Marine Policy

Many African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries sell fishing licenses to distant water fleets. Fishing agreements have the potential to improve the performance of local fishing sectors. They create income that can be reinvested into domestic industries and often go along with partnerships in management and enforcement. However, many fishing agreements run a serious risk of undermining sustainable resource management. The present study critically reviews trends in distant water fishing as well as identifies those tropical host countries most dependent on fishing agreements. It is shown that traditional, more responsible distant water fleets (DWFs) are being displaced by less responsible, lowcost DWFs and that the most vulnerable host countries are small coastal states with large exclusive economic zones that lack the ability to benefit from value adding processes associated with fishing. The results suggest that the once-promising concept of fishing agreements is gradually posing a threat to both economic development and environmental sustainability of ACP countries.

Joint capture of multiple species by multiple fleets results in technical and economic interactions between fleets. This paper develops a bioeconomic model that incorporates interrelationships between fleets for a representative fishery in India. The study analyzes the impacts of overcapitalization on bio-economic sustainability. Results show that a continuation of the current fishing intensity would deplete most commercially important species in the near future. However, an optimal effort reallocation between fleets would increase fishery profits substantially, although some species would remain unsustainable. The study demonstrates how the newly emerging, large bodies of fishery data can be used for management decisions in developing countries.

This article presents the results of a survey examining the attitudes of young Japanese people towards whaling and its controversies. Using an online and paper-based questionnaire, 529 useable surveys were completed by Japanese students (between 15 and 26 years old) from May to December 2007. Factorial analysis, correlation and regression models were used to identify relational predictors underlying the attitudes of young Japanese people on whaling issues. An approval of whaling exists amongst the participating students, with two constructs standing out as contributing the most to this affirmation; firstly, an approval of the consumption of whalemeat by Japanese children; and secondly, an acceptance of the pro-whaling rhetoric commonly produced by the Government of Japan (GOJ) and associated media. This research represents an initial exploration into the attitudinal structures of Japanese students on whaling issues, contributing to a deeper understanding of the complexities that surround the debate.

The Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve is one of the main aggregation sites for the white shark Carcharodon carcharias and is considered to be the best place in the world for white shark cage diving. From 2014 to 2019, the number of cage diving vessels in Guadalupe Island grew from 6 to 10, with an estimated 2800 tourists participating in white shark cage diving during the 2019 season. In 2016, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas of Mexico requested a carrying capacity in which current regulations, white shark behavior, and the management capacity of the reserve were considered. To characterize the movement patterns of the white shark, 12 individuals were acoustically tracked. Based on the critical habitat of the white shark determined by an analysis of kernel densities, three carrying capacity scenarios (i.e., critical, optimal, and expanded) were calculated in which 1, 6 or 12 vessels, respectively, could operate simultaneously. It is important to consider that as t...

This article analyses the interplay between interState obligations to increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.a, with a view to contributing to enhanced implementation of the international law of the sea (SDG 14.c), and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources (SDG 14.b). It proposes to do so by relying not only on the international law of the sea, but also on international biodiversity law (particularly the Convention on Biological Diversity) and international human rights law (particularly the human right to science). The article seeks to provide a reflection on the opportunities arising from a mutually supportive interpretation of different international law instruments with regard to the means of implementation for SDG 14 in synergy with other SDGs (particularly SDG 17 on 'Partnerships for the Goals' and its targets related to technology transfer, capacity-building and partnerships).

In Norway there is a long tradition of allocating fish resources among the fishers. In modern times this has been done through specific allocation keys. This article describes the development of the allocation system for the offshore (trawler) and coastal fleets. The allocation system is closely related to stock assessment and the fixing of global quotas (TACs) as well as structural policies to prevent "capacity creep". All three systems can be seen as institutions, where the TAC-machine is firmly established while the two others are under pressure, largely due to competition on the global fish market. The established goal of maintaining a diversified fishing fleet is now gradually being dismantled, with repercussions for coastal employment and settlement patterns. The coastal fleet is per 2013 something entirely different from the situation in 1990, when the coastal fisheries were effectively closed. Sooner or later this development is bound to change also the management institutions, and in particular the allocation system and the closely related structural policies.

