Abstract
Coastal resources are coming under increasing pressure from competition between recreational, commercial and conservation uses. This is particularly so in coastal areas adjacent to major population centres. Given high recreational and conservation values in such areas, economic activities need to be highly efficient in order to persist. Management of these industries must therefore also encourage efficient production and full utilisation of the areas available. In order to achieve this, managers must first understand the level and drivers of productivity, and how these can be influenced. In this study, by way of illustration, the focus was on the Sydney rock oyster industry within Queensland's Moreton Bay, a multiple use marine park with high recreational and conservation value adjacent to Australia’s third largest city. Productivity of the oyster industry in Moreton Bay is currently low compared to historic levels, and management has an objective of reversing this trend. It is unclear whether this difference is due to oyster farmers’ business choices and personal characteristics or whether varying environmental conditions in the Moreton Bay limit the capacity of the oyster industry. These require different management responses in order to enhance productivity. The study examined different productivity measures of the oyster industry using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to determine where productivity gains can be made and by how much. The findings suggest that the industry is operating at a high level of capacity utilisation, but a low level of efficiency. The results also suggest that both demographic and environmental conditions affect technical efficiency in the Bay, with water characteristics improvements and appropriate training potentially providing the greatest benefits to the industry. Methods used in this study are transferable to other industries and provide a means by which coastal aquaculture may be managed to ensure it remains competitive with other uses of coastal resources.
Highlights
Sustainable management of coastal resources is an important policy goal for all governments of countries with coastlines [1]. This is so in coastal waters adjacent to major population centers, where recreational, conservation and economic uses of the areas often co-exist and compete for space. The latter is vulnerable, as non-market values associated with recreational use and marine conservation are often high, requiring areas designated for commercial purposes to either be efficiently utilized or given over to the non-commercial activities
By way of example to illustrate its use in coastal aquaculture, we focus on the potential to enhance productivity in the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) (SRO) industry in Moreton Bay, Queensland
Much of the area of Moreton Bay is designated as a multiple use marine park, with some areas designated as no-take zones, some for recreational fishing only and others for low-impact commercial fishing and aquaculture
Summary
Sustainable management of coastal resources is an important policy goal for all governments of countries with coastlines [1]. This is so in coastal waters adjacent to major population centers, where recreational, conservation and economic uses of the areas often co-exist and compete for space. The latter is vulnerable, as non-market values associated with recreational use (such as recreational fishing or scuba diving) and marine conservation are often high, requiring areas designated for commercial purposes to either be efficiently utilized or given over to the non-commercial activities. Much of the Brisbane population use the Bay area for recreational purposes, and recreational use value is believed to far exceed the value of commercial activities in the Bay [4, 5]
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