Sustainable Fisheries Policy Research Articles

The influence of new sustainable fisheries policies on seafood company practices and consumer awareness in Japan

Effective fisheries policy is critical to achieving sustainable transitions in the seafood industry. Here, we present a conceptual framework demonstrating how interactions between private sector actors, seafood consumers, and new fisheries policies can influence policy effectiveness. We then apply this framework to Japan, which recently implemented two new fisheries policies to develop sustainable fisheries: the Reformed Fisheries Policy (RFP), and a policy to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The former introduced an individual quota system based on total allowable catch and maximum sustainable yield. The latter altered rules around catch documentation to enhance traceability and transparency in the supply chain. Through interviews with companies involved in fishing tuna and importing mackerel, and surveys with seafood consumers, we investigate understandings of, opinions on, and responses to, these new policies. While the new policies led companies to change some of their operating and corporate sustainability practices, these were viewed unfavourably. Tuna fishing companies shared concerns around the RFP's inequitable quota allocations, believing quotas would reduce fisher incomes, company profits, and deter young people from entering the industry. Mackerel importing companies were unclear how to implement the new the Anti-IUU policy in their day-to-day operations. Meanwhile, consumer awareness on seafood sustainability was low. A lack of engagement between private sector actors, consumers, and policy makers was also evident, with greater communication and collaboration needed. Annual meetings, media campaigns, and partnerships with advocacy groups are recommended as ways to address this, to help ensure transitional change in Japanese fisheries is realised.

Modelling the Distribution of a Commercial NE-Atlantic Sea Cucumber, Holothuria mammata: Demographic and Abundance Spatio-Temporal Patterns

There is an increasing demand for sea cucumbers, for human consumption, mainly from Asian markets and, as a consequence, NE-Atlantic species are now new targets for exploitation and exportation. Holothuria mammata is one of the most valuable species in Europe. However, the lack of historical economic interest in this species in most European countries has also led to a lack of studies concerning biological and ecological aspects on wild populations and this is a major issue for stock management. This study aims to determine the temporal and spatial patterns of distribution of H. mammata, considering its abundance and demographic structure in a NE-Atlantic area, SW Portugal, as a function of environmental conditions. For that, a population from a marine protected area was followed for 1 year at 1.5-month intervals. Throughout the coastal area, six sites were selected and at each sampling campaign three random transects per site and substrate (rock and sand) in which all H. mammata individuals were counted and measured. For each site and survey several environmental parameters of interest, from the water column, the sediment and substrate cover, were also measured. Generalized Linear Models were used to model the spatial and temporal distribution of the species according to environmental conditions, to determine the species’ habitat preferences. The distribution models indicate that abiotic and biotic parameters of the water column are not the main drivers shaping the distribution of H. mammata. The species has a patchy distribution, and its habitat preferences depend on environmental stability, the presence of shelter and habitat complexity, which is more important for smaller, more vulnerable, individuals, while bigger size classes tend to venture more into less stable environments in an opportunistic fashion. The knowledge of these population traits is determinant to develop stock management measures, which are now urgent to prevent the depletion of commercial sea cucumber populations in the NE-Atlantic. Sustainable fisheries policies should be developed and start by considering to delimit fishing areas and periods, considering the species spatial and temporal distribution patterns.

Impediments to fisheries recovery in Canada: Policy and institutional constraints on developing management practices compliant with the precautionary approach

The status of many Canadian fisheries is poor, a consequence of inadequate implementation of sustainable fishery policy within the context of the Precautionary Approach (PA). A key component of implementation lies with the provision of science advice. Scientists are responsible for advising on options likely to meet policy intent and objectives. Here, we examine PA-compliance in the role of science in Canada's fisheries management decision-making. We distinguish science-based from science-determined decisions and processes. Science-based decisions emerge from consultation processes involving stakeholders; science need not always have a clear and accountable role that can be transparently separable from other inputs. Science-determined decisions result from impartial, publicly available, peer-reviewed scientific determinations clearly distinguishable from other inputs. Our findings are consolidated with a comparison to the European Union (EU), which is legally bound to PA implementation, but which differs in its institutional organization and decision-making process. Compared to the EU, Canada's science advisory process is less structured and transparent, scientific advice is not always clearly distinguishable, and policy formulation is not explicit in affording science a responsibility compliant with the PA. The institutional structure and policy framework in Canada has potential to obfuscate the role of science, leading to an erosion of credibility and accountability of fisheries management decisions. We emphasize the strengths of a structured and transparent decision-making process, the existence of a coherent system for categorizing uncertainty with respective rules for decision-making, and unambiguous definitions of the responsibility of science in sustainable fisheries policy.