Recent studies have focused on the study of social networks among local resource users, but few have attempted to study co-management networks. The objective of the research was to assess the Chilean shellfish co-management system from an organizational network perspective. Starting with one detailed case study, representatives of 38 small-scale fisher associations from two administrative regions were interviewed to investigate: (1) networks of actors in each co-management case, (2) the functions of these actors in co-management, and fisher perceptions about Chile's co-management arrangement. Results indicate that decision-making is highly centralized and power is concentrated in government, with little horizontal exchange and cooperation among fisher associations. However, the network approach indicates the presence of a rich set of players, some seven sets of actors by function. Grassroots management innovations are hampered by the existing co-management structure, suggesting that the system may benefit from a modification of the policy to allow greater learningby-doing and flexibility.

Marine extractive reserves (MER) are being established in coastal areas of Brazil to protect 'traditional' coastal populations and the marine resources upon which their livelihoods depend. This paper examines the challenges Brazil's first open-water MER is facing in trying to achieve these goals. Results from a pilot project in Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro suggest that significant social barriers to collective action exist and that local resource governing institutions are not robust. Consequently, fishers are not becoming decisive players in the decision-making process. The implications of these conclusions for future maritime conservation policy in Brazil are explored. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This paper details the process by which the Caribbean island of Barbuda created comprehensive marine spatial planning regulations. The Barbuda Council (the island's governing body), with invited support from the Waitt Institute, navigated complex tradeoffs between spatial uses to design and legally codify zoning for their entire marine jurisdiction. After a year of intensive community engagement under this Blue Halo Initiative, regulations were adopted in August 2014 that established zones for sanctuaries, fish net prohibitions, anchoring/mooring, and shipping. Key data used included a habitat map and a heatmap of fishing value. Barbudans designed all zones, with technical support, using the software program SeaSketch. Throughout the process, the Council incorporated input from fishers and other community members, seeking a final zoning design that would minimize negative impacts on livelihoods and earn broad community support. The final zoning plan balances economic, conservation, and cultural uses. It includes thirteen zones and meets the pre-agreed goals of protecting one-third of the waters overall and approximately one-third of each habitat type. The consultation process included seven community consultation meetings, five fisher consultation meetings, and two meetings of a stakeholder committee. The initiative is now in the implementation phase, however Hurricane Irma devastated Barbuda in September 2017, creating substantial challenges for ongoing implementation. Overall lessons learned include the importance of being flexible and transparent, considering enforcement from the outset, building political will through documenting stakeholder and expert perspectives, and not allowing a pursuit of unanimous agreement to hinder progress.

The impact of bottom trawling to seafloor habitat has been one of the major marine conservation issues over the last two decades. This paper describes the pre-conditions, process, and the first two years of results of a precedent setting ecosystem based management plan to address the habitat impacts of bottom trawling in Canada's Pacific waters. In British Columbia, Canada, industry and conservation organizations worked collaboratively over a period of three years outside of government to develop measures which formally took effect on April 2, 2012. The measures include four main components:

The tuna industry in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) is one of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the world. Since the 1980s, Pacific island countries have used licensing agreements with foreign fishing interests-known as access agreements-to earn tuna-related revenue and control the environmental impacts of fishing, with only minimal success. To date, there has been little work detailing the structure of access agreements and assessing how this structure relates to economic and environmental outcomes in the sector. This article helps to fill this gap by providing an overview of various access structures and a detailed empirical assessment of how these structures are applied in access agreements between Pacific island countries and the major foreign fishing interests active in the WCPO. This analysis is placed in the context of evolving regional fisheries management structures. The study reveals that while there is no uniform formula for access agreements, each structure is subject to distinct political, economic and environmental considerations that influence outcomes for Pacific island countries. As Pacific island countries develop the mechanism to allocate fishing rights under the new Vessel Day Scheme, drawing on their long history with access agreements will assist efforts to use access to achieve policy objectives. Improved transparency will enable Pacific island countries to identify successes and problems and adapt the Vessel Day Scheme allocation mechanisms accordingly.

