Fishery Management Plan Research Articles

The composition of adult overwintering and juvenile aggregations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) around Iceland using neutral and functional markers: a statistical challenge

The collapse of marine fisheries worldwide has forced recognition of the fact that sustainable fisheries management cannot be achieved without a reasonable understanding of stock structure. Fisheries focusing on species that exhibit seasonal migrations between spawning and feeding grounds should consider the composition of feeding aggregations of presumed mixed origin. Using nine microsatellites and the Pan I locus, we assess the contribution of two previously described major spawning components of Icelandic cod Gadus morhua (southwest and northeast) to two large feeding and two large juvenile aggregations of presumed mixed origin and situated in the northwest and northeast of Iceland. The Bayesian approaches (STRUCTURE and BAYES) revealed that, with the exception of the juvenile samples collected in 2002 and 2003 in the northeast, most of the individuals originated from the southwest. These results confirmed that the Icelandic cod exhibit a complex biological pattern involving spawning site fidelity and migration to and from feeding aggregations. The sustainable management of the Icelandic cod is likely to be compromised if its complex dynamics is not properly integrated into fisheries management plans.

IUU fishing in Indonesia’s live reef fisheries

The live reef fish trade involves the exploitation of coral reef fishes to supply luxury seafood restaurants in Hong Kong and mainland China; and high demand and expensive prices resulted in excessive fishing. Almost all of Indonesia’s coral reef areas are heavily exploited, and their sustainability is threatened by overfishing, IUU fishing and the effects of destructive fishing on the target species, non-target species and on their environment. This article outlines the results of a study conducted over 2009–10 in a number of locations in Indonesia analysing the live reef fish trade, including fishing equipment, supply chain and other socio-economic aspects. Recommendations are proposed to assist the Indonesian government in developing fisheries management plans for coral reef fish.

Price formation and geographic market integration: An empirical investigation of Adriatic small pelagic species

Identification of an appropriate geographic scope is a major issue for defining fishery management plans. The geographic size of a fishery management plan involves two factors: the interaction between fleets fishing shared stocks, and spatial market integration. While the former issue receives considerable attention (both in the literature and at a political level), not as much attention is given to the latter subject. This study aims to provide a theoretical and empirical contribution to assessing the most appropriate target area for policy intervention. Aside from the protection and recovery of overexploited stocks, if management plans intend to influence long-run and seasonal price levels, the geographical scope, where price–quantity relationships are determined, cannot be ignored. Similarly, regulations with temporal application, such as fishing activity interruption, meet biological needs but do not necessarily attain market objectives. Results of an empirical investigation of the most important Italian fish stocks, European anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardines (Sardina pilchardus) show that the Adriatic basin can be considered a suitable area for the application of management plans both from a biological and an economic perspective.

Pattern of Freshwater Fish Diversity, Threats and Issues of Fisheries Management in an Unexplored Tributary of the Ganges Basin, Northern India

The present study was conducted to assess the current freshwater fish biodiversity status of an unexplored river Ghaghara, a major tributary of river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, India. Altogether, 62 species of fish representing 48 genera and 24 families were described. The various diversity index packages have been used to assess the fish diversity and diversity is also correlated with habitat variables. The Cypriniformes was recorded to be the most predominated order, contributing to 41.8% of fish species followed by Siluriformes (36.4%). The study shows that this river supports considerable percentage of food fish (79.0%), aquarium fish (48.4%), highly priced fishes (33.9%) and also sport fish (9.7%). The threat status as per current IUCN Red List criteria showed that most of the species are under lower risk least concern (LRlc) category, however, Indian assessment shows that about 23% fish species under threatened list (EN= 4, VU=10). Several anthropogenic activities like barrages, waste water dumping, over fishing, sedimentation, change in land use pattern etc. were found responsible to threaten the fish diversity. As the threats to fish biodiversity in the Ghaghara river are slowly becoming serious and conservation of fishes has become urgent, and integrated and sustainable fisheries management plan should therefore be developed.

한국 남해안 대형선망어업의 생태계 위험도 분석에 의한 자원평가 연구

Changes in ecosystem risks were evaluated using the ecosystem-based fisheries assessment (EBFA) approach of Zhang et al. (2009, 2010) and the comprehensive ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) plan was made for the southern sea of Korea in this study. The risk assessment of the southern sea ecosystem was conducted by establishing ecosystem management objectives and by estimating risk scores (RS) for indicators. To conduct this analysis a number of indicators and their reference points for assessing these risk scores were developed in this study. The number of indicators in the risk analysis was 28 for the quantitative tier 1 analysis and 30 for the qualitative tier 2 analysis. The objective risk index (ORI), species risk index (SRI) and fisheries risk index (FRI) were calculated from the risk scores. Comparing the past (1988) and the current (2008) status of fisheries resources, management implications were discussed. The fishery risk index (FRI) of large purse seine fishery in the southern sea of Korea decreased substantially from 0.972 in 1988 to 0.883 in 2008, and improvement in the management of fisheries operated in the southern sea of Korea.

