Search

The East China Sea (ECS) Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) is a globally significant fishing ground, but the absence of cooperative regional management impedes the future sustainability of ECS fisheries. To navigate around nationally focused perspectives, we provide an up to date synthesis about the socio-economic importance and status of ECS fisheries at the ecosystem level, which is currently lacking in the literature. Our review indicates that ECS LME fisheries contribute around 6 million t in catch and USD 13 billion in landed value annually, and employ up to an estimated 1.4 million, the majority of who are small-scale fishers. However, the fisheries benefits are threatened by intense fishing pressure and rapid economic development which exacerbates the effects of overfishing. The future of ECS fisheries also faces climate uncertainties, which has already been associated with shifts in species distribution and spatial distribution of fishing effort. At the LME level, political disputes that inhibit crucial multilateral fisheries management threaten the future sustainability of ECS fish stocks, and also weaken the effects of national management measures which have largely failed to address fisheries overcapacity and coastal marine degradation. Continuing on a path focussed on national interests without considering LME wide dynamics risks jeopardising the significant fisheries socio-economic and ecological benefits that accrue to all LME countries. Thus, our review emphasises the urgency for multilateral ECS fisheries management to enhance ecosystem resilience so that fisheries resources can continue to support the region's human, social, and economic well-being into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We quantify the economic outcome of responses to future change in Cambodia. • We compare current to future net income under 4 scenarios of change. • Those engaged in fishing only had the highest current net income. • On average, respondents experience a loss in net income under all scenarios. • Single livelihood respondents have the largest losses and least capacity to adapt. Abstract This paper investigates the economic impact of future global change on fishing dependent inhabitants of the Tonle Sap floodplain in Cambodia. We compare the net income from individuals' current livelihoods to that derived from reallocating their livelihood activities under 4 different scenarios depicting future change. Respondents generally chose to retain their current livelihood strategy under all future scenarios. Less than 10% of those who did change livelihood allocation actually experienced a gain in economic benefits. Those engaged in single livelihoods experienced an average income loss of 18% across all scenarios, compared to 9% for the multi-livelihood group. Respondents' choices generated the best economic outcome under a status quo scenario, thus suggesting a low capacity to adapt when faced with unfamiliar future scenarios. Our study contributes to identifying and understanding the economic impact of future global changes on fisheries dependent individuals in the Tonle Sap floodplain ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governance of South China Sea (SCS) fisheries remains weak despite acknowledgement of their widespread overexploitation for the past few decades. This review incorporates unreported fish catches to provide an improved baseline of the current status and societal contribution of SCS marine fisheries, so that the socio-economic and ecological consequences of continued fisheries unsustainability may be understood. Potential fisheries contribution to food and livelihoods include 11-17 million t in fisheries catch and USD 12-22 × 10 in fisheries landed value annually in the 2000s, and close to 3 million jobs. However, overfishing has resulted in biodiversity and habitat loss, and altered ecosystem trophic structures to a 'fished down' state. The present situation reiterates the urgency for fisheries policies that simultaneously address multiple political, social, economic, and biological dimensions at regional, national, and local scales. Importantly, improved cooperation between SCS nations, particularly in overcoming territorial disputes, is essential for effective regional fisheries governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate how high seas closure will affect the availability of commonly consumed food fish in 46 fish reliant, and/or low income countries. Domestic consumption of straddling fish species (fish that would be affected by high seas closure) occurred in 54% of the assessed countries. The majority (70%) of countries were projected to experience net catch gains following high seas closure. However, countries with projected catch gains and that also consumed the straddling fish species domestically made up only 37% of the assessed countries. In contrast, much fewer countries (25%) were projected to incur net losses from high seas closure, and of these, straddling species were used domestically in less than half (45%) of the countries. Our findings suggest that, given the current consumption patterns of straddling species, high seas closure may only directly benefit the supply of domestically consumed food fish in a small number of fish reliant and/or low income countries. In particular, it may not have a substantial impact on improving domestic fish supply in countries with the greatest need for improved access to affordable fish, as only one third of this group used straddling fish species domestically. Also, food security in countries with projected net catch gains but where straddling fish species are not consumed domestically may still benefit indirectly via economic activities arising from the increased availability of non-domestically consumed straddling fish species following