www.infofish.org INFOFISHInternational2/201455

Harvesting

byMenakhem Ben-Yami

Menakhem Ben-Yami

How to manage fisheries without replicating

western folliesIn the former article (A word of warning: West not always the best,

INFOFISH 6/2013:51-53), the author promised to suggest some alternatives to the ‘western’ fisheries management system. Accordingly some basic issues related to the

ecosystem and management has been addressed with examples to elucidatevarious aspects of fisheries development for the sustainability of fish stock

through equitable sharing of wealth.

Fromthepointofviewofecology,

fisheryrepresentsanelementinacomplexecosystem.Butfisheryecologyishardlyexactbranchofscience.Inthe‘commerce’thattakesplaceinmarinefisheryecosystems,valuesandvectorsconstantlychange,interactinginvariousways,andwedon'tevenknowalltheplayersinthegame.Fisherymanagement

mustbealertfortheroleofanthropomorphic(duetohumanactivities)factorsandfortheenvironmentalfluctuatingdynamics.Itmusttakeintoaccount,inadditiontofishing,pollutinganddestructionofhabitatsessentialtofishspawning,alsotheirgrowthandsurvivalrates,aswellasallsortsofpredation.Hence,stockassessmentsarealways

approximateandshouldbecriticallyreviewedbyindependentexpertsandknowledgeablefishers.

Fishery management: What for and by whom?

Fishery management's tasks are: Maintainingconditionsthatenablesupplyoffishtopeopleandthewell-beingoffishproducers,preventingfishdepletionandsustainingbio-diversity.Insomecasesitallocatesaccesstofishresourcestodifferentfishery'ssectors.Fishingpeopleareoftentheonly

Tradable quota system may bring such ships to fish in coastal waters

elementthatfisherymanagementcanmanageandthosewho'denjoyorsufferfromitsconsequences.Politicalandideologicalpersuasions

ofthoseinpower,determinethemanagement'sapproach.It,forexample,maylettraditional,artisanalandcommercialfishers,toruntheirfisherybutmayalsoputthegovernmentincharge,consultingotherstakeholdersbutfishers,‘because you don’t let cats to watch the cream’.Betweenthesetwoextremestherearemanyalternatives.Onesocial-politicalquestionthatthemanagementmusttackleis:What’smoreimportant?Profits derivedfrom

the resource or the number of people making living of the fishery. Maximisingprofitsobviouslybenefitslargescaleownersandcompanies.Governmentspreferringtoallocatetothemthebenefitsfromcoastalfisherieswouldchoosethelatterapproach.OneCanadianFisheriesminister,apromoteroftheITQsystem,hadanexcuse:‘Bettertohavetwofishermendowellthanten

56 INFOFISHInternational2/2014 www.infofish.org

Harvesting

tostarve’.WehadaFisheriesDirector,whowassaying:‘Webetterhavefishermenin30boatsmakingamodestliving,thanhalfofthemgrowingrichin15boats’.

Do not cause harm!Over800yearsago,Maimonides,thegreatphysicianandphilosopher,taughthisstudents:Doctors' first and foremost duty is not to cause harm to their patients. Thesameshouldbereiteratedtofisheriesmanagers:Don't harm fisher folk.Wrongmanagementcancostthefisherfolktheirliving,destroyordebilitatetheircommunitiesorforcethemtorisklifebyforcingthemtooperateindangerousconditions.Themanagers,whounintentionallyornot,havedeceivedthemwon'thavetopayfortheirfollies.Onlytheir‘patients’payformanagers'mistakes.Wrongmanagementmayalsofailtopreventdepletionoffishstocksthrough

destructionofhabitatsessentialfortheirreproductionandsurvival,failuretocurbpollutionandoverfishing.

Beware of ‘one size fits all’ approach.Eachfisherydeservesdiscretestudyandindividualrecommendations.Transferrablequotas(ITQs-individualtransferrablequotasetc)consideredbymanyapanacea,whilehelpfulissomeinstances,isdisastrousinothers.There'sawholecatalogueofwaysandmeanstochooseforspecificcasesandeachofthesuggestionsandrecommendationsbelowshouldbecriticallyweighedwhethertheycouldfitaparticularfishery.