The Magnuson–Stevens act (1976) and its reauthorizations: Failure or success for the implementation of fishery sustainability and management in the US?

Abstract The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (1976), opened a new era of federal fishery management in the United States. It was enacted primarily to establish a system for conserving and managing fisheries in the new 200-mile (EEZ). The US assumed exclusive authority for managing all fisheries within the EEZ, except for highly migratory species such as tunas and billfishes. Within the framework of the Act, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (Regional Councils) were created, which are responsible for preparing Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) in federal waters under their jurisdiction. Each FMP must meet a series of National Standards (NSs) for conservation and management. The Act was reauthorized in 1996 with the passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA), which aimed at the fishery regulatory apparatus that was established under the original Act. This fine tuning involved increased attention to biological concerns, and removal of ambiguities within it. The Act was reauthorized again in 2007, mainly to provide for more clear directives and regulations to end overfishing. After more than thirty years since the Act was passed into law, the debate among conservationists, commercial and recreational fishery representatives, and politicians on the effectiveness of the Act in achieving its purported goals it still continues. Is the Act delivering on its promises? Do NSs reflect the most important priorities for the US fishery resources, conservation and sustainable exploitation? Do the Regional Councils represent all parties that should be involved in the fisheries resources management? The aim of this paper is to provide a critical analysis to answer these questions. This paper begins with a review of the Act and its background, followed by discussion and analysis of the Act's benefits and flaws. Finally, suggestions for the implementation of its structure and future directions in fishery management strategies are made.

The life history characteristics, growth and density of Mysis diluviana in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, USA

Application of management plans for lakes and fisheries, such as the addition of nutrients to increase lake productivity or the removal of non-natives, requires that we understand the biology and ecology of the biota present in those ecosystems. To understand the biology of a non-native freshwater shrimp, Mysis diluviana, and provide information for management of it in Lake Pend Oreille, a large (382km2) and deep (351m max depth) lake in northern Idaho, USA, we determined its life history characteristics, estimated growth rates, quantified seasonal density and calculated its production at two widely separated sites. M. diluviana required 2years to reach maturity; reproduction took place from September to October, and young were released between May and June. However, some gravid females and newly released young were observed year-round. Growth rates were higher in summer (0.037±0.004mm/day) compared to winter (0.023±0.003mm/day). Density varied from 56 to 2471 individuals/m2, while production ranged between 2.18 and 3.12g dry mass/m2/yr. These data can be used by managers of the Lake Pend Oreille ecosystem to optimize management strategies that increase kokanee production such as timing the potential application of nutrients, and/or the removal of mysids. Furthermore, we expand the knowledge of M. diluviana in large and deep lakes outside its native range.

Role of egg predation by haddock in the decline of an Atlantic herring population

Theoretical studies suggest that the abrupt and substantial changes in the productivity of some fisheries species may be explained by predation-driven alternate stable states in their population levels. With this hypothesis, an increase in fishing or a natural perturbation can drive a population from an upper to a lower stable-equilibrium population level. After fishing is reduced or the perturbation ended, this low population level can persist due to the regulatory effect of the predator. Although established in theoretical studies, there is limited empirical support for predation-driven alternate stable states in exploited marine fish populations. We present evidence that egg predation by haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) can cause alternate stable population levels in Georges Bank Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). Egg predation by haddock explains a substantial decoupling of herring spawning stock biomass (an index of egg production) from observed larval herring abundance (an index of egg hatching). Estimated egg survival rates ranged from <2-70% from 1971 to 2005. A population model incorporating egg predation and herring fishing explains the major population trends of Georges Bank herring over four decades and predicts that, when the haddock population is high, seemingly conservative levels of fishing can still precipitate a severe decline in the herring population. These findings illustrate how efforts to rebuild fisheries can be undermined by not incorporating ecological interactions into fisheries models and management plans.