Canada's commercial seal hunt warrants close examination in that it is the largest kill of marine mammals on earth, it exists for commercial reasons, it targets deep diving seals with unique physical adaptations, and it is conducted in a particularly remote and uncontrolled environment amidst unstable sea ice and extreme weather conditions. For these reasons, commercial sealing in Canada has been the subject of regular veterinary scrutiny for more than five decades. In that time, despite repeated recommendations and some changes to the regulations, considerable evidence continues to be presented during each new season of poor welfare outcomes for seals.

The starting point is an analysis of the evolution of recruitment of crews in the maritime traffic on the global and local scale; a case study in a medium-size port of the European Union, the Port of the Bay of Cadiz, is presented. The evolution of the Open Registries and the phenomenon of the globalization of crewing have been studied from the information provided in the databases of consultants and international bodies. For the case study an analysis has been made of 507 vessels that docked in the port of Cadiz between the years 2002 and 2008. From this analysis, it is concluded both globally and locally that market is evolving rapidly. The question of finding suitable crews is not only economic: sometimes the reasons for these ''substitutions'' are directly related to the demands in terms of working hours or civilized conditions of accommodation and food. Multiculturality is therefore a general feature of crews today; language is a key determinant of this phenomenon. The implication behind this trend is that the profession of 'seaman' in the OECD countries is becoming less attractive from the point of view of personal and even professional life. The human decapitalization of maritime personnel is also a strategic problem in the provision of specialized seamen for tasks of the Maritime Administration and PSC Inspection, together with the progressive aging of the existing crews.

No-take marine protected areas (MPAs), where all fishing is prohibited, have been shown to provide benefits that include greater productivity of fish stocks due to increased densities, average sizes, and reproductive output. A critical component of this success is the effective management of MPAs to ensure that only those activities deemed permissible, are allowed to occur. As of 2008, 161 MPAs had been designated on the Pacific coast of Canada by federal, provincial or municipal authorities. The objective of this study was to discover how many of these MPAs are intended to provide full protection to habitats and species from commercial fishing and whether management measures were put in place to actualize this conservation intent. The comprehensive spatial dataset was built illustrating commercial fisheries closures and this was overlaid with MPA locations in a GIS. The majority of MPAs were designated as IUCN Strict Nature Reserve (Type Ia), Wilderness Area (Type Ib), and National Park (Type II) marine reserves, which are intended to be free from exploitation. It was found that 160 of the 161 MPAs are open to some commercial harvesting within their bounds. One small municipal MPA and portions of three other MPAs are not open to commercial harvesting. The incongruence between management intent and fisheries permitted suggests a management failure between designation of MPAs and implementation of fisheries management regulations.

Public participation is a key ingredient of good governance and there are many advantages of involving stakeholders in the decision-making process. The European Commission identified the lack of stakeholder involvement as one of the major weaknesses of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). As such, the 2002 Reform of the CFP aimed to improve its system of governance by increasing the involvement of stakeholders in decision-making. Over the last decade, Scottish inshore waters have seen an increase in management measures focused on involving fishers, delegating responsibilities and decentralizing management. The present document investigates commercial inshore fishers' perceptions of participation in the decision-making process and attitudes towards a new management regime -the Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) -which aims to increase participation in and decentralization of inshore fisheries management. A survey was conducted, through face-to-face interviews, and ordered logistic and multiple regression models created to identify which characteristics influence fishers' perceptions and attitudes. The present analysis concluded that, 5 years subsequent to the reform of the CFP, the majority of inshore fishers perceive themselves not to be consulted or involved in the decisionmaking process. However, and despite the fact that fishers are not completely certain of the potential of the IFGs to increase their participation in the management process, they have an overall positive attitude towards their implementation.