high seas closure. Consequently, this study suggests that high seas closure can potentially improve marine resource sustainability as well as contribute to human well-being in some of the poorest and most fish dependent countries worldwide. However, caution is required because high seas closure may also negatively affect fish availability in countries that are already impoverished and fish insecure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A fuzzy logic marine protected area site selection tool is proposed. [•] The tool combines human and biodiversity priorities to assess site suitability. [•] Sites chosen for protection by the tool overlap with fisher communities’ choice. [•] The tool can be used in data poor conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Overfishing threatens coral reefs worldwide, yet there is no reliable estimate on the number of reef fishers globally. We address this data gap by quantifying the number of reef fishers on a global scale, using two approaches - the first estimates reef fishers as a proportion of the total number of marine fishers in a country, based on the ratio of reef-related to total marine fish landed values. The second estimates reef fishers as a function of coral reef area, rural coastal population, and fishing pressure. In total, we find that there are 6 million reef fishers in 99 reef countries and territories worldwide, of which at least 25% are reef gleaners. Our estimates are an improvement over most existing fisher population statistics, which tend to omit accounting for gleaners and reef fishers. Our results suggest that slightly over a quarter of the world’s small-scale fishers fish on coral reefs, and half of all coral reef fishers are in Southeast Asia. Coral reefs evidently support the socio-economic well-being of numerous coastal communities. By quantifying the number of people who are employed as reef fishers, we provide decision-makers with an important input into planning for sustainable coral reef fisheries at the appropriate scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many fisheries management interventions are in the form of spatial regulations that change fishers' access to fishing grounds. How fishers respond to regulations directly affects the ecological and socioeconomic outcomes of management objectives, but little attention is paid to fishers' willingness and ability to make spatial adjustments. We investigate the spatial preferences of small-scale fishers in Sabah, Malaysia, within a framework of mental maps and perceptions. We find that the majority of fishers fish within preferred resource spaces that were heavily influenced by perceptions of safety. Most fishers exhibit low flexibility to adapt to spatial changes, based on i) unwillingness to travel beyond preferred resource spaces; ii) unwillingness to leave the fishery; and iii) low to no alternative employment opportunities. We emphasize the need to uncover and understand human dimension parameters to reduce uncertainty surrounding human behaviour, and ultimately facilitate the attainment of fisheries management objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Our study objective is to quantify the present and historical contribution of small-scale fisheries to national economies. We focus on the small-scale fishing sector in Sabah, Malaysia, and use a previously reconstructed time series of Sabah''s small-scale catches as the basis for estimating the economic value of these fisheries. Our findings suggest that since the early 1990s, small-scale fish catches in Sabah may have been undervalued by up to 225%. Presently, small-scale fisheries may be supporting up to an additional 3.5% of Sabah''s population. Further, accounting for the economic impact of unaccounted small-scale fisheries value could have potentially tripled the reported contribution that commercial and small-scale fisheries combined made to GDP in 2009. Overall, our results show that the socio-economic contribution of small-scale fisheries to Sabah society have been substantially undervalued or even unaccounted for historically and in present fisheries statistics. This undervaluation also implies that fishing pressure on Sabah''s inshore marine resources is probably a lot higher than presently perceived, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of these fisheries resources, and the capacity for Sabah''s inshore fisheries to support coastal livelihoods into the future. Our study strongly suggests the need for more encompassing fisheries monitoring and data collection methods which target the large population of small-scale fishers whose catch is largely unreported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sumaila, U. R., Teh, L., Watson, R., Tyedmers, P., and Pauly, D. 2008. Fuel price increase, subsidies, overcapacity, and resource sustainability. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 832–840.Global fisheries are currently overcapitalized, resulting in overfishing in many of the world’s fisheries. Given that fuel constitutes a significant component of fishing costs, we expect recent increases in fuel prices to reduce overcapacity and overfishing. However, government fuel subsidies to the fishing sector reduce, if not completely negate, this positive aspect of increasing fuel costs. Here, we explore the theoretical basis for the expectation that the increasing fuel prices faced by fishing enterprises will reduce fishing pressure. Next, we estimate the amount of fuel subsidies to the fishing sector by governments globally to be in the range of US$4.2–8.5 billion per year. Hence, depending on how much of this subsidy existed before the recent fuel price increases, fishing enterprises, as a group, can absorb as much as this amount of increase in their fuel budget before any conservation benefits occur as a result of