Targets and Limits for Long Term Fisheries Management

2008

Society has agreed on the goal of sustainable fisheries but achieving the goal is often submerged by more immediate national and international demands causing fisheries to slip down the political agenda or diverting attention to other fisheries issues, e.g., profitability under high fuel prices. Among the problems challenging marine capture fisheries are increasing demands for fish, uncertainty from overfishing and illegal fishing, competition for resources among different fisheries gears and methods, degrading and climate-affected ecosystems, depleted fish stocks, economic rent drains and social hardships. Solutions to these challenges, however, are available for some fisheries. Even when solutions are available, the blockages to the transition to sustainable fisheries are information failures, transition costs, use and nonuse conflicts and the capacity to implement and enforce management. This paper discusses how fisheries experts can help make the case for the transition to susta...

… fisheries in the marine ecosystem, 2003

The term, 'responsible' can be interpreted in many ways. For fisheries, we believe responsible means sustainable production of human benefits, which are distributed 'fairly', without causing unacceptable changes in marine ecosystems. Governance is broader than fisheries management. It consists of formal and informal rules, and understandings or norms that influence behaviour. Responsible fisheries requires self-governance by the scientific community, the fishing industry and the public (including politicians), as well as responsible fisheries management. An ecosystem approach to fisheries management, also known as ecosystem-based fisheries management, is geographically specified fisheries management that takes account of knowledge and uncertainties about, and among, biotic, abiotic and human components of ecosystems, and strives to balance diverse societal objectives. Much has been written about the principles that should underlie an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. The key elements of the approach should be: (i) goals and constraints that characterize the desired state of fisheries and undesirable ecosystem changes; (ii) conservation measures that are precautionary, take account of species interactions and are adaptive; (iii) allocation of rights to provide incentives for conservation; (iv) decision making that is participatory and transparent; (v) ecosystem protection for habitat and species of special concern; and (vi) management support, including scientific information, enforcement and performance evaluation. Fisheries ecosystem plans are a useful vehicle for designing and implementing fisheries management systems that capture these six elements. Such plans should highlight a hierarchy of management entities, from an ecosystem scale to the local scale of communities; ocean zoning, including marine protected areas (MPAs) and other geographically defined management measures; and specification of authorized fishing activities, with protocols required for future authorizations. The scientific community needs to govern itself so that it produces scientific information that is relevant, responsive, respected and right. A multi-faceted approach is needed, including monitoring of fisheries and ecosystems, assessments and scientific advice tailored to management needs, and strategic research investments to improve monitoring and assessments in the future. One serious problem facing scientists is the controversial nature of assessments and scientific advice. This problem needs to be addressed with a three-pronged strategy that calls for: separation of scientific institutions from management; collaborative research with the fishing industry; and transparent quality assurance of scientific advice. The last-named requires peer review, which either can be integrated into the process of preparing the advice (referred to as integrated peer review) or can be conducted following the preparation of the advice (referred to as sequential peer review). The appearance of potential conflict of interest by peer reviewers is a factor in the credibility of the peer review process. For an ecosystem approach for responsible fisheries, the fishing industry should govern itself to accept responsibility for providing fisheries information, embrace collaborative research, participate in the fishery management process and live with the outcome, comply with regulations, avoid waste and develop training to instil a responsible fishing ethic. Environmentalists and the public in general should also participate

Fishers' Knowledge in Fisheries Science and …, 2007

Great complaints are made against the use of the net called 'wondyrchoun' [beam trawl] which drags from the bottom of the sea all the bait that used to be the food of great fish… …[it] runs so heavily and hardly over the ground when fishing that it destroys the flowers of the land below the water and also the spat of oysters, mussels, and other fish upon which the great fish are nourished. .. …Through means of this instrument fishermen catch `such great plenty of small fish that they do not know what to do with them, but fatten their pigs with them'. UK Rolls of Parliament (1376/77) Today, 99% of the world's 51 million fishers are small-scale, producing over half of the global foodfish catch of 98 million tones. One billion people rely on aquatic resources as their main source of dietary protein (Berkes et al. 2001 and references therein). Globally, many fish stocks are depleted. Overall, our capacity to harvest fish continues to outpace our capacity to monitor the effects of fishing, let alone design, implement and enforce effective conservation measures. Fish populations once deemed inexhaustible (Huxley 1883), have been reduced to a fraction of their past abundance (Hilborn et al. 2003). High-level predators in the North Atlantic hover round 10% of their 1900 levels (Christensen et al. 2003; Myers and Worm 2003). Some sharks have suffered declines of over 50% since the mid 1980s (Schindler et al. 2003; Baum et al. 2002). Other species as diverse as marine turtles (Hays et al. 2003) and many species of whales hover at very low levels (Roman and Palumbi 2003). In too many cases, stocks are so depleted that conserving what is left would amount to sharing the present misery (Pitcher 2001). In these cases, the only meaningful option is recovery but we generally know even less about recovery than we do about conservation. 'Fisheries science' and 'management', as currently practiced, are relatively new phenomena. However, knowledge about marine and freshwater ecosystems and social institutions mediating human relationships with those ecosystems is ancient, being a necessity of survival as well as the product of natural human interest in the surrounding world. Together, these have led, throughout the world, to acute observation, experimentation, the formulation and testing of hypotheses, and the development of theories and practices as well as social institutions to regulate resource use and transmit knowledge from generation to generation (Berkes 1999). This book has brought together many case studies from different parts of the world where the knowledge of fishers, their institutions and often the fishers themselves is being actively integrated into fisheries science and management. The chapters represent different points on a number of continua; between contexts where mutual respect, cooperation and reciprocity (Stanley and Rice this vol.) are just evolving and those where formal co-management arrangements operate (Baird and other this vol.); between Indigenous management, state management, and state

ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2017

Targets and limits for long-term management are used in fisheries advice to operationalize the way management reflects societal priorities on ecological, economic, social and institutional aspects. This study reflects on the available published literature as well as new research presented at the international ICES/Myfish symposium on targets and limits for long term fisheries management. We examine the inclusion of ecological, economic, social and institutional objectives in fisheries management, with the aim of progressing towards including all four objectives when setting management targets or limits, or both, for multispecies fisheries. The topics covered include ecological, economic, social and governance objectives in fisheries management, consistent approaches to management, uncertainty and variability, and fisheries governance. We end by identifying ten ways to more effectively include multiple objectives in setting targets and limits in ecosystem based fisheries management.

CABI Publishing eBooks, 2003

The term, 'responsible' can be interpreted in many ways. For fisheries, we believe responsible means sustainable production of human benefits, which are distributed 'fairly', without causing unacceptable changes in marine ecosystems. Governance is broader than fisheries management. It consists of formal and informal rules, and understandings or norms that influence behaviour. Responsible fisheries requires self-governance by the scientific community, the fishing industry and the public (including politicians), as well as responsible fisheries management. An ecosystem approach to fisheries management, also known as ecosystem-based fisheries management, is geographically specified fisheries management that takes account of knowledge and uncertainties about, and among, biotic, abiotic and human components of ecosystems, and strives to balance diverse societal objectives. Much has been written about the principles that should underlie an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. The key elements of the approach should be: (i) goals and constraints that characterize the desired state of fisheries and undesirable ecosystem changes; (ii) conservation measures that are precautionary, take account of species interactions and are adaptive; (iii) allocation of rights to provide incentives for conservation; (iv) decision making that is participatory and transparent; (v) ecosystem protection for habitat and species of special concern; and (vi) management support, including scientific information, enforcement and performance evaluation. Fisheries ecosystem plans are a useful vehicle for designing and implementing fisheries management systems that capture these six elements. Such plans should highlight a hierarchy of management entities, from an ecosystem scale to the local scale of communities; ocean zoning, including marine protected areas (MPAs) and other geographically defined management measures; and specification of authorized fishing activities, with protocols required for future authorizations. The scientific community needs to govern itself so that it produces scientific information that is relevant, responsive, respected and right. A multi-faceted approach is needed, including monitoring of fisheries and ecosystems, assessments and scientific advice tailored to management needs, and strategic research investments to improve monitoring and assessments in the future. One serious problem facing scientists is the controversial nature of assessments and scientific advice. This problem needs to be addressed with a three-pronged strategy that calls for: separation of scientific institutions from management; collaborative research with the fishing industry; and transparent quality assurance of scientific advice. The last-named requires peer review, which either can be integrated into the process of preparing the advice (referred to as integrated peer review) or can be conducted following the preparation of the advice (referred to as sequential peer review). The appearance of potential conflict of interest by peer reviewers is a factor in the credibility of the peer review process. For an ecosystem approach for responsible fisheries, the fishing industry should govern itself to accept responsibility for providing fisheries information, embrace collaborative research, participate in the fishery management process and live with the outcome, comply with regulations, avoid waste and develop training to instil a responsible fishing ethic. Environmentalists and the public in general should also participate