Fourteen indicators of marine living resource management performance by country, reflecting both their intention to sustainably use the resource within their Exclusive Economic Zones and the effectiveness of their policies, were developed and the performances of 53 maritime countries were assessed. Four rankings of the countries, which jointly account for over 95 percent of the world's marine fisheries landings, are presented here as aggregated scores of the fourteen indicators, using different schemes for weighting the indicators, each reflective of the management preferences identified by the Global Environment Outlook 4 (GEO4) future development scenarios: Market First; Policy First; Security First; and Sustainability First. The resulting rankings differed substantially between the weighting schemes for the top performing countries but less so for the countries performing poorly.

Until the 1990s fisheries were largely managed by the state. Since then, Dutch government and the sector increasingly recognized that a fishing industry cannot be managed effectively without the cooperation and participation of fishers to formulate policy and to implement and enforce laws and regulations. As a result, in the nineties, the existing neo-corporatist arrangement was replaced by a co-management system in the Dutch flatfish fishery. Co-management is often seen as leading to greater procedural legitimacy and subsequently compliance. However, constructing an effective co-management arrangement is not only a matter of building institutions but also a matter of building trust relations between the government and industry. Institutional arrangements such as co-management can contribute to these trust building processes; however, a too strong reliance on institutional arrangements can lead to distrust when new challenges are being faced and institutional arrangements fail to adapt to these changes.

The term "overcapitalized" is frequently used to describe the condition of various fisheries, and to explain why a fishery is in poor condition from a stock status perspective. Often, the concept of overcapitalization is associated with the number of active vessels in a fishery. Although vessel counts are important, they do not fully capture investment or disinvestment in a fishery, and only serve as a crude proxy for a richer concept of fishing capital. A better measure to judge whether overcapitalization is occurring would be the change in capital value for vessels operating, or permitted in a fishery, relative to a benchmark value. Unfortunately, data do not always exist to measure vessel value and associated changes through time. This study presents a method for calculating vessel capital value using a distance function, publicly available vessel sale price data, and non-parametric programming methods. Estimates of value for vessel attributes returned by the distance function are then used to estimate a total value for currently permitted vessels in the northeast region of the United States, and to construct a capital value index for vessels active in the squid, mackerel and butterfish (SMB) fishery between 1996 and 2016. Findings show that the total value of commercially permitted vessels in the northeast region is estimated to be between $606.6 and $769.7 million ($2016). Based on the constructed capital value index, the SMB fishery has undergone a period of disinvestment marked by both declining vessel numbers and capital value.

