Sustainable Fishery Systems

378 Pages·2000·8.049 MB·English

by  Anthony T. Charles(auth.)

Sustainable Fishery Systems
Fish and Aquatic Resources Series
Series Editor: Professor Tony J. Pitcher
Directol; Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia,
Canada
The Blackwell Science Fish and Aquatic Resources Series is an initiative aimed at providing
key books in this fast-moving field, published to a high international standard.
The Series includes books that review major themes and issues in the science of fishes
and the interdisciplinary study oftheir exploitation in human fisheries. Volumes in the Series
combine a broad geographical scope with in-depth focus on concepts, research frontiers and
analytical frameworks. These books will be of interest to research workers in the biology,
zoology, ichthyology, ecology, physiology of fish and the economics, anthropology, sociol-
ogy and all aspects of fisheries. They will also appeasl to non-specialists such as those with a
commercial or industrial stake in fisheries.
It is the aim of the editorial team that books in the Blackwell Science Fish and Aquatic
Resources Series should adhere to the highest academic standards through being fully peer
reviewed and edited by specialists in the field. The Series books are produced by Blackwell
Science in a prestigious and distinctive format. The Series Editor, Professor Tony J. Pitcher
is an experienced international author, and founding editor of the leadingj ournal in the field
of fish and fisheries.
The Series Editor and Publisher at Blackwell Science, Nigel Balmforth, will be pleased
to discuss suggestions, advise on scope, and provide evaluations of proposals for books in-
tended for the Series. Please see contact details listed below.
Titles currently included in the Series
1. Efects of Fishing on Marine Ecosystems and Communities (S.H all) 1999
2. Salmonid Fishes (Edited by Y.A ltukhov et al.)2 000
3. Percid Fishes (J. Craig) 2000
4. Fisheries Oceanography (Edited by P. Harrison & T. Parsons) 2000
5. Sustainable Fisheiy Systems (A. Charles) 200 1
6. Krill (Edited by 1. Everson) 2000
7. Tropical Estuarine Fishes (S.J.M. Blaber) 2000
For hrther information concerning books in the series, please contact:
Nigel Balmforth, Professional Division, Blackwell Science, Osney Mead,
Oxford OX2 OEL, UK
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
Sustainable Fishery Systems
Anthony T. Charles
Saint Mary’s University
Halqax, Nova Scotia, Canada
b
Blackwell
science
0 2001 by Blackwell Science Ltd, a Blackwell Publishing company
Editorial offices:
Blackwell Science Ltd, 9600 Carsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
Tel: [phone]
Blackwell Publishing Professional, 21 21 State Avenue, Ames, Iowa 50014-8300, USA
Tel: +I 515 292 0140
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The right of the Author to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
First published 2001
Reprinted 2006
ISBN-I 0: 0-632-05775-0
ISBN-I 3: 978-0-632-05775-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Charles, Anthony Trevor, 1956-
Sustainable fishery systems I Anthony T. Charles.
p. cm. -- (Fish and aquatic resources series ; no. 5)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 0-632-05775-0
I. Sustainable fisheries 1. Title. 11. Fish and aquatic resources series ; 10.
SH329S87 C53 2000
333.95'61 6--dc2 1
00-052959
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
Set in 10/13 Times
by Sparks Computer Solutions Ltd, Oxford
http:llwww.sparks.co.uk
Printed and bound in Great Britain
by Marston Book Services, Oxford
The publisher's policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry
policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary
chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used
have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards.
