Sustaining Marine Fisheries (1999) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
6 Conclusions and Recommendations
6 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 117-126
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From page 117... ...
Earlier chapters in this report describe many difficulties that have contributed to the current overexploited state of the world's marine fisheries. They include risk-prone management, political disagreements and lack of commitment to resource conservation, inappropriate socioeconomic rewards resulting from 117
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From page 118... ...
It will help produce the will to manage conservatively, which is required to rebuild depleted populations, reduce bycatch and discards, and reduce known and as-yet-unknown ecosystem effects. Although this approach will cause some economic and social pain at first, it need not result in reduced yields in the long term because rebuilding depleted fish populations should offset a reduction in fishing intensity and increase the future sustainable yields.
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From page 119... ...
Many species are overfished, even without considering the ecosystem effects of fishing for them. Therefore, the committee recommends that management agencies and decision makers adopt regulations and policies that strongly favor conservative management and penalize overfishing.
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From page 120... ...
The spatial and temporal components of specific ecological relationships relevant to large-scale changes in ecosystem functioning need to be better understood in most regions that support major fisheries. Models should allow the development and application of new indicators of ecosystem functioning and the dynamics of fish populations to permit assessment of management performance.
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From page 121... ...
Reducing Excess Fishing Capacity Excess fishing capacity and overcapitalization reduce the economic efficiency of the fisheries and usually are associated with overfishing. Substantial global reductions in fleet capacity are the highest priority for dealing with uncertainty and unexpected events in fisheries and to help to reduce overfishing.
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From page 122... ...
Simple buy-back programs have often been ineffective and even counterproductive in the past when large amounts of money have been spent to buy out the least efficient vessels. If there are no incentives to reduce fishing power further, the remaining individuals may invest additional capital and increase overall fleet capacity.
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From page 123... ...
Increasing the area of marine environments receiving such protection should be considered in the context of enforcement requirements, other management approaches, and the loss of revenues and ecosystem services likely to result from a continuation of current practice. Marine protected areas are not alternatives to other methods of fishery management -- they will not work that way -- but instead are one major tool among many important ones for protecting ecosystems and achieving sustainable fisheries.
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From page 124... ...
One example of this approach might be to consider regulating catch size and composition in some circumstances rather than gear, and let the fishers develop the appropriate gear. Monitoring would still be required to check the effectiveness of the gear and its effects on other ecosystem components.
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From page 125... ...
The committee concludes that appropriate socioeconomic incentives will be based on clearer definitions and assignments of exclusive (transferable) rights and responsibilities to government, virtual communities, individual entrepreneurs, geographical communities, and other entities.
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From page 126... ...
Basic social and economic information is needed on all aspects of fishing and the people who engage in it. Much information is needed on the effects and effectiveness of various forms of rights-based management approaches and other management regimes, the way people behave in response to different economic and social incentives, and on barriers to cooperation and sharing of information.
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