Abstrak Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan memiliki wilayah laut yang lebih luas dari wilayah darat, 13.466 pulau dan garis pantai sepanjang 99.093 km (Badan Informasi Geospasial, 2013) menjadikan Indonesia memiliki sumber daya alam laut yang lebih banyak dibandingkan dengan sumber daya alam di darat. Kondisi potensi sumber daya laut ini dipandang sebagai peluang Indonesia sebagai negara berkembang untuk membangun keunggulan di bidang pesisir dan kelautan. Namun selama 71 tahun bangsa ini merdeka, sektor kelautan ternyata belum dapat menunjukkan sebagai sektor yang dapat diunggulkan oleh bangsa dan diandalkan oleh rakyat Indonesia. Permasalahan yang timbul di Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan yang multikultural tidak terlepas dari konflik penyelenggaraan pengelolaan pesisir dan laut antar sektor, antara pusat dan daerah, antar pemerintah daerah, dan antar pemangku kepentingan. Penyelenggaraan pengelolaan kelautan melalui definisi kadaster kelautan telah ada di negara-negara maju non-kepulauan seperti Australia, Kanada, dan Amerika, sedangkan Indonesia belum memiliki definisi kadaster kelautan dan model penyelenggaraan kadaster kelautan yang sesuai dengan karakteristik Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (NKRI) sebagai negara kepulauan. Maka perlu dibangun pola penyelenggaraan kadaster kelautan di Indonesia dalam perspektif Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan. Pola penyelenggaraan kadaster kelautan di Indonesia dibangun melalui Kajian definisi-definisi kadaster kelautan dari negara-negara non-kepulauan; Membangun definisi kadaster kelautan untuk Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan; Membangun model pola penyelenggaraan kadaster kelautan di Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan. Produk penelitian ini diperoleh Definisi kadaster kelautan untuk Indonesia sebagai wujud kedaulatan ilmu, pengetahuan dan teknologi dalam merumuskan definisi kadaster kelautan yang sesuai dengan karakteristik NKRI sebagai negara kepulauan, dan Model pola penyelenggaraan kadaster kelautan di Indonesia sebagai acuan dasar perumusan kebijakan pemerintah dalam mewujudkan pemerintahan di laut. Kata kunci: karakteristik NKRI, definisi kadaster kelautan, pemerintahan di laut

The life spans of demersal species of fishes occurring in deep waters are much longer and their potential growth rates much lower than those of related shallow water species. As a result, deep-sea demersal fish species are more vulnerable to exploitation. This is because low growth rates relative to the available market discount rate for capital makes it desirable for fishing firms to mine, rather than sustainably exploit, these resources even in the absence of fisheries subsidies. However, it is common knowledge that governments around the world do provide subsidies to their fishing industries. The objective of this contribution is to estimate the global amount of subsidies paid to bottom trawl fleets operating in the high seas, i.e., outside of the Exclusive Economic Zones of maritime countries. Our study suggests that fisheries subsidies to these fleets stand at about US$152 million per year, which constitutes 15% of the total landed value of the fleet. Economic data for bottom trawlers suggest that the profit achieved by this vessel group is normally not more than 10% of landed value. The implication of this finding is that without subsidies, the bulk of the world's bottom trawl fleet operating in the high seas will be operating at a loss, and unable to fish, thereby reducing the current threat to deep-sea and high seas fish stocks.

In Belgium a long process (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) led to the designation of several marine protected areas (MPAs). In order to analyse the designation process, the 'policy arrangement approach' was used as an analytical tool. Attention was given to four dimensions (actors and coalitions, arguments, rules and resources). Particular attention was paid to the switch from an authoritative to a more deliberated policy style in reaction to conflicts with stakeholders. This switch in policy style contributed to a successful legal designation, but does not guarantee the best protection of marine biodiversity. This case study linked science (setting ecological goals) to policy (analysis of a policy process) and led to some more general conclusions on the designation of MPAs and the role of participation in this process.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is key to the robust environmental management of industrial projects; it is used to anticipate, assess and reduce environmental and social risks of a project. It is instrumental in project planning and execution, and often required for financing and regulatory approval to be granted. The International Seabed Authority currently requires an EIA for deep-sea mining (DSM) in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the Area), but the existing regulations present only a portion of a robust EIA process. This article presents an ideal EIA process for DSM, drawing upon the application of EIA from allied industries. It contains screening, scoping and assessment phases, along with the development of an environmental management plan. It also includes external review by experts, stakeholder consultation, and regulatory review. Lessons learned from application of EIA elsewhere are discussed in relation to DSM, including the integration of EIA into UK domestic law, and the reception of EIAs prepared for seabed ore extraction in the Exclusive Economic Zones of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Finally, four main challenges of implementing the EIA process to DSM in the Area are presented: 1) EIA process for DSM needs to incorporate mechanisms to address uncertainty; 2) detailed requirements for the EIA process phases should be made clear; 3) mechanisms are needed to ensure that the EIA influences decision making; and, 4) the EIA process requires substantial input and involvement from the regulator.

