National Fleet Research Articles

Licensing distant-water tuna fleets in Papua New Guinea

Whe Proclamation was approved by Papua New Guinea's parliament and subsequently given effect by the country's Governor-General when he signed the Offshore Seas Proclamation (1978). By proclamation, Papua New Guinea declared its 200-mile Declared Fisheries Zone (DFZ) in March 1978.1 Papua New Guinea's DFZ, covering 2.3 million square kilometres (kin 2) of the western Pacific Ocean, is the third largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Pacific islands region after Polynesia (5.0 million km 2) and Kiribati (3.6 million km2). Papua New Guinea's DFZ harbours rich and proven tuna fishing grounds that are exploited by domestic and distant-water fleets. Japanese distant-water tuna fleets have fished in the area covered by Papua New Guinea's DFZ since the end of the second world war, and more recently, distant-water fleets of other flag states have joined operations. Papua New Guinea's domestic tuna fleet has operated since 1970. On the basis of biological research undertaken by the government of Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s and together with the more recent results of the Skipjack Survey and Assessment Program conducted by the South Pacific Commission, it is estimated that the country's potential annual yield of tuna from its DFZ significantly exceeds the quantity of tuna currently being harvested. The combined quantities of tuna harvested by foreign fishing vessels (FFVs) and the domestic tuna fleet in Papua New Guinea's DFZ have consistently exceeded 100 000 tonnes per annum since 1974. Given the productivity of the DFZ, the capacity of the world tuna market to absorb production and the Papua New Guinea government's willingness to license FFVs to fish for tuna in its waters, it is expected, at least in the medium term, that the total quantity of tuna landed annually in the DFZ will remain at around established levels. The article commences with a brief description of the exploitation of Papua New Guinea's tuna resources by domestic and distant-water fishing nation fleets. This is followed by an explanation of Papua New Guinea's rationale for licensing distant-water vessels in its DFZ as well as an outline of the country's existing, past and proposed access agreements. The basis for determining access fees payments is explained and terms and conditions of access discussed. Revenue received by Papua New Guinea from licensing distant-water fishing tuna fleets is presented for 1980, 1982 and 1984 together with other data showing the relative importance of revenue earned. Administration and surveillance

A bioeconomic model of an international fishery

The conventional analyses of exploited fisheries is extended to situations where several national fleets harvest the resource. Using a simple biological model, the dynamics of such a fishery are explored and the open-access equilibria described. The model highlights the mutual interdependencies of the several fishing fleets, which are of importance when considering management policies in a regime of extended national jurisdiction. Several alternatives for managing such fisheries are also discussed.

Numerical Simulations of a Case of Explosive Marine Cyclogenesis

Abstract The extratropical cyclone which damaged the liner Queen Elizabeth II in September 1978 is a well-documented example of explosive marine cyclogenesis in which the 24 h surface central pressure fall was 60 mb commencing 1200 GMT 9 September. Operational models of both the National Meteorological Center (NMC) and Fleet Numerical Weather Central (FNWC) predicted virtually none of the observed surface intensification. This study reports on results of simulations performed with a primitive equation model. Emphasis will be placed on discovering why such poor forecasts were made of this storm. The extensive data set compiled by Gyakum (1983a, b) is used both to initialize and verify the model in a series of 24 h simulations, in order to assess the impact of initializing the model with these supplementary data. Physical processes identified observationally by Gyakum as being important in the storm's evolution are also examined numerically for their relative importance. In a series of seven simulations in ...

Learning program helps win national fleet wargame tournament

During the month of June 1981, the EURISKO program was set the task of exploring the design of naval fleets conforming to a body of (several hundreds of) rules and constraints as set forward in Traveller: The Trillion Credit Squadron. EURISKO designed a fleet of ships suitable for entry in the 1981 Origins national wargame tournament, held at Dunfey's Hotel, in San Mateo, Ca., over July 4 weekend. The Traveller tournament, run by Game Designers Workshop (based in Normal, Illinois), was single elimination, six rounds. EURISKO's fleet won that tournament, thereby becoming the ranking player in the United States (and also an honorary Admiral in the Traveller navy). This win is made more significant by the fact that the program's creator, Professor Douglas Lenat of Stanford University's Heuristic Programming Project, had never played this game before, nor any miniatures battle game of this type.