fuel price increases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The recent creation of the Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) in the northern waters of Sabah, Malaysia has brought up the need for understanding the coral reef fisheries system in Pulau Banggi, for which there has been no previous documentation. This study draws upon field data collected in June and August 2004 to accomplish two things, namely, to build a profile of the ecological and socio-economic aspects of Pulau Banggi''s reef fisheries, and undertake a preliminary assessment of the status of these fisheries. This research is important because it provides information that will help managers develop policies for the long-term ecological and socio-economic sustainability of Pulau Banggi''s reef fisheries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Marine turtle species in the Asia-Pacific region face loss of habitat, population decline and serious risk of extinction. Understanding the associated loss in human welfare can motivate conservation finance, policy reforms and other actions to protect and restore marine turtle populations. This paper estimates non-use values for marine turtles in the Asia-Pacific region using a large-sample (n = 7765) global household survey. The survey focused on six countries in the region (China, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam) but received responses from over 80 countries in total. A discrete choice experiment was used to elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) for marine turtles, defined in terms of population trends (increasing, stable or declining) and species diversity (avoided extinctions). We find that a high proportion of households (82%) expressed a positive WTP for turtle conservation, and that the donation amounts are substantial. The median WTP for ensuring stable marine turtle populations, adjusted for demographic differences between the survey sample and the general population, is estimated at US $79 per household per year. A scenario analysis is used to estimate the economic welfare changes that would result from policy inaction (in which turtle populations continue to decline and two species become extinct) versus strong policy action (resulting in increasing turtle populations and no extinctions). The welfare loss that results from not acting is estimated to be US $40 billion per year, whereas the potential welfare gain from taking policy action to conserve, manage and protect marine turtles is estimated at US $55 billion per year. These results present a strong economic justification for governments across the region to align their environmental policies and budgets with Asia-Pacific peoples' stated WTP for turtle conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on climate change and fishing presenting dual threats. Topics include important to the homeostasis of the Earth system exhibiting distinctive marine biodiversity and having tremendous scientific impact; and climate regulation and oxygen production through the primary production of seasonal phytoplankton blooms.

The immense challenges associated with realizing ocean and coastal sustainability require highly skilled interdisciplinary marine scientists. However, the barriers experienced by early career researchers (ECRs) seeking to address these challenges, and the support required to overcome those barriers, are not well understood. This study examines the perspectives of ECRs on opportunities to build interdisciplinary research capacity in marine science. We engaged 23 current and former graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in a policy Delphi method with three rounds of surveying that included semi-structured questionnaires and q-methodology. We identified the following five barriers that limit ECRs' capacity for interdisciplinary research: (i) demanding workloads; (ii) stress linked to funding, publishing, and employment uncertainty; (iii) limited support for balancing personal and professional commitments; (iv) ineffective supervisory support; and (v) the steep learning curve associated with interdisciplinary research. Our analysis highlights three main types of responses to these barriers adopted by ECRs, including "taking on too much", "coping effectively", and "maintaining material wellbeing at any cost". To overcome these barriers, we propose the following three institutional actions to build early career interdisciplinary researcher capacity: formalize mentorship, create interdisciplinary research groups, and mainstream mental health support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand the fish consumption patterns in northwestern Cambodia and to identify the key challenges in the fisheries value chain, and how to overcome these challenges for the sustainable development of Cambodia's fisheries sector. In Cambodia, fisheries resources are abundant, while value addition to fishery products is limited given that fish is a perishable food product which requires proper handling soon after harvesting. A survey was conducted with various stakeholders like fish wholesalers, retailers, consumers, government officials and processors in Battambang and Siem Reap provinces, in northwestern Cambodia. Nine key challenges within the postharvest fish supply value chain were identified as barriers posing threats to fishery products and limiting the market competitiveness of Cambodian fishery products. Technological issues -i.e. processing, packaging, preservation-, market access and raw fish supply deficiencies accounted for more than 60% of the challenges raised by respondents from the beginning of the supply chain (fishers) to consumers. Consequently, investment in infrastructure development, cost-effective technology and training, innovative solutions on processing techniques (drying, smoking and