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Harvest strategies, also referred to as management procedures, are foundational to evidence-based fisheries decision making. Together with closed-loop simulation testing, termed Management Strategy Evaluation, of potential harvest strategies, they are considered to be best practice. However, the use of these approaches is still mostly limited to a small minority of high-value, data-rich stocks in developed economies. The Indonesian tropical tuna fisheries provide a rare real-world experience where formal empirical harvest strategies were being developed for data-limited fisheries within a developing economy as an operational management tool. The Harvest Strategy Framework is a departure from a previously open-access fishery for tropical tuna in Indonesian archipelagic waters. It outlines the necessary actions to operationalize the harvest strategy, including fisheries monitoring, harvest control rules, associated management measures to meet the management objectives, and immediate actions to reduce the levels of catch as a precautionary measure until the harvest strategy is fully implemented. It was developed over a 9-year national consultative process, commencing in 2014 and culminating in the official adoption of the framework in June 2023. This paper outlines key processes and challenges encountered in stakeholder engagement and technical capacity development within the intricate governance context of Indonesia. We argue that the engagement processes have cemented a future direction towards sustainable and best practice fisheries management in Indonesia and the effective co-production process has potential to show the way for other fisheries in coastal developing states who face similar challenges in managing their national and internationally shared stocks. • Rare example of formal harvest strategies in a developing economy. • Complex multi-species, multi-gear, multi-scale fisheries. • Changes in key personnel, institutional structure caused major disruptions. • Knowledge co-production processes led to institutional capacity development. • Lack of secure funding for resource monitoring remains as key challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resolving local resource conflicts in rural coastal communities is important for the implementation of effective resource management systems and development policies. This article examines the characteristics of small-scale fishing households that are prone to be involved in resource use conflict with other local marine resource users based on the data collected by a household survey in Indonesia. Intra-village and inter-village conflicts are examined separately. We find that social relationships and individual perceptions of changes in fishery conditions are strongly associated with both intra- and inter-village conflicts but in a different way for each type of conflict. Our results show that unintended consequences may arise from improving a social relationship between fishery users and their village leader. The improved social relationship discourages intra-village conflict but at the same time increases inter-village conflicts, thus creating a potential dilemma in conflict resolution. Our results also suggest that a perception of declining fishery conditions is correlated with an increase in inter-village conflicts when there is a perceived link between resource depletion and an increase in the benefits obtained by outsiders. Conversely, a decrease in the amount of resources available for exploitation may decrease intra-village conflict when in-group cooperation is needed to combat the declining environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the extent to which the choice of management approach is a critical factor in enabling climate change adaptation in marine fisheries. Climate change is expected to compound many pressing issues affecting fisheries management. Good governance of fisheries, which is critical to building their adaptive capacity and social-ecological resilience, is seen as ever more important in the context of climate change. A range of fisheries management approaches have been developed and, to varying degrees, applied. Each has been described in the literature as a promising way to manage marine resources. Through literature reviews and a survey of practitioners, this study explores how theoretical properties of selected major management approaches (i.e., ecosystem-based management, adaptive management, co-management, adaptive co-management, and active adaptive management) enable climate change adaptation, and how such properties are perceived by practitioners to manifest in practice using an Australian marine fisheries context. Overall, the selected management approaches have the potential to enable climate change adaptation to varying degrees. Ecosystem-based management, in combination with adaptive management and co-management as nested management approaches, possesses the full array of adaptation capacities and attributes required for adaptation in fisheries. Distinctions between theory and practice observed in this study highlight the importance of practitioner perceptions and enabling institutional arrangements in adapting management to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) have been introduced in a large number of fisheries worldwide, mainly to achieve resource sustainability and improve the economic performance of the fisheries. Fisheries have evolved since quota introduction and have developed different ownership structures, with some fisheries being predominantly owner-operator, while other fisheries have attracted investors and non-fishing quota ownership. These different ownership structures may affect the perceptions of the effectiveness of ITQs, although the influence of ownership structures to the perception of management performance based on different management objectives is rarely studied. In this paper, we draw on a case study of the Tasmanian abalone fishery in Australia to illustrate the influence of different quota ownership structures on perceptions about the social, economic and resource sustainability outcomes of ITQ fisheries. We find that fishers with low levels of quota ownership (i.e. lease dependent) have low levels of satisfaction, and believe the fishery is not performing well against the multiple management objectives. • We illustrate how different quota ownership may affect perceived ITQ outcomes. • Tasmanian abalone fishery used as a demonstration case study. • The level of quota ownership has large influence on perceived fishery performance. • Investors and quota owning fishers believe the fishery is generally performing well. • Fishers with low levels of quota ownership have low levels of satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transferable fishing rights in the form of individual transferable catch quota (ITQ) have been introduced into a large number of fisheries worldwide, mainly to achieve resource sustainability objectives and to improve the economic performance of the fisheries. ITQs have been credited with a number of potential benefits, particularly in relation to fisher incentives and allowing the fishery to adjust in response to changing biological and economic conditions without the need of further actions by managers to reduce fishing effort. While these economic benefits have been realised in some fisheries, others have seen less of an improvement in economic performance and believed to have resulted in adverse social impacts in some cases. This article reviews international experiences of ITQ management to determine the experiences elsewhere in relation to sustainability, economic, social, and governance outcomes, collating the empirical evidence for ITQs in achieving multiple objectives, and highlighting the research gaps. • Few integrated assessments evaluate ITQ outcomes across multiple dimensions. • Economic and sustainability outcomes are generally positive. • Social and governance outcomes are often negative. • Social impacts may be improved with careful design and transfer restrictions. • The effect of ITQs on compliance cost and behaviour is under studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]