Some Thoughts on the Dry Bulk Shipping Sector

THE purpose of this paper is two-fold; firstly to examine the possibility of the shipping industry providing the economy with certain indirect benefits and to suggest a method of quantifying these benefits; secondly to examine the effects of an increase in the size of a nation's fleet generated by a subsidy programme. The two aspects of the study overlap and the econometric model designed to help answer both parts is able, in addition, to provide a basis for forecasting future values of freight rates and ton-miles. The first aspect involves an estimation of the area of consumers surplus and of its division between importers and exporters, while the second entails building a model capable of providing demand and supply equations for shipping services. We have confined our analysis to the dry bulk sector of the market and we have assumed that this sector can be adequately represented by the five major dry bulk commodities (grain, coal, iron ore, bauxite and alumina, and phosphates). In fact 53% of dry bulk ton-mileage was accounted for by these five commodities in 1976.1 The prime reason for choosing this sector is that it approximates very closely to an unrestricted competitive2 situation where the levels of freight rates and quantities demanded and supplied are determined by the interaction of market forces. We are examining the trade of the five major dry bulks and the group of OECD countries as a net importer of these goods. As shipping is an international business and imports may be carried by ships of various flags it is necessary to consider the total world demand for dry bulk shipping services and, as the commodities we are dealing with are mostly raw materials, we shall take the developed countries as the demanders of such services. For purposes of simplicity we shall treat the group of OECD countries as an

Protectionism in international shipping and some economic effects

The general recession in the international economy and an increasing desire on the part of the developing countries to establish or expand their own national fleets has led to increased protectionism in international shipping. This paper discusses the various aspects of protectionism in the light of the UNCTAD code of conduct for liner and bulk shipping.

Internal and external shipping policy measures†

The article deals with the implementation of a shipping policy by any developing country. Among the topics discussed are protection of foreign trade interests, promotion of the national merchant marine, the competitive position of the national fleet, development of related shipping industries, sea and shore personnel and the extent and character of international shipping solutions. Order from NSFI as No. 18430.

Dynamics of national fleet development

Dynamics of national fleet development

The domestic resource costs of establishing/expanding a national fleet

It has been openly advocated by UNCTAD, and widely accepted by the nations concerned, that developing countries should aim at expanding their own shipping fleets and at carrying a higher proportion of their trade. The formula suggested by UNCTAD for the division of trade is 40: 40: 20; i.e. a national line should be entitled to 40% national export cargo, 40% national import cargo and 20% crosstrading rights. The purpose of this paper is to suggest economic criteria that can be used as a policy tool in decision-making regarding the establishing/expanding of national fleets. Implementation of UNCTAD'S recommendation may have great impact on shipping.

World whale stocks

AbstractThe history of whaling is very largely one of repeated over‐exploitation of the various whale stocks which became available through discovery or technological advance. Modern whaling has similarly caused considerable reductions in the numbers of some species in the major whaling grounds.Stock assessment methods are based on catch and effort statistics, biological information including age and reproductive status, marking and sightings records.Catch effort data have to be used with caution, because of changes in species preference, shifts in the whaling grounds and national fleet variations. With allowance made for these factors, cumulative catches adjusted for recruitment can be used to estimate the initial stock number. Changes in stock density after known catches also lead to abundance estimates. Logarithmic regression of age composition data are used to find the total mortality rates. The natural mortality can be estimated from early season catches in a fishery or pre‐fishery year classes caught more recently; fishing mortality is found by subtraction, which again leads to abundance estimates. Mathematical approaches incorporating recruitment estimates from actual age composition data and theoretical population models have been employed. Additional estimates come from mark release‐recapture experiments and direct sightings counts from whaling vessels and research ships. The latter are the only means of estimating the protected species.The yields which the various stocks can sustain are calculated from direct observations and theoretical considerations of the changes in recruitment, largely due to increased pregnancy rates and the lower ages at sexual maturity which occur in exploited stocks.The results of all the available analyses have been compared and combined to produce the population estimates and yields tabulated. The object of whale management is to bring all stocks to the levels providing the maximum or optimum sustainable yields. These are defined in terms of numbers at the moment, but may be expressed as biomass in the future.

Political factors and the evolution of national fleets in developing countries

Political factors and the evolution of national fleets in developing countries

Reconciling Conflicts among Different Economic Interest Groups in the Management of Fisheries

It is argued that the combined interests of consumers, producers, and the public are best served if the benefits from and the costs of using available fishery resources are calculated in social terms. An optimal level of productive inputs to a fishery can be approached through the imposition of appropriate controls by the state. The form that such action might take in the case of established fisheries, particularly, is considered and the need for gradual and flexible implementation, to prevent industrial and social disruption, is stressed.Management of international fisheries is complicated by the fact that the social optimum, which serves to provide a rational objective for one country, is indeterminate when fish stocks are exploited by fleets of several nations. A second-best arrangement, which would permit the purchase of inputs from the least costly sources and the sale of products in the markets where prices are highest, with the net proceeds being distributed among countries on the basis of need, seems to be impracticable in the foreseeable future. The conclusion is drawn that, for the present, a system of annual catch quotas allocated among interested countries may offer a reasonable solution to the problem.The difficulties associated with the setting of quotas and their equitable allocation are discussed in some detail and the conflicts of interest that may arise in the process are indicated, e.g. those relating to variation in national time-preferences, to differences in stages of development, and to the accommodation of new entrants. Reference is made, in particular, to the conflict between the short-run interests of states with mobile (distant-water) fleets and those of coastal states. Some possibilities for the reconciliation of these conflicts are suggested, e.g. quota-share trading, compensation for abstention, and exchange of (fleet and port) services.