Shaping ocean governance: a study of EU normative power on Thailand’s sustainable fisheries

The European Union (EU) has been championing an agenda for better ocean governance based on a cross-sectoral, rules-based international approach and indicated its role as a strong global actor in this field. The EU, as reflected through its strategies adopted during the last decade (2005–2015), aims to shape international ocean governance on the basis of its experience in developing a sustainable and ethical approach to ocean management, notably through its environment policy and regulatory regime. This paper observes a significant transition of the EU internal policy towards a more externally-oriented one as well as its ambition in exporting the EU norms to third countries. It seems that the EU aims to lead this maritime and fisheries domain as a global actor, diffusing norms via interstate relations. The case study of EU policy towards Thailand fisheries policy, resulting in Thailand’s adopting sustainable fisheries policy in 2015 will be explored in this research paper. In addition, the paper aims to analyse the development and evolution of Thailand’s sustainable fisheries policy during 2015–2019 and to examine the rationales behind Thailand’s shift towards more environmentally and socially friendly fisheries policy. It focuses on how and in what ways Thailand as a third country has been influenced by the EU normative power in the maritime and fisheries domain and in particular, by the EU’s illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) or “IUU Regulation” entered into force since 2010 as one of its main tools to promote ocean governance.

Sustaining Canadian marine biodiversity: Policy and statutory progress

A 2012 Expert Panel Report on marine biodiversity by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) concluded that Canada faced significant challenges in achieving sustainable fisheries, regulating aquaculture, and accounting for climate change. Relative to many countries, progress by Canada in fulfilling international obligations to sustain biodiversity was deemed poor. To track progress by Canada since 2012, the RSC struck a committee to track policy and statutory developments on matters pertaining to marine biodiversity and to identify policy challenges, and leading options for implementation that lie ahead. The report by the Policy Briefing Committee is presented here. It concluded that Canada has made moderate to good progress in some areas, such as prioritization of oceans stewardship and strengthening of the evidentiary use of science in decision-making. Key statutes were strengthened through amendments, including requirements to rebuild depleted fisheries ( Fisheries Act) and new means of creating marine protected areas ( Oceans Act) that allowed Canada to exceed its international obligation to protect 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Public release of mandate letters has strengthened ministerial accountability. However, little or no progress has been made in reducing regulatory conflict with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), decreasing ministerial discretion under the Fisheries Act, clarifying the role of science in sustainable fisheries policy, and accounting for climate change. Five future policy challenges are identified: (1) Ensure climate change impacts and projections are incorporated into ocean-related decision making and planning processes; (2) Resolve DFO’s regulatory conflict to conserve and exploit biodiversity; (3) Limit ministerial discretionary power in fisheries management decisions; (4) Clarify ambiguities in how the Precautionary Approach is applied in sustainable fisheries policy; and (5) Advance and implement marine spatial planning. Since 2012, there has been progress in recovering and sustaining the health of Canada’s oceans. Failure to further strengthen biodiversity conservation threatens the capacity of Canada’s oceans to provide ecosystem services that contribute to the resilience of marine life and the well-being of humankind. Unprecedented and enduring changes in the ocean caused by climate change have made the achievement of meaningful progress all the more urgent.

Sustainable Fishery Policy for Thailand Gulf: A General Equilibrium Analysis

Pan, H.-R.; Zhao, J.; Failler P. and Wang, Y., 2019. Sustainable fisheries policy for the Gulf of Thailand: A general equilibrium analysis. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 955–961. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Study of fisheries policy has conventionally been limited to partial equilibrium analysis where capture fisheries are considered in an isolated world without connection with the rest of the economy and without endogenous change in prices. This causes a two-way problem in policy analysis in that firstly consequences of fisheries policy cannot spread out of the sector and thus incorporate feedback from the rest of the economy, and secondly any economic policy also cannot affect the fisheries sector. As a result, any policy analysis regarding the fisheries sector cannot be accurate or even correct. This research builds a computable general equilibrium model for Thai fisheries to study full consequences of fisheries or economic policies in Thailand. The model specifies the economic activities of not only capture fisheries but also aquaculture, fish processing and fish marketing sectors as well as the rest of the economy, and captures their interactions. The empirical applications of the model with market-based policy instruments such as fishing taxes and subsidies reveal that fisheries or economic policies aiming to protect the resources or restructure the sector, if properly designed and combined, can achieve their goal as well as avoid potential losses.

