Cooperative Research in the National Marine Fisheries Service (2004) / Chapter Skim
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6. Incentives and Constraints to Cooperative Research
6. Incentives and Constraints to Cooperative Research
Pages 75-88
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From page 75... ...
Other institutions that either participate directly or have a say in funding, plans, and results of cooperative research include the Congress, the regional fishery management councils, Sea Grant, the states, private science institutions, recreational fishing organizations and individual anglers, and environmental groups and their members. Each of these sectors has its own decision-making processes, planning schedules, governance structures, financial arrangements, and motivating interests.
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From page 76... ...
It has resource management tasks from enforcement and seafood inspection to ecological assessments and protection of endangered species, from gear technology development and fishery management to resource surveys and stock assessment. These jobs are carried out in eight distinct offices, within headquarters, five regional offices, and five science centers.
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From page 77... ...
The committee heard from many participants that NMFS's regulatory and enforcement responsibilities infiltrate and undermine cooperative datagathering efforts in several ways. Where industry mistrust of NMFS runs deep, cooperative research may be perceived as a maneuver to promote a predetermined policy.
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From page 78... ...
Another fiscal constraint is that only 15 percent of the funds appropriated for cooperative research can be used within the agency by NMFS scientists. Cooperative projects require substantial staff time commitment and infrastructure to support them.
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From page 79... ...
providing opportunities for training and tradeoffs relative to traditional research, rather than making cooperative research projects an additional burden. In contrast, the disincentives to NMFS scientists to participating in collaboration with industry partners include: · cooperative research may be used as a vehicle by which to prove NMFS wrong; .
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From page 80... ...
Fourth, scientific training does not adequately prepare students to do cooperative research. As mentioned above, students are socialized to compete rather than cooperate.
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From page 81... ...
INDUSTRY Current depressed conditions in a number of fisheries around the United States and the accompanying management measures that limit catches, seasons, and effort have provided a strong motivating factor for fishermen to participate in cooperative research, whether as a supplemental income source to fishing or as work that has a direct bearing on quotas, allocations, and seasons. Throughout discussions it appeared that industry members who were very much engaged in cooperative research felt they had a stake in the fishery and believed that by participating in research they were contributing to research that may help conserve fishery resources and allow them to fish with reduced impacts on nontarget and protected species.
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From page 82... ...
The committee heard from both fishermen and agency officials that cooperative projects were more likely to be undertaken and to succeed where agency personnel had not just an open door policy but a policy of truly listening to fishermen. Finally, fishermen evaluate and interpret evidence very differently from scientists.
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From page 83... ...
The committee heard information on numerous grants options, each one with its own rules, deadlines, requirements for review, and so on. It would help the process of finding collaborating partners if there were a clearinghouse, fact sheet, or common place where prospective partners could examine various options for receiving grants, contracts, experimental fishing permits, total allowable catch research set-asides, and similar awards.
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From page 84... ...
The committee heard that cooperative research is sometimes looked upon as nothing more than disaster aid, putting fishermen in the position of being seen as a drain on public resources. Even if a project is significant, working on cooperative research can sometimes mean making less than if the same vessel and crew were at work fishing.
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From page 85... ...
An exception to this limited participation occurred in Hawaii, where the National Audubon Society helped conduct research and write a research report. The limited participation of environmental nongovernmental organizations in the actual execution of the research cannot be explained by their lack of scientific expertise.
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From page 86... ...
Lack of scientific staff with the appropriate background limits an organization's capability to conduct or participate in research. There are only a few large organizations with a diverse fisheries scientific staff, although some smaller organizations do have staff dedicated to research and are currently participating in cooperative research.
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From page 87... ...
Therefore, environmental groups can risk their credibility when they participate in cooperative research.
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From page 88... ...
2000. National Evaluation of Cooperative Data Gathering Efforts in Fisheries: A Report to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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