For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website:
www.blackwellpublishing.com
This book is dedicated to Beth, Gavin and Ivy
Contents
Series Foreword xi
Preface and Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction i
Part I: The Fishery System: Structure and Dynamics 7
1 Fishery Systems 9
1.1 Depicting fishery systems 9
1.2 Characterising fishery systems 16
1.3 Summary 21
2 The Natural System 22
2.1 The fish 22
2.2 Spatial distribution of fished resources 31
2.3 The ecosystem 33
2.4 Aquaticlfishery ecosystems 34
2.5 A typology of fishery ecosystems 37
2.6 The physical-chemical environment 39
2.7 Summary 43
3 The Human System 44
45
3.1 The fishers
3.2 A typology of fishers 45
3.3 A typology of fishing methods 50
3.4 Beyond the fishers 52
3.5 The post-harvest sector and consumers 53
3.6 Marketing and distribution 54
3.7 Processing 56
3.8 Markets 58
3.9 Consumers 60
62
3.10 Fishing households and communities
66
3.1 1 The socioeconomic environment
68
3.12 Summary
viii Contents
4 The Management System: Policy and Planning 69
4.1 Fishery policy and planning 71
4.2 Fishery objectives 71
4.3 A portfolio of fishery objectives 72
4.4 Objectives, priorities and conflict 74
4.5 Fishery management institutions 77
4.6 Time scales of management 81
4.7 Spatial scales of management 82
4.8 Summary 83
5 Fishery Management 85
5.1 Appropriate effort and catch levels 85
5.2 Developing a portfolio of fishery management measures 88
5.3 Implementation at the operational level 89
5.4 Fishery enforcement 92
5.5 A survey of fishery management measures 95
5.6 Input (effort) controls 95
5.7 Output (catch) controls 97
5.8 Technical measures 101
5.9 Ecologically based management 103
5.10 Indirect economic instruments: taxes and subsidies 104
5.11 Summary 105
6 Fishery Development 106
6.1 Introduction 106
6.2 Objectives of fishery development 109
6.3 Fishery development as a priority 112
6.4 Targeting fishery development 112
6.5 Small-scale versus industrial versus foreign fisheries 114
6.6 A typology of fishery development measures 115
6.7 Participatory fishery development 118
6.8 Summary 119
7 Fishery Research 121
7.1 The need for fishery research 121
7.2 The nature of fishery research 122
7.3 The structure of fishery research 123
7.4 Participants in fishery research 131
7.5 Summary 136
8 Dynamics of the Fishery System 138
8.1 Time scales 139
8.2 Fishery system dynamics: component by component 141
8.3 Dynamics of the natural system 141
8.4 Dynamics of the human system 151
Contents ix
8.5 Dynamics of the management system 158
8.6 Information dynamics 159
8.7 Fishery system dynamics 160
8.8 Summary 166
9 Case Studies of Fishery Systems 168
9.1 Case study 1: Canada’s Atlantic groundfish fishery system 168
9.2 Case study 2: the fishery system in Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya 178
Part 11: Towards Sustainable Fishery Systems 183
10 Sustainability in Fishery Systems 185
10.1 The evolving nature of sustainability 185
10.2 A framework for sustainability assessment in fishery systems 187
10.3 Components of sustainability 188
10.4 Sustainability checklist 192
10.5 Sustainability indicators 192
10.6 Indices of sustainability 197
10.7 Validation of sustainability indicators 200
10.8 Methodological challenges for sustainability assessment 20 1
10.9 Summary 202
11 Uncertainty and the Precautionary Approach 203
1 1.1 Sources of uncertainty in fishery systems 203
1 1.2 A typology of uncertainty 204
1 1.3 Impacts of uncertainty: risk 210
1 1.4 The challenge of structural uncertainty 215
11 .5 The precautionary approach and the burden of proof 216
11.6 Summary 22 1
12 Complexity, Diversity and the Ecosystem Approach 222
12.1 The ecosystem approach 225
12.2 Marine protected areas 233
12.3 Integrated approaches in the fishery management system 237
12.4 Summary 249
13 Fishery Conflicts and the Co-management Approach 250
13.1 Conflict and sustainability implications 250
13.2 Fishery paradigms 25 1
13.3 The essence of conflict: efficiency and allocation 254
13.4 A typology of fishery conflicts 255
13.5 Fishery jurisdiction 256
13.6 Management mechanisms 257
13.7 Internal allocation 257
13.8 External allocation conflicts 259
