Future Of Fishing Research Articles

The future of fish and fisheries in Australia: prioritisation of research needs through a horizon scanning approach

Context In Australia, the health of our marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes are of critical importance. The aquatic and marine ecosystems, and the fishes that occupy them each have an important role in our country’s ecological, economic, cultural and social wealth. Climate change, resource over-exploitation, invasive animals and diseases, and habitat degradation are just a few of the burgeoning threats that researchers and managers must address to ensure the prosperity of Australia’s natural fisheries resources. In addition, differences in legislative frameworks among jurisdictions hinder our ability to coherently manage fish resources at scales that are relevant biologically, ecologically and socially. Aims Here, we identify the key research priorities for fish and fisheries research in Australia, across seven thematic fields of study. Methods Research priorities were evaluated using a horizon scanning approach which identified research questions related to the field of fish and fisheries research in Australia. Key results A total of 284 unique research questions were categorised and prioritised, resulting in the formation of the top 10 highest priority research questions across each of the seven themes. Conclusions The outcomes from this work can be used to directly complement ongoing work from research providers working in the field of fish and fisheries as well as the development of new areas of research. Implications The priorities identified will enable researchers and policy makers to identify critical knowledge gaps, develop collaborative research programs, investigate novel approaches, and to improve transparency around decision-making processes.

The future of fish in Africa: Employment and investment opportunities.

One of the most pressing challenges facing food systems in Africa is ensuring availability of a healthy and sustainable diet to 2.4 billion people by 2050. The continent has struggled with development challenges, particularly chronic food insecurity and pervasive poverty. In Africa's food systems, fish and other aquatic foods play a multifaceted role in generating income, and providing a critical source of essential micronutrients. To date, there are no estimates of investment and potential returns for domestic fish production in Africa. To contribute to policy debates about the future of fish in Africa, we applied the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agriculture Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) to explore two Pan-African scenarios for fish sector growth: a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and a high-growth scenario for capture fisheries and aquaculture with accompanying strong gross domestic product growth (HIGH). Post-model analysis was used to estimate employment and aquaculture investment requirements for the sector in Africa. Africa's fish sector is estimated to support 20.7 million jobs in 2030, and 21.6 million by 2050 under the BAU. Approximately 2.6 people will be employed indirectly along fisheries and aquaculture value chains for every person directly employed in the fish production stage. Under the HIGH scenario, total employment in Africa's fish food system will reach 58.0 million jobs, representing 2.4% of total projected population in Africa by 2050. Aquaculture production value is estimated to achieve US$ 3.3 billion and US$ 20.4 billion per year under the BAU and HIGH scenarios by 2050, respectively. Farm-gate investment costs for the three key inputs (fish feeds, farm labor, and fish seed) to achieve the aquaculture volumes projected by 2050 are estimated at US$ 1.8 billion per year under the BAU and US$ 11.6 billion per year under the HIGH scenario. Sustained investments are critical to sustain capture fisheries and support aquaculture growth for food system transformation towards healthier diets.

Tackling alcoholism and domestic violence in fisheries—A new opportunity to improve well‐being for the most vulnerable people in global fisheries

AbstractThe UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) principle of “leaving no one behind” focuses global attention on the poorest and most vulnerable people. As different sectors grapple to engage meaningfully with this principle, we posit that greater consideration of social problems in fishing‐dependent communities, such as alcoholism and domestic violence, presents an opportunity for fishery governors to contribute to the SDGs mandate. We further argue that governing marine resources in ignorance of these problems can risk harming some of the most vulnerable people in fisheries. Using subjective well‐being data from women living in two small‐scale fishing communities in India and Sri Lanka, we demonstrate the prevalence and impact of alcoholism and domestic violence in fishing households. We further highlight how policies which restrict access to marine resources can undermine important coping strategies, in particular, the ability of women to act as independent income earners, exacerbating harm to already vulnerable women. A scoping review of the literature reveals that alcoholism and domestic violence are reported in certain fisheries around the world, and we theorize how this may relate to the nature of fishing life and growing stresses regarding the future of fishing. Tackling the burdens of alcoholism and domestic violence in fisheries, where it is an issue, is an opportunity to improve well‐being for men, women and their families. The paper concludes with tangible actions which marine resource governors could adopt to contribute to the “leave no one behind” ethos.

