Protection for Southern Cone Fisheries

Abstract

A $150 000 project funded by the Pew Fellows Program has been launched to develop workable, sustainable har? vesting regimes for four South Ameri? can fisheries: the Chilean sea urchin (Loxechinus albus), the Chilean abalone or loco (Concholepas concholepas), and the Argentinian tehuelche scallop (Aequipecten tehuelchus) and Patagonian shrimp (Pleoticus mueUeri). The complex distribution of the first three species and the lack of reliable data on their overall abundance hinders the use of conventional approa? ches to set thresholds and fishing quotas. Assessment methods typically ignore the spatial distribution of the resource and the exploitation pattern, which is critical for the interpretation of the data in sedentary stocks. Meanwhile, Patagonian shrimp boats trawl a heavy bycatch of juvenile hake (Merluccius hubbsi), further damaging this depleted fishery. To tackle these difficulties, the new project will design fishery-specific management procedures along lines pioneered by the International Whal? ing Commission. Marine conserva? tion literature is stuffed with theoretical models dealing with spatial approaches to management, but very little is geared towards developing actual regulatory systems that work in concrete situations, says project leader Ana M Parma, Patagonian National Center (Puerto Madryn, Argentina). To regulate the shellfish harvests, one needs to specify a combination of temporal closures, reserves, periods be? tween revisits, and local conditions for closing and reopening areas, maintains Parma. Catch quotas could still be set, but local indicators of stock status are required to adjust quotas up and down. Robust feedback mechanisms will be crucial. require constant data collection from fishermen, fish? ery officials, and scientists, and regular adjustment of management controls in response to the information gathered. Parma points out that fishery ministries budget little for data collec? tion, that scientists are judged by pub? lications, not conservation impacts, and that fishing communities are usu? ally excluded from the design of man? agement strategies. These fisheries present different problems, but in general, there is no established process for decision mak? ing, where alternatives are formally evaluated and results of policy analy? ses are considered by all parties. She concludes that science can only be advanced in the context of a participatory process. We interact regularly with fishers and managers and live in close contact with the scallop fishing community of the Valdes Peninsula. Many management recommendations have been discussed over long hours around our dinner table. ?