The Norwegian minke whale hunt was resumed in 1993, despite considerable international opposition. This paper investigates economic aspects of the 1993-96 hunts. It is shown that the hunts were profitable for the participating vessels. Adverse international effects due to the resumed hunt are discussed, as is the future of commercial whale hunting In Norway.

This article assesses changes in the relative distribution of commercial fishing activity within a system of ports. Like other coastal fisheries in the United States, fishing activity declined significantly at California's central and north coast region ports between 1981 and 2007. The central questions addressed in this paper are: how have the changes in overall fishing activity (as measured by total regional fishing trips, revenues, and landings) affected fishing activity in each of the central and northern California coastal region's 30 fishing ports? How have individual ports fared relative to other ports and the region as a whole during this decline? The analysis assesses the degree to which the relative distribution of fishing activity across ports-as measured by port rankings-is stable over time. The formal rank correlation analysis shows that ports' rankings have changed slowly and have changed more over longer intervals. In addition, the rankings change less (more) when the comparison is made over a larger (smaller) set of ports. Tests for the statistical significance of differences in percentage changes in fishing activity between region-wide totals and individual ports are performed. The results indicate that ports differ in terms of their dynamic fishing activity patterns over time, which constitutes a rejection of the null hypothesis that the cumulative percent changes at individual ports are the same as changes at the region-wide level.

For several decades, fisheries management has been based on stock recruitment models, leading to policies designed to control the amount of effort and the quantity of fish caught. This approach has not been notably successful. In this paper we take the view that this problem arises from the complex and likely chaotic nature of fisheries. This attribute of fisheries creates a very difficult and costly information problem, which renders attempts to control the long term numerical abundance of individual species virtually impossible. We argue that feasible management must address the relatively stable parameters of fisheries systems habitat and basic biological processes, and that this demands management attention to the fine as well as the broad scale attributes of the system. Attention to detail at these differing scales implies the need for a layered or hierarchical management structure. The need to minimize information costs also suggests an emphasis on decentralized, community-based approaches to management. A review of the anthropological literature shows that such approaches are common in many societies.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has continued to strengthen its position in the market based on its credibility as a transparent, accountable and science-based third party certification scheme. However, the consolidation of MSC's credibility risks being undermined by the poor representation of developing world fisheries and concerns that the scheme provides little incentive for continual improvement for fisheries once certified. This paper argues that the challenge of maintaining credibility while increasing access and fisheries improvement constitutes a 'devils triangle'. In the absence of a clear policy from MSC for balancing this triangle fisheries are taking their own actions to differentiate themselves both above (MSC-plus) and below (MSC-minus) the certification threshold. To avoid further undermining of the MSC the organisation should internalise such externally-led differentiation by moving towards an internally controlled tiered certification system based on its already existing metric-based principle indicator system. Doing so would communicate on equity and continual improvement both before and after certification, and create on-going incentives for fishers to enter into the MSC programme.

Over the past quarter century, the salmon aquaculture industry has grown rapidly. Price declines caused by the resulting worldwide increase in salmon production have severely impacted the salmon fishing industry, particularly in Alaska. In this paper, we examine the reasons behind the success of farm salmon. In addition to its inherent market advantages, farm salmon has benefitted from a legal structure that limits the ability of the fishing industry to adjust to competition. We look at these fisheries laws and at the impacts of various policy options on the future economic, ecological, and political sustainability of the fishing industry. r

Canada's commercial seal hunt warrants close examination in that it is the largest kill of marine mammals on earth, it exists for commercial reasons, it targets deep diving seals with unique physical adaptations, and it is conducted in a particularly remote and uncontrolled environment amidst unstable sea ice and extreme weather conditions. For these reasons, commercial sealing in Canada has been the subject of regular veterinary scrutiny for more than five decades. In that time, despite repeated recommendations and some changes to the regulations, considerable evidence continues to be presented during each new season of poor welfare outcomes for seals.