x Contents
~~
13.9 Resolving conflicts 262
13.10 The co-management approach 263
13.11 Summary 276
14 Rights in Fishery Systems 277
14.1 Open access 278
14.2 Use rights 279
14.3 Management rights 280
14.4 Property rights 28 1
14.5 Property rights and fishery management 287
14.6 Operational aspects of fishery use rights 290
14.7 Forms of use rights 290
14.8 Customary marine tenure/territorial use rights 29 1
14.9 Limited entry: licensing as an input right 293
14.10 Effort rights (quantitative input rights) 294
14.11 Harvest quotas (quantitative output rights) 295
14.12 Issues in the implementation of use rights 298
14.13 Initial allocation of rights 299
14.14 Institutions and rights: market-based and community-based rights 299
14.15 Transferability of rights 302
14.16 Choosing a use rights system 304
14.17 Summary 307
15 Resilient Fishery Systems and Robust Management 309
15.1 Resilience 310
15.2 Robust management 3 10
15.3 Moving to robust management 3 13
15.4 A robust, adaptive management portfolio 313
15.5 Self-regulatory institutions 317
15.6 Fishery system planning 322
15.7 Livelihood diversification 326
15.8 Use all sources of knowledge: traditional ecological knowledge 328
15.9 Summary and conclusions 332
Appendix: Integrated Biosocioeconomic Analysis of Fishery Systems 33 7
References 349
Index 367
Series Foreword
Fish researchers (a.k.a. fish freaks) like to explain, to the bemused bystander, how fish have
evolved an astonishing array of adaptations, so much so that it can be difficult for them to
comprehend why anyone would study anything else. Yet, at the same time, fish are among
the last wild creatures on our planet that are hunted by humans for food. As a consequence,
few today would fail to recognise that the reconciliation of exploitation with the conserva-
tion of biodiversity provides a major challenge to our current knowledge and expertise. Even
evaluatingt he trade-offs that are needed is adifficult task. Moreover, solving this pivotal issue
calls for a multidisciplinary conflation of fish physiology, biology and ecology with social
sciences such as economics and anthropology in order to probe new frontiers of applied sci-
ence. The Blackwell Science series on Fish and Aquatic Resources is an initiative aimed at
providing key, peer-reviewed texts in this fast-moving field.
While bony fish stem from a great radiation that followed the invention ofthe swimbladder
in the Cretaceous period 100 million years ago, some fish groups, such as the sharks, lungfish
and sturgeons, are more ancient beasts. Survivors from earlier eras may be more widespread
than we think: the deep-sea coelacanths, formerly known only from the Indian Ocean, have
recently turned up in Indonesia. Also, these fishes may be more effectively adapted to spe-
cialised niches than their ancient body plans would suggest. For example, rays and angel
sharks have perfected the art of the ambush predator, while most cartilaginous fishes can
detect electric discharges in the nerves of their prey.
Bony fish themselves have evolved into an amazing array of habitats and niches. As well
as the open sea, there are fish in lakes, ponds, rivers and rock pools; in deserts, forests, moun-
tains, the great deeps of the sea, and the extreme cold of the Antarctic; in warm waters of high
alkalinity or of low oxygen; and in habitats like estuaries or mudflats, where their physiol-
ogy is challenged by continuous change. Air-breathing climbing perch (regularly found up
trees), walking catfish and mangrove mudskippers are currently repeating the land invasion
of their Carboniferous ancestors.W e can marvel at high-speed swimming adaptations in the
fins, tails, gills and muscles of marlins, sailfish and warm-blooded tunas; gliding and flapping
flight in several groups of fish; swinging, protrusiblej aws providing suction-assisted feeding
that have evolved in parallel in groupers, carps and cods; parental care in mouth-brooding
cichlids; the birth of live young in many sharks, tooth carps, rockfish and blennies; immense
migrations in salmon, shads and tunas; and even the so-called four-eyed fish, with eyes di-
vided into upper air and lower water-adapted sections.