Estimating cross-population variation in juvenile compensation in survival for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus): a Bayesian hierarchical approach

Juvenile compensation in survival, quantified as compensation ratio (CR), is critical for fish population persistence. At present, no estimate of this key parameter exists for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). This species has a conservation listing and is targeted by recreational angling in portions of its range. Obtaining accurate estimates of CR is crucial to aid recovery efforts and develop sustainable fisheries policies. This investigation develops a hierarchical Bayesian meta-analysis to estimate CR and explore the functional form of stock–recruitment for bull trout. Results show bull trout have high scope for density-dependent compensation evidenced by CR estimates generated herein and by previous research. This demonstrates changes in habitat quality and quantity are likely limiting recovery of many populations. However, owing to lack of data, variance is high. Limitations in available data for this analysis are due to the high cost and operational difficulty of sampling, and high uncertainty in CR estimates. This study highlights the importance of collecting additional paired stock–recruitment data to facilitate future investigations and reduce variance in CR estimates for bull trout.

FISHERY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA’S FISHERY MANAGEMENT REGION 711 FOR THE SUSTAINABLE FISHERY RESOURCES CONTROL

<p>The Republic of Indonesia Fisheries Management Region is an area that intended for controlling the fisheries management activities. However, the potential value of fisheries in WPP-RI 711 has been decreasing starting from 2016 to 2017. The problems are about fisheries resource management activities in the region which are then linked to government policy control. This study seeks to determine the development of fisheries resource production in FMR-RI 711, the level of utilization based on management with the MSY and MEY models, and also control of sustainable fisheries policies. This study uses experimental quantitative methods with the Schaefer, Fox and Gordon models. Data obtained came from fisheries resource groups and data samples were taken from shrimp groups. The results of the analysis show that the average development of fisheries resource production in FMR-RI 711 has decreased even experienced overfishing in the commodity of Small Pelagic Fish and Crustaceans. The Schaefer model is considered the most appropriate because it has a determination coefficient value of 42.9% and has an optimum effort value of 179 trips/year, with the MSY value obtained at 3.8520 tons/year. The policy controls carried out so far are still very lacking and need to take firm action from the government in overcoming fisheries problems that are overfishing. Therefore, it can be concluded that fisheries management in FMR-RI 711 has not run optimally, then fisheries management should also be carried out by considering the economic aspects of fisheries, besides it also needs serious efforts on fisheries supervision and the development of a cost model to maintain resources from overfishing.</p><div><p class="Els-keywords">Keywords: Fisheries management, Fisheries policy, FMR-RI 711</p></div>

Distribution and Abundance of Fish Larvae in South of Alas Strait, West Nusa Tenggara

The early life of fish larvae is important to understand the entire life history of the fish. At this phase, larvae movement is very weak and dependent on the movement of water currents. This study aims to determine the distribution and abundance of fish larvae in the waters south of the Port of Tanjung Luar, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Sampling of fish larvae were done at five stations at waters around Alas Strait and Indian Ocean south of East Lombok. Sampled were collected from 5 different depth: 0-200 m, 201-1000 m, 1001-2000 m, 2001-3000 m and >3000 m. A total of 122 fish larvae were collected which belong to 26 families and varied compositions among observation stations. The samples was dominated by Scombridae family (18 %), followed by Carrangidae and Blenniidae (13.1% and 6.6%, respectively). The highest abundance was occurred in station V (0-200 m) of 125 individuals.1000-1m3. It showed that inshore/shallow waters have more abundance than offshore/deep waters. The findings from this study can be basic information for the authorities to establish sustainable fisheries policy. Keywords: fish, larvae movement, sustainable fishery, early life.