Towards Marine Ecosystem-Based Management in the Wider Caribbean, 2011

Originally motivated by ecosystem sustainability concerns, the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has come to integrate all the elements needed for the realisation of sustainable development in fisheries, including those relevant to the ecological, socioeconomic and institutional dimensions. Despite its perceived complexity, pragmatic approaches are developing such as the one adopted by the FAO guidelines (FAO 2003, 2005), and FAO is introducing and facilitating actual implementation in a number of countries and regions. While lack of detailed scientific knowledge is seen by many as the main hindrance to the realisation of EAF, preliminary observations based on the work done through FAO projects indicate that stakeholders regard poor governance and external drivers as the main threats to sustainability. In relation to knowledge needs, two opposite attitudes have emerged to address the broad range of issues and the complexity that EAF entails. One must almost dismiss the usefulness of scientific knowledge for sustainable management and instead focus on the participatory decision-making process to achieve sustainability. This attitude also recognises that scientific knowledge is often not understood and therefore not perceived as legitimate by stakeholders. The other, opposite view regards detailed scientific knowledge as a prerequisite for the EAF to succeed. The FAO's EAF guidelines, consistent with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, encourage the use of the 'best available knowledge' in fisheries management, a phrase that embodies two basic principles of the EAF, i.e. seeking improved knowledge but not postponing important decisions because of lack of complete knowledge. Furthermore, given the high level of uncertainty that characterises many ecosystem issues and the increased number of fisheries management objectives, more attention

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010

Economists have long argued that a fishery that maximizes its economic potential usually will also satisfy its conservation objectives. Recently, maximum economic yield (MEY) has been identified as a primary management objective for Australian fisheries and is under consideration elsewhere. However, first attempts at estimating MEY as an actual management target for a real fishery (rather than a conceptual or theoretical exercise) have highlighted some substantial complexities generally unconsidered by fisheries economists. Here, we highlight some of the main issues encountered in our experience and their implications for estimating and transitioning to MEY. Using a bioeconomic model of an Australian fishery for which MEY is the management target, we note that unconstrained optimization may result in effort trajectories that would not be acceptable to industry or managers. Different assumptions regarding appropriate constraints result in different outcomes, each of which may be considered a valid MEY. Similarly, alternative treatments of prices and costs may result in differing estimates of MEY and their associated effort trajectories. To develop an implementable management strategy in an adaptive management framework, a set of assumptions must be agreed among scientists, economists, and industry and managers, indicating that operationalizing MEY is not simply a matter of estimating the numbers but requires strong industry commitment and involvement.

Ocean Yearbook Online, 2000

Currently, of the world’s assessed stocks, only 20% are estimated to be moderately exploited or underexploited, 52% are fully exploited, 1% are recovering from depletion, 8% are depleted, and about 19% are considered overexploited (Cochrane et al. 2011, this volume). Fisheries are vitally important renewable resources if they are governed sustainably with responsible harvest from healthy populations, which allows for future use. While the case for sustainable fisheries has been made effectively to most fisheries professionals, it has not been an apparent priority for the majority of policy makers and the public. This book is designed to draw media and policymaker attention to key global fisheries problems that are not adequately addressed by existing governance structures and to serve as a key directive for convening a global conference on sustainable fisheries. The chapters underscore the urgency of the ecological, economic, and social aspects of the sustainable fisheries issue; hi...

Marine Policy, 2018

The lack of clarity in the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) must be addressed to create a more efficient balance across diverse ecological, economic and social dimensions. Particularly economic and social objectives present at an overarching level must be made explicit and addressed in lower level management measures, in order to link them to biological objectives and allow policy to build a balance across types of objectives. Selecting clear objectives is essential, particularly for policy impact assessment. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how more specific high level objectives to managing fisheries can be derived from stakeholders. The paper first reviews the definition of objectives, from a historical and conceptual perspective. Secondly, it discusses the issues of manageability and acceptability, and finally describes an articulation of the high level objectives derived from extensive stakeholder consultations at European and regional level. The results from workshops at the European level to identify objectives were further examined at regional level for the Baltic and North Seas in additional individual consultations. The German case addresses two seas (Baltic and North Seas), has a complex governance structure (due to federalism) and significant roles for the three types of actors (industry, government and environmental NGOs). The analysis suggests that establishing higher level sustainability objectives within the CFP can help diverse interest groups to develop a consensus on management actions to meet complex social goals.

Fisheries Research, 2003

Nature Precedings

The Commission of the European Communities passed a resolution in 2006 to implement sustainability in EU fisheries through application of the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) based policy 1. It is shown here that attempts to reach MSY will lead towards extinction of species for every fishery that includes fishing of at least one trophic level which is directly or indirectly used as food for a higher trophic level. Because this condition is met by most single and multispecies fisheries, attempts to reach MSY should be discouraged instead of being legally prescribed as a goal. Based upon above result advice is given on how to manage a fishery which will not drive species to extinction. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) has been postulated by Shaefer 2 for a fishery on an isolated population of fish which is growing according to the logistic law. Today, more than fifty years later and a recent support for this approach from the Rio Declaration, and Johannesburg Implementation Plan 3 , legal attempts are being made to apply MSY approach in the management of the world fisheries in order to preserve overfished stocks 1,4,5. Typically, the model in mind is an isolated logistic population with a proportional fishing strategy. The MSY is achieved when fishing effort is adjusted to the

ICES Journal of …, 2007

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 1994