunger and dislocation that will result. Part II, to be published in the Forum's next issue (February 1995), will examine the social aspects of the world's fishing industry, including the demography of fishers, utilization of fisheries products, the relative social contribution of aquaculture and policy responses to overcapacity. Policy makers could enhance the social benefits of marine fisheries — both jobs and food — through a combination of government oversight and community based management.     

Maintenance of Forest Biodiversity in a Post-Soviet Governance Model: Perceptions by Local Actors in Lithuania

Successful biodiversity conservation does not depend on ecologic knowledge alone. Good conservation policies and policy implementation tools are equally important. Moreover, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of local actors, directly in charge of operations in the field, are a key to successful policy implementation. The connections between policy objectives and their implementation as well as the involvement of local actors’ efforts in implementing policy objectives largely depend on the governance model in use. This article assesses the knowledge of local actors in relation to the biodiversity conservation objectives and tools in Lithuanian forest management. As a main framework for this study, the needs assessment approach was applied. The study used both in-depth open-ended interviews and follow-up telephone interviews. Two state forest enterprises in Lithuania were selected as the study sites. The findings indicate that policy objectives in the field of forest biodiversity conservation and the related tools are well known but not well understood by those in charge of forest biodiversity policy implementation. To improve the situation, a transition toward adaptive learning and participatory governance as a means of facilitating conservation efforts is proposed.     

On climbing trees: an Australian perspective on sustainability and political risk>

This paper examines how political risk taking is necessary for gains in sustainability. It provides a personal perspective covering some of the key turning points in Australia (and some global examples) to demonstrate how policy innovation in sustainability will always require political leaders to go out on a limb and then in hindsight the policy will be seen as obvious and normal. The key components of sustainability (vision, interdisciplinary, geographical and sectoral synergies) are used to illustrate stories of tree climbing. Some deeper levels of sustainability applied to thinking, creativity, belonging and spirituality are then used as the framework for illustrating the significance of political risk taking for sustainability.     

On climbing trees: an Australian perspective on sustainability and political risk>

This paper examines how political risk taking is necessary for gains in sustainability. It provides a personal perspective covering some of the key turning points in Australia (and some global examples) to demonstrate how policy innovation in sustainability will always require political leaders to go out on a limb and then in hindsight the policy will be seen as obvious and normal. The key components of sustainability (vision, interdisciplinary, geographical and sectoral synergies) are used to illustrate stories of tree climbing. Some deeper levels of sustainability applied to thinking, creativity, belonging and spirituality are then used as the framework for illustrating the significance of political risk taking for sustainability.     

Dynamics of fisheries that affect the population growth rate coefficient

Conventional surplus production models indicate that destruction of fish populations by overfishing is difficult, if not impossible, but catastrophic declines in abundance of exploited populations are common. Surplus production models also do not predict large continuing fluctuations in yield, but large fluctuations in yield are common. Conventional surplus production models assume that fisheries do not impact the population's capacity to increase, but changes in age structure or a decrease in age-specific fecundity resulting from fishing can decrease the coefficient of increase. A surplus production model is developed in which fishing reduces the capacity of a population to increase; the model is applied to describe the fluctuations observed in yield of lake herring (Coregonus artedii) from the upper Great Lakes. The fisheries of the Great Lakes were decimated by the combined effects of heavy fishing and a changing environment. For some species, yield increased to high levels and then the fisheries collapsed; for other species, yield and effort fluctuated greatly.     

An approach for integrating economic impact analysis into the evaluation of potential marine protected area sites

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one tool that can be used in the comprehensive management of human activities in areas of the ocean. Although researchers have supported using MPAs as an ecosystem management tool, scientific research on MPAs in areas other than fisheries and fisheries management is limited. This paper presents a model for designing marine protected areas that protect important components of the ecosystem while minimizing economic impacts on local communities. This model combines conservation principles derived specifically for the marine environment with economic impact assessment. This integrated model allows for consideration of both fishery and non-fishery resources and activities such as shipping and recreational boating. An illustration of the model is presented that estimates the total economic impacts on Massachusetts' coastal counties of restricting fishing and shipping at certain sites in an area in the southern Gulf of Maine. The results suggest that the economic impacts on the region would differ according to the site in which shipping and fishing were restricted. Restricting activities in certain sites may have considerable impacts on local communities. The use of the model for evaluating and comparing potential MPA sites is illustrated through an evaluation of three different policy scenarios. The scenarios demonstrate how the model could be used to achieve different goals for managing resources in the region: protecting important components of the ecosystem, minimizing economic impacts on the local region, or a combination of the two.     

Patterns of selectiveness in the Amazonian freshwater fisheries: implications for management

Tropical fisheries, which are considered multi-species, may show selectiveness. We analyzed the degree of selectivity of fish catches in 46 sites along the Amazon basin through the percentage of biomass corresponding to the most caught fish species. Amazonian fisheries were considered moderately selective, as 54% of the sites directed more than a quarter of fishing effort to one fish species and in 87% of the sites more than half the fishing effort was directed to five fish species. Commercial fisheries were more selective than subsistence fisheries. Eleven fish species (nine of them migratory) have received more fishing pressure in the studied Amazonian regions and the catch composition differed among regions. We thus recommend that fisheries management in the Amazon basin should distribute fishing effort among more fish species; incorporate the particularities of commercial and subsistence fisheries; evaluate fishing effects on ecosystem services; and consider the biological characteristics of preferred fish.     

Social Capital and Fisheries Management: The Case of Chilika Lake in India

This article shows how social capital impacts fisheries management at the local level in Chilika Lake, located in the state of Orissa in India. In Chilika, the different fishing groups established norms and “rules of the game” including, but not limited to, spatial limits that determine who can fish and in what areas, temporal restrictions about when and for how long people may fish, gear constraints about what harvesting gear may be used by each group, and physical controls on size and other characteristics of fish that may be harvested. A survey of the members of fishing groups has shown that the bonding social capital is strong within the Chilika fishing groups. Bonding and bridging social capital keeps the fishers together in times of resource scarcity, checks violations of community rules and sanctions, and strengthens the community fisheries management. In contrast, linking social capital in Chilika appears to be weak, as is evident from the lack of trust in external agencies, seeking the help of formal institutions for legal support, and increasing conflicts. Trust and cooperation among fishers is crucial in helping to build the social capital. A social capital perspective on fisheries governance suggests that there should be a rethinking of priorities and funding mechanisms, from “top-down” fisheries management towards “co-management” with a focus on engendering rights and responsibilities for fishers and their communities.     

Exploring corruption in fisheries

This paper explores corruption in global fisheries. While reducing corruption is critical for the effective management of the fisheries sector and the fulfilment of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs, and SDGs14 and 16 in particular), to do so, it is necessary to first have a systematic and comprehensive understanding of what corruption is and how it is manifested in the sector. There is literature on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, but not much on corruption. The paper proposes an analytical framework and applies it with six revelatory cases to improve the conceptual clarity of corruption in fisheries. Specific corruption problems found in licensing, negotiating access agreements, lax enforcement, extortion, political corruption, money laundering and tax manipulation, human trafficking, etc. can therefore be better identified through this analysis, which lays a base for systematic responses to tackling corruption in fisheries and accordingly furthering the sustainable development of the sector.