An Improved Reconstruction of Total Marine Fisheries Catches for the New Hebrides and the Republic of Vanuatu, 1950–2014

1. Abstract For many small island nations, fisheries provide residents with both food security and economic stability. However, in order to create effective and sustainable fisheries policies and management that will ensure a growing population can prosper, policy makers need to know what is being fished and how much is fished. Vanuatu, the smallest country in Melanesia, has a declared and claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of over 820,000 km2 and fisheries resources play a large part in the food security and economic stability of this country. This reconstruction of total marine fisheries catch of Vanuatu for 1950 to 2014 faced major data gaps. It showed that the reconstructed total catches of nearly 1.4 million t were 40% higher than the 977,997 t reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on behalf of Vanuatu for the same period. However, if large-scale industrial catches are excluded, the reconstructed small-scale fisheries catches (~ 270,000 t) were over 200% higher than the 114,862 t of reported catch that were assumed to represent the small-scale sector in FAO data. Subsistence catches made up almost 93% of small-scale catches, followed by artisanal and recreational catches with ~7% and less than 1%, respectively. By continuously improving the fisheries data of Vanuatu for both the past and the present, policy makers, stakeholders and fishers can make better decisions that will maintain the benefits of marine fishery resources.

Initial tests of the robustness of the provisional harvest control rule in Canada’s Sustainable Fisheries Policy to process and measurement errors using simulated depleted fish populations

Initial tests of the robustness of the provisional harvest control rule in Canada’s Sustainable Fisheries Policy to process and measurement errors using simulated depleted fish populations

Masterstroke or paper tiger – The reform of the EU׳s Common Fisheries Policy

The European fisheries policy has undergone a substantial reform. The reform process was initiated by a Green Paper published by the European Commission in 2009. It was recently finalised with an agreement on a new Basic Regulation between the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament in October 2013. The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy will be an important step towards a more sustainable fisheries policy in Europe. The most important reform steps are the introduction of maximum sustainable yield as the new management target, a landing obligation for bycatch and a governance shift towards regions. Although the mentioned reform elements are in generally very promising, their concrete design does not always meet existing expectations.

China’s Fisheries Management Policy: An Interview with Tabitha Mallory

China’s Fisheries Management Policy: An Interview with Tabitha Mallory Tabitha Mallory (bio) 1. How has China’s fisheries management policy changed over time? China has some of the oldest fishing conservation measures in the world, like fishing bans and mesh size limits, which date to at least to the Zhou Dynasty, from 1046–256 B.C.E. There is evidence of resource strain toward the end of the Qing Dynasty in the eighteenth century, and coastal areas managed fisheries through local associations. From the beginning of the twentieth century, China borrowed many of the modernist fishing practices of industrialized countries, which were geared toward large-scale, scientific-based production of fish. China’s first fisheries school, the Aquatic Production Institute (modeled after the Japanese), was established in 1910 in Tianjin. Chinese fisheries were showing signs of overfishing in the 1930s, but the war period allowed the stocks to rebound. The Chinese Communist Party under Chairman Mao greatly expanded the fisheries sector even more efficiently than the Nationalists, whose fisheries institutions were preserved after the revolution. By the 1970s, however, some commercial stocks were collapsing. Dead fish are actually responsible for putting environmental protection on China’s radar screen after Mao. The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm coincided with two environmental crises in China, both involving fish. A toxic algae bloom decimated fish stocks in Dalian, while contaminated fish appeared in Beijing’s fish market. These events initiated the development of the domestic institutions that now govern China’s environment and natural resources. In the mid-1980s, China created two policies to address depleted fisheries. The state accelerated development of the aquaculture industry, and launched a distant water fishing industry. As a result of the new aquaculture policy, China is now the world’s largest producer of seafood. China is probably also the world’s largest producer of wild catch, though there is some question here because of data reliability. Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, China’s marine resource conservation took shape: the Rio sustainability principles inspired China’s [End Page 85] Ocean Agenda 21; the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) created the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in 1995; and China ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1996. China’s new emphasis on sustainable development is reflected in current domestic laws and regulations governing domestic fisheries. However, the state’s economic goals have predominantly eclipsed sustainability targets when it comes to enforcement. 2. Can you discuss international perceptions of China’s current policies and their adherence to sustainable fisheries norms? China has done best implementing sustainable fisheries policies domestically, even though the state falls short of some targets. For example, the Bureau of Fisheries intended to decrease the size of China’s ocean fishing fleet by thirty thousand between 2002 and 2010, but ultimately fell short of this goal by twelve thousand. However, the central authority realizes that conserving domestic resources is in China’s direct interest for long-term domestic economic reasons. However, compliance and cooperation with fisheries institutions that govern international resources need improvement. China has signed (but not ratified) the Fish Stocks Agreement, which addresses straddling [fish that migrate between exclusive economic zones of one or more states] and highly migratory stocks. China has joined a number of regional fisheries management organizations in accordance with the agreement, and follows many of the requirements of these organizations, though there are some quality and accuracy problems with logbook and data reporting. China has not even signed the [UN’s 1993 FAO] Compliance Agreement, which establishes important standards for high seas fishing operations, and there is a dearth of discussion about the Agreement in Chinese sources. China has enormous challenges with illegal fishing, both regionally and globally, which negatively affects China’s relationships with other countries. Until the late 2000s, there was little discussion in Chinese sources of the international plan of action on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. However, a policy document from the Fisheries Bureau issued in early 2013 took up the issue, a sign that it has become a higher priority for the state. But no country has gotten...