fermenting), and secure access to markets were recommended to improve the fish supply chain and increase the competitiveness of Cambodian fishery products in domestic and international markets. Further investigation on product diversification, branding and cost-effective innovative processing techniques should be carried out to create opportunities and value addition to Cambodian fishery products. A supportive policy instrument is also necessary for the sustainable growth of Cambodia's fisheries sector. • Fisheries are Cambodian traditional staple and vital to nutrition and food security. • Market survey was conducted to investigate the situation of fishery value chain. • Nine challenges raised by stakeholders as barriers to the postharvest development. • Investment on infrastructure, innovative technology, supportive policies are needed. • Research on governance and product diversification increase fishery value chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is projected to redistribute fisheries resources, resulting in tropical regions suffering decreases in seafood production. While sustainably managing marine ecosystems contributes to building climate resilience, these solutions require transformation of ocean governance. Recent studies and international initiatives suggest that conserving high seas biodiversity and fish stocks will have ecological and economic benefits; however, implications for seafood security under climate change have not been examined. Here, we apply global-scale mechanistic species distribution models to 30 major straddling fish stocks to show that transforming high seas fisheries governance could increase resilience to climate change impacts. By closing the high seas to fishing or cooperatively managing its fisheries, we project that catches in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) would likely increase by around 10% by 2050 relative to 2000 under climate change (representative concentration pathway 4.5 and 8.5), compensating for the expected losses (around −6%) from 'business-as-usual'. Specifically, high seas closure increases the resilience of fish stocks, as indicated by a mean species abundance index, by 30% in EEZs. We suggest that improving high seas fisheries governance would increase the resilience of coastal countries to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oceanic ecosystem services support a range of human benefits, and Canada has extensive research networks producing growing data sets. We present a first effort to compile, link, and harmonize available information to provide new perspectives on the status of Canadian ocean ecosystems and corresponding research. The metadata database currently includes 1094 individual assessments and data sets from government ( n = 716), nongovernment ( n = 320), and academic sources ( n = 58), comprising research on marine species, natural drivers and resources, human activities, ecosystem services, and governance, with data sets spanning 1979-2012 on average. Overall, research shows a strong prevalence towards single-species fishery studies, with an underrepresentation of economic and social aspects, and of the Arctic region in general. Nevertheless, the number of studies that are multispecies or ecosystem-based have increased since the 1960s. We present and discuss two illustrative case studies - marine protected area establishment in Canada and herring resource use by the Heiltsuk First Nation - highlighting the potential use of multidisciplinary data sets drawn from metadata records. Identifying knowledge gaps is key to achieving the comprehensive, accessible and interdisciplinary data sets and subsequent analyses necessary for new sustainability policies that meet both ecological and socioeconomic needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reefs and People at Risk: Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere put shallow, warm-water coral reef ecosystems, and the people who depend upon them at risk from two key global environmental stresses: 1) elevated sea surface temperature (that can cause coral bleaching and related mortality), and 2) ocean acidification. These global stressors: cannot be avoided by local management, compound local stressors, and hasten the loss of ecosystem services. Impacts to people will be most grave where a) human dependence on coral reef ecosystems is high, b) sea surface temperature reaches critical levels soonest, and c) ocean acidification levels are most severe. Where these elements align, swift action will be needed to protect people’s lives and livelihoods, but such action must be informed by data and science. An Indicator Approach: Designing policies to offset potential harm to coral reef ecosystems and people requires a better understanding of where CO2-related global environmental stresses could cause the most severe impacts. Mapping indicators has been proposed as a way of combining natural and social science data to identify policy actions even when the needed science is relatively nascent. To identify where people are at risk and where more science is needed, we map indicators of biological, physical and social science factors to understand how human dependence on coral reef ecosystems will be affected by globally-driven threats to corals expected in a high-CO2 world. Western Mexico, Micronesia, Indonesia and parts of Australia have high human dependence and will likely face severe combined threats. As a region, Southeast Asia is particularly at risk. Many of the countries most dependent upon coral reef ecosystems are places for which we have the least robust data on ocean acidification. These areas require new data and interdisciplinary scientific research to help coral reef-dependent human communities better prepare for a high CO2 world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]