An Approach to Defining Stock Complexes for U.S. West Coast Groundfishes Using Vulnerabilities and Ecological Distributions

AbstractThe Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires active management of all stocks at risk of overfishing or otherwise in need of conservation and management. In the Pacific Fishery Management Council groundfish fishery management plan, about two‐thirds of the more than 90 managed stocks are currently without traditional assessments to help define stock status in relation to management targets. Stock complexes are often employed for management purposes in such situations. The guidelines issued in response to the 2006 MSA amendments defined a complex as a group of stocks with similar geographic distributions, life histories, and vulnerabilities to fisheries. This work uses productivity–susceptibility analysis (PSA) to measure the vulnerabilities of 90 managed groundfish stocks, 64 of which are currently managed within stock complexes. These stock complexes are reevaluated by first using a partitioning cluster analysis to group the stocks by depth and latitude. Vulnerability reference points are then established based on the PSA results to determine vulnerability groups of low, medium, high, and major concern within each ecological group. This method is a simple and flexible approach to incorporating vulnerability measures into stock complex designations while providing information with which to prioritize stock‐ and complex‐specific management.Received September 28, 2010; accepted February 23, 2011

Seasonal variation in fecundity, egg case viability, gestation, and neonate size for little skates, Leucoraja erinacea, in the Gulf of Maine

Landings of the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea, within the territorial waters of the United States are currently regulated by a federal fishery management plan (FMP). For a FMP to be effective, thorough knowledge of a species’ reproductive biology is essential. Currently, little information exists on annual fecundity, egg case viability, gestation length, and neonate total length, for the little skate in the Gulf of Maine. To study these reproductive parameters, mature skates and egg cases were housed in fiberglass tanks with an open seawater system that provided natural, seasonal fluctuations in water temperature. Egg case deposition was highest during summer months with a seasonal peak in June. Of the 324 egg cases laid by seven females (c. 46 eggs per year, per female), 74.1% were viable. Gestation lengths ranged from 22 to 54 weeks throughout the four seasons. Egg cases laid in the fall had the longest gestation times (44.9 weeks, ± 0.13 weeks) and those laid in the spring had the shortest gestation times (24.5 weeks, ± 0.21 weeks). Total lengths of neonates from spring oviposition were statistically the longest (10.74 ± 0.05 cm) when compared to neonates from other seasons; however, egg viability was statistically the lowest for spring when compared seasonally.

Value-per-recruit analysis of bighand thornyhead Sebastolobus macrochir caught off the Pacific coast of northern Honshu, Japan

The yield-per-recruit (YPR) analysis has been used to assess growth overfishing of exploited fish stocks. Since the ex-vessel price per weight widely depends on the size of the fish, the result of the YPR does not imply the revenue. The value-per-recruit (VPR) analysis, which is an economic expansion of the YPR analysis, was conducted for bighand thornyhead Sebastolobus macrochir caught off the Pacific coast of northern Honshu, Japan. The results showed that, for the current age at first capture (tc = 3), the current fishing mortality (F = 0.12) was close to the optimum level. However, for the current F, optimum tc in the VPR model was 8 years and would lead to a 47% increase compared to the current revenue. The maximum YPR was obtained at tc = 6 years, but the revenue at tc = 6 only gave a 20% increase in the maximum revenue. The difference was caused by the size dependency of the ex-vessel price per weight. The VPR model would generate fisheries management plans with both economical and biological consideration and would help in making general consensus of fisheries management strategies.

Progress and problems in U.S. marine fisheries rebuilding plans

The United States is somewhat unique among major fishing nations in mandating the rebuilding of overfished stocks within a specified period of time, a requirement first enacted in 1996. This study is based primarily on a review of trends in the 2000–2010 period in fishing mortality and biomass levels of stocks in rebuilding programs, supplemented by recent U.S. and international scientific literature. The major objectives of this study are, first, to assess progress achieved to date in these rebuilding plans, and, second, to identify the most significant obstacles to successful rebuilding. Sufficient data exists to monitor trends in fishing mortality and biomass levels number for just 35 stocks, out of a total 59 stocks that are currently rebuilding or have recently completed the rebuilding process. Most stocks in rebuilding plans are finfish, and the majority of are managed in relatively few fishery management plans governing fisheries in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and northwest Pacific portions of the U.S. 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Therefore, the findings of this report are tentative and do not necessarily reflect broader trends in U.S. federally managed fisheries. This report shows substantial progress in about two-thirds of the 35 rebuilding stocks included in this report. Progress is defined in two ways: either the rebuilding plan has reduced fishing mortality to an acceptably low level, or it has brought about stock recovery to a mandated target. Most significantly, the assessment of rebuilding plan case studies indicates that reductions in fishing mortality, especially when implemented early in the programs and maintained as long as necessary, lead to significant increases in stock abundance in roughly four of five stocks. At the same time, the case studies also show that, in about one-third of the rebuilding plans, recovery measures have not yet produced the desired outcomes. The two most common problems are failure to adequately control fishing mortality and low resilience (high susceptibility to fishing pressure) of certain categories of overfished stocks.

The Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems and opportunities for acoustical applications.

NANOOS, the Pacific Northwest Regional Association of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), aims to provide coastal ocean observations improving understanding and enabling decisions to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment. Biological aspects of ocean observing lag behind physical because of the difficulty of observing animal behavior beneath the surface; yet information about the behavior and survival of marine species in the ocean is identified as a critical need for fisheries management and marine spatial planning. Acoustics are poised to contribute to this need; however, limitations of acoustic arrays must be addressed. NANOOS recognizes opportunities for acoustical applications and has begun exploring these. NANOOS and POST deployed an acoustic receiver on a seaglider to test feasibility of using gliders to extend the scope of acoustic tracking arrays into deeper water and as a rapid deployment technology to test fixed arrays and investigate oceanographic features. During a 3‐month test deployment, July–October 2010, a receiver mounted on the seaglider worked flawlessly and made two detections: one from a salmon and one from a Humboldt squid. NANOOS has proposed to develop methods for integrating instruments for tracking migrations of fish and marine mammals into ocean observing networks.

Is Biodiversity Friendly Fisheries Management Possible on Issyk-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz Republic?

This paper aims to identify challenges, and threats, and further explore opportunities for a new Biodiversity Friendly Fisheries Management Regime on the Issyk-Kul Lake in the Kyrgyz Republic. This lake is the second largest high-altitude lake in the world providing recreational and small-scale fishing activities as well as cage culture of introduced species. The populations of several indigenous species are seriously threatened, because many of the introduced species are potential predators. We examine the root causes for overfishing and relationships of alien and endemic fish species in Issyk-Kul Lake and give possible policy options that can help remediate or mitigate the biodiversity degradation. This analysis focuses on necessary legal modifications, institutional cooperation, the protection of selected endemic fish species, control of the alien species, the sustainable extension services and management of fish ponds. Fisheries co-management is one option to explore shared stewardship and empowering user groups on the lake. A comprehensive fisheries management plan is also needed, in addition to immediate action and further studies on the following wider aspects: water management/irrigation issues, water-quality assessment near cage cultures, sociocultural issues, resource inventory, and assessing fish biology and the lake ecosystem.

The summer flounder chronicles II: new science, new controversy, 2001–2010

The summer flounder, or fluke, Paralichthys dentatus, supports the most important commercial and recreational flatfish fisheries of the US Atlantic coast. The stock and fishery range from Massachusetts to North Carolina. The assessment and management of the summer flounder fishery has been very contentious since implementation of the joint Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission/Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in 1989, when the poor status of the summer flounder stock was evident to scientists, managers, and fishermen. Management efforts to control fishing mortality in the face of increasing stock abundance and competing demand for fish from both the commercial and recreational sectors continue to evoke the question of “How much fish is enough?” to provide for long-term sustainability. In spite of the numerous controversies, however, by 2010 the fishing mortality on summer flounder had declined to its lowest level in at least 30 years, and summer flounder stock biomass was the highest since the stock assessments began in the 1960s. From a scientific perspective, future assessments need to: (a) better account for the uncertainty resulting from “internal model” retrospective error, (b) better integrate environmental, ecological, and other non-traditional calibration indices into the modeling framework, and (c) better discern summer flounder stock-recruitment dynamics by considering covariates such as environmental factors and predator/prey abundance. Initiatives are underway to acquire improved fishery and biological data to allow the assessments to better reflect the true “state of nature.”

Integration of biological, economic, and sociological knowledge by Bayesian belief networks: the interdisciplinary evaluation of potential management plans for Baltic salmon

Abstract Levontin, P., Kulmala, S., Haapasaari, P., and Kuikka, S. 2011. Integration of biological, economic, and sociological knowledge by Bayesian belief networks: the interdisciplinary evaluation of potential management plans for Baltic salmon. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: . There is a growing need to evaluate fisheries management plans in a comprehensive interdisciplinary context involving stakeholders. The use of a probabilistic management model to evaluate potential management plans for Baltic salmon fisheries is demonstrated. The analysis draws on several scientific studies: a biological stock assessment with integrated economic analysis of the commercial fisheries, an evaluation of recreational fisheries, and a sociological study aimed at understanding stakeholder perspectives and potential commitment to alternative management plans. A Bayesian belief network is used to synthesize the findings from these separate studies and to evaluate the robustness of management decisions to different priorities and various sources of uncertainty. In particular, the importance of sociological studies in quantifying uncertainty about the commitment of fishers to management plans is highlighted by modelling the link between commitment and implementation success. Such analyses, relying on prior knowledge, can forewarn of the consequences of management choices before they are implemented.

