Throughout the world´s major commercial fisheries the standard paradigm includes fitting a stock assessment model to the data and then applying some form of reference point or a range of reference points, usually a target exploitation rate, to calculate a point estimate of the annual allowable catch. Over the last decade the methods available to be used in these models have changed dramatically from those using only catch, catch-at-age and survey or CPUE data to methods that now use every source of data available in a totally integrated framework. The use of meta-analysis has provided formal statistical methods for incorporating information learned from other stocks. Modern methods make it possible to express uncertainty in all model outputs, but management agencies are only now learning to deal with explicit recognition of uncertainty and have lagged far behind the scientific capability to express uncertainty. While modern stock assessment models have grown increasingly complex and their development is limited to a priesthood of experts, I believe the future trend will be to base management decisions on simple rules that are more often data-based rather than model-based, while the complex models will serve primarily to evaluate the robustness of these decision rules.

The theory underlying the design of marine reserves, whether the goal is to preserve biodiversity or to manage fisheries, is still in its infancy. For both of these goals, there is a need for general principles on which to base marine reserve design, and because of the paucity of empirical experience, these principles must be based on models. However, most of the theoretical studies to date have been specific to a single situation, with few attempts to deduce general principles. Here we attempt to distill existing results into general principles useful to designers of marine reserves. To answer the question of how fishery management using reserves compares to conventional management, we provide two principles: (1) the effect of reserves on yield per recruit is similar to increasing the age of first capture, and (2) the effect of reserves on yield is similar to reducing effort. Another two principles answer the question of how to design reserve configurations so that species with movement in various stages will be sustainable: (3) higher juvenile and adult movement lowers sustainability of reserves for biodiversity, but an intermediate level of adult movement is required for reserves for fishery management, and (4) longer larval dispersal distance requires larger reserves for sustainability. These principles provide general guidelines for design, and attention to them will allow more rapid progress in future modeling studies. Whether populations or communities will persist under any specific reserve design is uncertain, and we suggest ways of dealing with that uncertainty.

We summarized existing knowledge on behavioural and physiological responses of Okanagan sockeye salmon (O. nerka) adults to annual and seasonal variations in aquatic thermal regimes during migration. This enabled us to identify an underlying set of ’decision rules’ as a biophysical model of how temperature mediates en-route delays as a specific element of annual migrations by sockeye salmon. Several sets of results indicate that adult sockeye migrations stop as seasonal water temperatures increase and exceed 21 °C and then restart when temperatures decrease and fall below 21 °C. Model predictions of annual variations in the duration of migratory delay exhibited close agreement with independent estimates of observed delays available from a subset of years (predicted delay = 1.23 observed delay + 2.08, r2 = 0.92, p < 0.001, n = 10). We applied the model in a retrospective analysis of the likely impacts of climate variation and change events on adult sockeye migrations in freshwater over the 70 plus year interval between 1924 and 1998. Results indicate that migration delays for a significant portion of the sockeye population averaged 29 days per year (range 0–55). Average annual migration delays roughly equal the 33 day estimate of time required, given continuous migration, to traverse the 986 km distance from the Columbia River mouth to terminal spawning grounds near Osoyoos Lake, BC. Alternating intervals of above-average and below-average migration delays corresponded closely with ’warm-phase’ and then ’cold-phase’ periods of the Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation. Circumstantial evidence suggests alternating periods of sub-average and above-average productivity for salmon on the southern end of their range are linked to climate variation and change events in both freshwater and marine environments. Climate impact and adaptation responses that register first at the level of salmon, propagate rapidly through both salmon resource users and fisheries managers. Consequently, future climate warming episodes will complicate the manageability and threaten the sustainability of many salmon populations in the southern end of their range (Georgia Basin and the Pacific Northwest). This requires strategies that minimize the impact of uncertain climate variability and change scenarios on the resilience of the salmon resource, and maximize our adaptive capacity for both short- and long-term fisheries planning and management decisions.

Excess capacity poses a problem in many developing country fisheries. These countries often pursue a development strategy aimed at expanding capacity under open access. Sustainable development, however, requires management. Principal‐agent issues from asymmetric information between the regulator and fishers, which potentially form serious obstacles to fisheries management, arise in the likely forms of management. This article discusses principal‐agent issues and examines the principal‐agent moral hazard issue, which is due to divorce of ownership and vessel operations. The article also illustrates a method for estimating capacity when information is limited. The Peninsular Malaysian purse seine fishery forms a case study.

We synthesize results from existing models of marine reserves to identify key theoretical issues that appear to be well understood, as well as issues in need of further exploration. Models of marine reserves are relatively new in the scientific literature; 32 of the 34 theoretical papers we reviewed were published after 1990. These models have focused primarily on questions concerning fishery management at the expense of other objectives such as conservation, scientific understanding, recreation, education, and tourism. Roughly one‐third of the models analyze effects on cohorts while the remaining models have some form of complete population dynamics. Few models explicitly include larval dispersal. In a fisheries context, the primary conclusion drawn by many of the complete population models is that reserves increase yield when populations would otherwise be overfished. A second conclusion, resulting primarily from single‐cohort models, is that reserves will provide fewer benefits for species with greater adult rates of movement. Although some models are beginning to yield information on the spatial configurations of reserves required for populations with specific dispersal distances to persist, it remains an aspect of reserve design in need of further analysis. Other outstanding issues include the effects of (1) particular forms of density dependence, (2) multispecies interactions, (3) fisher behavior, and (4) effects of concentrated fishing on habitat. Model results indicate that marine reserves could play a beneficial role in the protection of marine systems against overfishing. Additional modeling and analysis will greatly improve prospects for a better understanding of the potential of marine reserves for conserving biodiversity.