Fishery management and non-fishing factors

Althoughwesternfisheriesmanagementisoftenpayinglipservicetonon-fishingfactors,itsbasicapproachisthatmainlyfishingdeterminesfishabundance.Thismayberightinafewinstances,butwrongtovariousdegreesinmostothers.There'saplethoraoffactorsotherthanfishingandtheirvariouscombinations,whichaffectfishabundancebutcannotbequantified,whichfisherymanagersmustkeepinmindwhiletryingtounderstandthereal-worlddynamicsoffisheryresources.

Here's an abbreviated list of such factors:Availabilityoffood;poorrecruitmentcausedbyunfavourableclimaticfluctuation,andbydiseasesoftenresultingfromovercrowdinginapopulation,especiallywhereassociatedwithfoodscarcity;changesinspeciescompositionduetoexoticimmigrantsononehand,anddepartureofnativefishes,ontheother;lossofgeneticvariability;pollutionandeutrophicationbyfertilisersseepage;coastalandestuarinehabitatdegradationincludingdestructionofspawningornurseryareas;blockageofmigrationroutes;diversionanddryingofstreams;seismictesting;oilsslicksandthechemicalsusedtocleanthem;dumpingindustrialandagriculturalwasteanddredge-spoilandmore.

Management without figures?Notquantifiableinformation,ignoredinthepresentmodels,canbeexplained

Purse seining in India in 2 stages; such traditional boat can be a source of living for at least 20 fishers and their families.

www.infofish.org INFOFISHInternational2/201457

Harvesting

Reader enquiry number 25

inqualitative,descriptivetermsandincorporatedinstockassessments.Fisherymanagersshouldlearnlifehistoryandecologyofthetargetedfishes,theirinteractionwithotherspecies,andlistentothetraditionalknowledgeandexperienceofthefishermeninvolved.LastJanuary,AmericanscientistsoftheUSNOAA'sNortheastRegionalScienceCenteradmittedthattheirsystemisinadequateandcalledtoconsiderformerlyignoreddataandinformationfromindustry,fromtheirownsocialsciencedivision,andfromtheMassachusettsUniversity'sstudies.Whendataispoor,intelligentand

prudentmanagerswheneverforcedtoquantifystockabundanceandTACs(totalallowablecatch)onthebasisofinadequatedata,shoulduse‘fuzzylogic’.It'samethodology,whoseproponentspointoutthatthemorecomplexisasystemthelessisourabilitytomakepreciseandsignificantstatementsaboutitsbehaviour.Withrootsfirmintherealworld,fuzzylogicbreaksoutofthecultofmodel-drivenprecisionparadigmdominatingthewesternfisheriesmanagement.Itoftenhappensthatdecisionsby

localbodiesdependuponwhothemanagerssidewithand,consequently,determinewho’sgoingtogainandwho’sgoingtolose.Inmyopiniontherightapproachistoallocatebenefitsfromafisherysothatmaximumnumberofpeopleandfamiliescanmaketheirlivingof.Accordingly,inmyreporttoIndia'sNationalWorkshoponLowEnergyFishing(Cochin,1991),(Fish Tech Spec Issue, p 122),IsetforthwhatIcalltheMB-Y'sallocationprinciple:1. Fishthatcanbecaughtbyartisanalfishersshouldbecaughtonlybythem;

2. Fishthatcannotbecaughtbyartisanalfishers,butcanbecaughtbysmall-scalecommercialfishersshouldonlybecaughtbythem;

3. Fishthatcannotbecaughtbysmall-scalecommercialfishers,butcanbecaughtbymedium-scalecommercialfishersshouldonlybecaughtbythem.

4. Onlysuchresources,whicharenotaccessibletoanyoftheabovefisherysectors,orwhichcannotbefeasiblycaught,handled,andprocessedbythem,shouldbe

allocatedtoindustrial,large-scalefisheries.

This,ofcourse,can'tfiteveryfishery,butitcoulddoasasortofguidingprinciple.