Towards a sustainable fisheries policy in Europe

AbstractThe reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2013 decides whether the European fisheries can be put on a sustainable course in the next 10 years. The CFP reform must halt overexploitation of fish resources and stop harm to the marine environment by fishing activities. The European Commission published a reform proposal just recently. This proposal is already an important first step in the right direction, but is under threat of being watered down by the Fisheries Council. Necessary improvements of the current CFP include among others a binding definition of a sustainable stock management, a discard ban for all fish species, transferable fishing concessions and a cessation of all aid for building new vessels. These modifications pave the way for placing micromanagement in the hands of regions and fisheries so as to foster self‐responsibility among fishers and give greater consideration to regional circumstances.

Assessing the social wellbeing of Northern Ireland's fishing society using a three-dimensional approach

The concept of ‘wellbeing’ has received growing interest in policy domains in the UK, and internationally, as a multi-dimensional approach to understanding and measuring social progress and development. Policy makers and scientists alike are debating the potential of wellbeing to deliver a people-centred, and holistic, analysis of what matters to people in terms of the quality of life people pursue and are able to achieve. There is also growing interest in how the concept of wellbeing might be applied to fisheries, especially in terms of deepening assessment of the ways in which decline in the fisheries sector is affecting fishing-dependent families, and the wider community. This paper applies a three-dimensional wellbeing framework and methodology to gain insight into the wellbeing of fishing society in Northern Ireland, a region that has faced substantial decline in its fisheries over the past 100 years. A three-dimensional approach considers material, relational and cognitive dimensions; putting resources, relationships and subjective reflections on life satisfaction together as a whole assessment. All three dimensions are important for a full assessment of wellbeing. Following an overview of the methodology used and data collected, the paper then assesses the extent to which a three-dimensional well-being approach can provide useful insights for sustainable fisheries policy in Northern Ireland.

Microeconomic Efficiencies and Macroeconomic Inefficiencies: On Sustainable Fisheries Policies in Very Poor CountriesThe authors wish to thank the participants of the Deuxième Rencontre Interuniversitaire UBO/UQAR, Brest, 27 and 28 October 1999. We wish to thank without implicating Aziz Ismail, Lucien Ranarivelo, Jean-Charles Randrianasolo, Bertrand Couteaux, Vincente Ferrer, the members of GAPCM, François Henry and Michel de San for valuable insights.

Simple macro-models are used in a two good output spaces to show that, under certain conditions that occur in very poor countries, fisheries policies aimed at concentrating rent and rationalizing excess capacity may result in declines in economic growth. In cases where displaced labour has nowhere else to go, such policies may be welfare decreasing for the country as a whole. The second best policy in these cases would be to encourage open access fishing with controls on overall output. An example based upon information gathered on the shrimp fishery in Madagascar describes the relations between the relative price between artisanal and industrial fishing sectors, and differential effects of the leakage of rents through the net exports equation due to policies favouring capacity rationalization.

Effects of climatic variability on three fishing economies in high-latitude regions: Implications for fisheries policies

Abstract Research exploring how climatic variability impacts fishing economies in high-latitude regions was conducted in south-central Iceland and southwest Alaska during 2001–2004. Important differences were found regarding the economic impacts of climatic variations in the commercial economies in Iceland and Alaska, versus in the native subsistence economies in Alaska. In general, the commercially inclined economies in both regions seemed less resilient to ordinary climatic variability. Moreover, both of the commercial economies were importantly influenced by fluctuations in global fish markets that are prompted by climatic variations occurring in regions that are geographically very distant from them. A better understanding of how climatic variability affects fishing economies in high-latitude regions will help in the development of more sustainable fisheries policies for these regions, which may already be experiencing radical climatic and ecological change.

Book Review: A Livelihood from Fishing: Globalization and Sustainable Fisheries Policies

Book Review: A Livelihood from Fishing: Globalization and Sustainable Fisheries Policies