Social wellbeing and commons management failure in a small-scale bag net fishery in Gujarat, India

Social scientists have long recognized that fishing is perceived by many coastal communities as a way of life that does much more than just provide material benefits. A corollary to this is that fishers are often reluctant to quit fishing. Marine fisheries are complex and dynamic, and are often subject to classic commons dilemmas. These dilemmas have become much more acute in recent decades as pressures on the world’s small-scale fisheries have mounted. We argue that a holistic social wellbeing approach provides a valuable perspective from which to view changing fisher perceptions of bag net fishing in the face of commons management failure in Gir Somnath District in Gujarat State, India. Fishers’ perceptions of fishing as a desirable occupation are not shaped by only their job satisfaction. Ineffective governance and largely failed institutions are the factors that fishers blame for the recent crisis in their fishery. Many fishers are pessimistic about the future of fishing and do not want their children to be a part of this occupation that was vibrant until recently.

The Future of Fish as Food

The Future of Fish as Food

The Future of Fishing: An Introduction to the Special Issue

Trends in fisheries and wildlife-based recreation are important to state management agencies, as license sales and federal excise taxes placed on hunting and fishing equipment provide a major sourc...

Adrift in a Sea of Information about Sustainable Seafood: The Maine Consumer Perspective

The desire for a sustainable seafood industry that protects the environment and the future of fishing is certainly of interest to consumers, but even here there are conflicting standards, as Catherine Schmitt explores in this article.

Salmon policy: science, society, restoration, and reality

Salmon policy in the Pacific Northwest illustrates a class of contentious, socially wrenching issues that are becoming increasingly common in the western United States as demands increase for limited ecological resources. Many Pacific salmon “stocks” (a term used in fisheries management for a group of interbreeding individuals that is roughly equivalent to “population”) have declined and some have been extirpated. The salmon “problem” is one of the most vexing public policy challenges in natural resource management. Even with complete scientific knowledge — and scientific knowledge is far from complete or certain — it would be a challenging policy problem. The salmon decline issue is often defined simplistically as a watershed management problem, in part because changes in watersheds are highly visible and often occur on public or corporate lands where individuals and organizations often have direct input to decision making. Yet, changes in climate and ocean conditions, for example, occur frequently and such changes have a major influence on salmon abundance. The scientific challenges are great, but the more difficult — and critical — aspect of the debate concerns policies and decisions affecting everyone, including those involved in rural enterprises (especially farming and logging); manufacturing and construction; electricity generation (including hydro, fossil fuel, and nuclear); national defense; urban development; transportation (including road, rail, air, and water). The debate also involves competing personal rights and freedoms; the prerogatives and roles of local, state, and federal government and Indian tribes; policies on human population level, reproduction, emigration, and immigration; and the future of fishing (commercial, recreational, and Indian). The salmon policy conundrum is characterized by: (1) nearly everyone claims to support maintaining wild salmon runs; (2) many competing societal priorities exist, many of which are partially or wholly mutually exclusive; (3) the region’s rapidly growing human population creates increasing pressures on all natural resources (including salmon and their habitats); (4) policy stances in the salmon debate are solidly entrenched; (5) society expects salmon experts to help solve the salmon problem; (6) each of the many sides of the political debate over the future of salmon use salmon experts and scientific “facts” to bolster its argument; (7) it has proved to be nearly impossible for salmon scientists to avoid being categorized as supporting a particular policy position; and (8) many advocates of policy positions couch their positions in scientific terms rather than value-based preferences. Although far from indisputable, I conclude that over the next century and allowing for considerable year-to-year and decade-to-decade variation, many, perhaps most, stocks of wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest likely will remain at their current low levels or continue to decline in spite of costly protection and restoration efforts.