Co-managementEnforcing‘top-down’management

rulesthatarecontrarytofishing

people’sknowledge,experience,andcommonsense,whichtheycannotmateriallysupportandcomplywith,isbothexpensiveandineffective.Inmost,southerncountries,itsimplydoesn'twork.Especially,whenauthoritiestrytoimpose‘western’systemsofsingle-speciesmanagement,quitenonsensicalinwarm-waterenvironments,wheremostfisheriesaretypicallymulti-speciesoroutputmanagementsystemsthat

58 INFOFISHInternational2/2014 www.infofish.org

Harvesting

mostsuchcountriesareunabletomonitorandenforce.ProfElinorOstromgottheNobel

Priceforshowingthatwhilegovernanceofoceanresourcesisflawed,manyinshorefisherieshavebeenhandledverywellbylocalcommunitiesthatcontrolaccess,fishingrightsandwaysetc.Localandtraditionalinstitutionsandregulationoftencan do better than state or privatised systems.Bureaucraticmythologysaysthat‘localscanneverorganise/managethemselves’,butElinorOstromprovedthatthey’rewrong.WhileTACsandquotasrepresent

outputmanagement,inputmanagementmayconsistofDAS(dayatsea),closedareas,closedseasonsoracombinationofboth,aswellaslimitedaccess(numberofvesselsorfishermenortotal/individualhorsepower),gearlimitationsuchasnumberofnetssetandmeshsize,fishinggroundsandseasonsclosedtocertainsortsofgearetc.Seealso:FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper(582).Co-managementhasbeenpracticed

orattemptedatinmanyfisheries.Whileitmeansdifferentthingsindifferentsettings,italwaysinvolvespartnershipandpowersharingbetween

Such European boats represent the consequence of management by length limitations; they’re extremely wide, deep and heavy in relation to length, which makes them ‘Fuel guzzlers’. To go through water they have, as fishermen say, ‘to push half Of the sea in front of them, and pull

the other half behind’.

theauthoritiesincharge,commercialfishermenandifnecessary,othershareholders(eg,sportfishermen,marinefishfarmersetc).Someoftheexperiencegainedandlessonsdrawnaresummarisedandexplainedinthebook:‘TheFisheriesCo-managementExperience:Accomplishments,ChallengesandProspects’,editedby:DCWilson,PDegnbolandJ-RNielsenpublishedinHollandbyKluwer,Dordrecht.

China:Chinausesinputcontrolasamajorstrategy.Regulationsissuedin2002,prescribeoverallfishingcapacity(vessels,gearandfishingpermits).Since1994,ChinahasbeenalsoimposingahotseasonmoratoriumintheYellowSeaandtheEastChinaSeathataffects120000fishingvesselsandonemillionfishermen.Duringthisperiod,trawlingandstake-netfishingarebanned,andsetnetsareclosedforatleasttwomonthsinallmarineareas.From2004,onlygillnetswithmeshsizeover90mm,areallowedinBohaiBayfrommid-JunetoSeptember.

Japanesemanagementsystemwithitslargecommunity-basedcooperativeorganisationsseemstooperatequite

satisfactorily.AccordingtoDrMitsutakuMakinooftheJapan'sFisheriesResearchAgency:‘Due to the complexity of the system and its intensive nature, fisheries coordination and resource conservation cannot be implemented effectively in a top-down, command-and control manner’.Japan'smanagementsystem,however

transformedwithtimeduringitshundredsyearslonghistory,remainedquitedifferentfromwesternvariants.Nowadays,some190000fishermen,whichformalmost90%ofthetotal,operateininshoreandcoastalwaters.Doubtless,Japan'sfisherymanagementsystem,isworkingwithoutthewesternITQs,catchsharesetc,which,DrMakinowrites,‘are costly, crude and hardly adjustable to species' life cycle, and to fluctuations and assessment errors’.InJapan,managementofcoastal

fisheryresourceshastheformofinputandtechnicalcontrols,withtheresourceusersincharge.Intheoffshore,industrialfisheries,thenationalgovernmentplaysaprincipalroleintheplansandrulesmaking,andfisheriesorganisationsparticipateintheirimplementation.Presently,TACdirectedatonly8stocksofmostlypelagicspecies,isbasedontheresultsofseabornefishingsurveys,andsetinaparticipatoryprocesswithfishermen'sorganisations,andprefecturalandnationalauthorities.Inthesea-cucumberdredgefishery,TACissetbythefishermenthemselves.

Conclusion

Beforetryingtofitanyoftheaboveexamplesandgeneraladvicetoyourfishery,doconsiderthemcriticallyall,foryoumayfindthatitmayneedsomethingentirelydifferent.

Menakhem Ben-Yami is a well acknowledged fishery ecologist,

a free-lance fisheries adviser and writer on fisheries. In 1996, the Kaliningrad State Technical University awarded him ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ for substantial

contribution to development of fisheries science and for training

of specialists.

Reader enquiry number 26