Keywords: Ecosystem-based fisheries management; marine reserves; marine protected areas; social capital; institutional analysis; Turks and Caicos Islands; Nassau grouper Many tropical fisheries around the world are in crisis because of the depletion of valuable reef species and the destruction of habitat upon which they depend. The complexity of reef fisheries and lack of management resources in southern nations limit the potential effectiveness of policies that focus on single species. As a result, ecosystem-based fisheries management is increasingly viewed as the only real alternative for managing these tropical reef fisheries. There is a widely held view that the devolution of management power from central government managers to local communities is central to the ecosystem-based fisheries management process and that marine reserves are the primary tool by which to implement ecosystem-based fisheries management. Marine reserves can protect or enhance multiple ecosystem services simultaneously and arguments are often made that they are more cost-effective than other management options because they are easy to monitor and enforce. The first theoretically-oriented part of this research emphasizes the role that social capital - the norms, networks and governance infrastructure that facilitates mutually advantageous collective action - plays in ecosystem-based fisheries management. In the second part of the research, I illustrate the utility of taking an institutional analysis approach to ecosystem-based fisheries management policy by examining the case of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) conservation and fisheries management in the Turks and Caicos Islands. While the focus of this case study is a single, small island nation, I believe that the results - that there are substantial incentives for private sector and government actors to oppose implementation of marine reserves - have broader relevance in the debate over the use of marine reserves for tropical fisheries management and conservation. Marine reserves are widely viewed as cost-effective, all-purpose tools for fisheries enhancement and conservation, yet my results suggest that there are policy alternatives - in this case, a commercial trade ban on Nassau grouper in tourist-oriented restaurants - that are much more likely to be effectively implemented and that should be substantially more cost-effective than marine reserves. Market-oriented policy tools should not be under-emphasized in ecosystem-based fisheries management. In instances where local social capital is lacking, they may actually have a higher likelihood of achieving conservation objectives and be more cost-effective than poorly supported marine reserves or `paper parks`.

This book analyses fisheries in the Philippines, arguing that there is an urgent need for better management and protection of the fisheries, which contribute substantially to the economy, food security and livelihood of many Filipinos.The book looks at the causes of overfishing in relation to the biology and ecology of the stocks, and how fisheries operate in their ocean environment. The authors show that there is a problem of overexploitation which is not being sufficiently dealt with.It examines the socio-economic situation of the country in the context of ineffective fisheries management. It illustrates that a lack of proper management not only erodes resources but also contributes to poverty and an inequity of benefit distribution. The increasing portion of total national catch by commercial fishing vessels shows this shift away from benefits accruing to municipal and small scale farmers.Policy recommendations and tools required to protect and manage the fisheries are provided. The authors reason that fisheries management must be supported more widely and directly by national and local policies.Recommendations include:<B>National level:</B> refocus the food security programme of government away from fisheries for export toward management and conservation of marine resources for domestic food security<B>Regional level:</B> redirect resources away from input assisted projects to Coastal Resource Management, monitoring, control and surveillance, and the National Stock Assessment Project sections to assist provincial and local governments in fisheries management and coastal law enforcement<B>Provincial level:</B> encourage Provincial Fishery Offices to assist in fisheries management on a province wide level, in full coordination with provincial governments, and to assist coastal Local Government Units in implementing their five year multi-programme Coastal Resource Management plans<B>Municipal level:</B>set in place essential management components<B>Local level:</B>converge the efforts of NGOs, peoples organisations and national government agencies with the Local Government Unit framework for coastal and fisheries management.[Adapted from author]

This overview on the profile of marine fisheries in Kenya was prepared with in mind not only to address the objectives of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP) but also possible future development scenarios. Thus this document which is also dubbed as SWIOFP Country Working Resource Document – Profile of Kenya Marine Fisheries, focuses on the country’s status of capture fisheries and status of survey of fisheries resources besides fisheries development. The SWIOFP project tackles fisheries issues from a large marine ecosystem based approach and from this perspective the review also includes aspects of marine ecosystem and oceanographic research. As regards the fisheries resource management aspect, this component has been addressed focusing on review of the country’s institutional arrangement for management and development of the fisheries resources and socio-economic implications. The research components in terms of institutional management and what aspects Kenya would be interested in the SWIOFP project have been dealt on as well. | Published

The fisheries sector of Vietnam plays an important role in the social and economic development of the country. The sector contributes about 3% of the GDP and fish contributes about 40% of animal protein consumption in the country. In 1999, total fisheries production amounted to 1.8 million t. Of this, 1.2 million t was derived from marine capture fisheries and 0.6 million t from aquaculture. Fish exports were valued at US$971.12 million in the same year. Vietnam&rsquo;s marine fisheries and coastal aquaculture have further potential for development. However, overfishing in coastal areas, degradation of the marine environment and conflicts between small-scale and large scale fishers must be resolved to realize the sector&rsquo;s potential. This report presents the status of coastal fisheries resources, reviews government fisheries policies and suggested management measures. Based on the recommendations from a multisectoral consultative workshop conducted among the key experts on fisheries and resource management in Vietnam, the following fisheries management objectives were suggested for sustainable development of coastal fisheries in Vietnam: (1) optimization of productivity and efficiency of the fisheries exploitation regime; (2) ensuring that the benefits of production are distributed equitably; (3) ensuring that the productivity generated results in minimum damage to the resource base and the supporting natural environment; and (4) upgrading and strengthening the related institutions. Indicative action programs for improved management are also presented.