Broadening Participation in Fisheries Management Planning: A Tale of Two Committees

Management agencies increasingly seek to broaden stakeholder participation in fisheries decision making beyond commercial fisheries groups. This precipitates the challenge of meaningfully involving additional stakeholders without unjustifiably diminishing the role of commercial users. This research examines participants'; evaluations of one attempt to broaden but balance participation in groundfish management planning on Canada's Pacific coast. Commercial fishery and noncommercial fishery stakeholders were separated onto two advisory committees with more and less control over the design of the management plan, respectively. Respondents from the noncommercial fishery committee were accepting of this asymmetrical arrangement, provided they had sufficient opportunities to influence the design of the advisory process and define overarching objectives that would bound potential outcomes. Findings suggest several reasons that involvement in these early steps may be particularly important to meaningful participation of noncommercial fishery stakeholders within asymmetrical, multicommittee processes.

Challenges to sustainable management of the lakes of Malawi

This paper reviews the management challenges facing Malawi lakes and analyzes the management responses that have been developed to deal with these challenges. Malawi lakes are under considerable stress due to high population growth and increasing levels of poverty which have led to overexploitation of fishery resources. High rates of soil erosion in the lake catchments are increasing siltation of shallow lakes, deltas and embayments, affecting water quality and fish breeding habitats, thereby degrading fish production potential. This review further shows that past and current management approaches have focused on maximizing sustainable yield and have failed to adequately incorporate socio-ecological factors and broader lake catchment processes into fisheries management plans. This, in turn, led to the top-down development of fisheries laws and technical regulations which were difficult to enforce, increased conflict between resource users and fisheries managers, and failed to control fisheries over-exploitation and the collapse of the chambo (tilapia) and cyprinid fisheries. The paper recommends that the fisheries policy should be reviewed to focus on resilience of fisheries, environment and livelihoods. Policy makers should adopt integrated management planning to address the diverse interest of stakeholders in lake basins, as well as the ecological, socio-economic and external factors threatening sustainability of lake ecosystems and livelihoods of dependent communities.

Effect of bitter crab disease on rebuilding in Alaska Tanner crab stocks

Abstract Siddeek, M. S. M., Zheng, J., Morado, J. F., Kruse, G. H., and Bechtol, W. R. 2010. Effect of bitter crab disease on rebuilding in Alaska Tanner crab stocks. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 2027–2032. Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) Tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi stocks were declared overfished in 1996 and were closed to commercial fishing between 1997 and 2004. Subsequent management was based on a rebuilding plan using criteria from the previous US federal fisheries management plan (FMP). Under the revised 2008 FMP, reference points changed for mature biomass (male only vs. total), as well as catch levels (total vs. retained), resulting in different rebuilding criteria. We performed a rebuilding analysis using age-, sex-, and size-structured simulations incorporating recent changes in overfishing definitions. Specifically, we compared the potential effect of additional mortality that bitter crab disease could have on rebuilding performance of lightly infected EBS and heavily infected southeast Alaska Tanner crab stocks. The results suggest that under the assumed recruitment scenario, the new control rules are adequate to rebuild the depleted lightly infected EBS stock, but not the heavily infected southeast Alaska stock.

Science-to-management pathways in US Atlantic herring management: using governance network structure and function to track information flow and potential influence

AbstractHartley, T. W., and Glass, C. 2010. Science-to-management pathways in US Atlantic herring management: using governance network structure and function to track information flow and potential influence. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1154–1163. Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) are crucial members of the ecosystem and economy of the Northwest Atlantic, and a challenging species for management, which in the United States is a multistakeholder process, involving commercial and recreational fishing interests, conservation organizations, state and federal governments, and other interested parties. Given the large number of stakeholders, fisheries management has been conceptualized as a governance network, through which multiple parties access the decision-making process and seek to influence the process or outcome. Network analysis is employed to assess the access pathways for scientific information, i.e. collaborative acoustic-survey data, into stock-assessment decisions and the development process for the fisheries management plan. The governance network map was constructed for US Atlantic herring management in 2006 and 2007. The pathways of information flow in the network showed that participants in the collaborative acoustic survey were well connected to the stock-assessment and fisheries-management processes and decision-makers, particularly through key individuals bridging between the industry, science, and management communities. Heavy reliance on those individuals serving a bridging role made the network connectivity vulnerable, however. The network structure also demonstrated significant influence potential for acoustic-survey information. Ramifications for science-to-management pathways in fisheries are discussed.