OBJECTIVES OF FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT
(ENVIRONMENTAL, ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC INTEGRITY &
EQUITABILITY)
G. KANTHARAJAN
ICAR-CIFE 1

FISHERIES
LIVELIHOOD
ECONOMIC
SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
NUTRITIONAL
SECURITY
MANAGEMENT…? 2

REALITY…..!
3

Management Measures…..?
4

MESH SIZE REGULATION ? ….ANY RELATION ?
5

http://www.worldwildlife.org/photos 6

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
BIOLOGICAL
• To maintain the target species at or above the
levels necessary to ensure their continued
productivity.
ECOLOGICAL
• To minimise the impacts of fishing on the
physical environment and on non-target (by-
catch), associated and dependent species.
ECONOMICAL
SOCIAL
• To maximise the net incomes of the
participating fishers.
• To maximise employment opportunities for
those dependent on the fishery for their
livelihoods.
7

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ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY
• “The structure, composition, and function of an
ecosystem operating within the bounds of natural
or historic range of variation” (EIA).
• The summation of chemical, physical, and
biological integrity.
• This concept extends beyond fish and represents a
holistic approach for ecosystem management.
9

ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY
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ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY
• The sustenance of important biophysical processes which
support plant and animal life and which must be allowed to
continue without significant change.
• Climate change, pollution, Ocean current etc…
• Human activities Trawling, Overfishing…
11

12

ECONOMIC INTEGRITY
• Refers to consumer and investor (Fisher folk)
confidence in that fisheries is a safe and secure field
to conduct business, livelihood, invest and save
money.
-Fishery resources are limited.
-Recruitment overfishing.
-Growth overfishing.
13

“ Fishing down the food chain”
• No big fish because of overfishing
• Many medium fish because nothing eats them
• No small fish, all eaten by the many medium fish
• Many plankton and algae because there are no small fish to eat
them
IMPACTS
-more dead zones
-red tides
-jellyfish who die and sink to the bottom of the ocean and mix
with the dissolved oxygen while they rot
-oxygen-depleted waters
-Nothing can live there except bacteria (the simplest
organism) 14

Fisheries Management
• “The integrated process of information gathering,
analysis, planning, decision-making, allocation of
resources and formulation and enforcement of
fishery regulations by which the fisheries
management authority controls the present and
future behaviors of the interested parties in the
fishery, in order to ensure the continued productivity
of the living resources" (FAO, 1995b).
• Strongly based on the ecosystem theory but focuses
primarily on fishing activity and target fish
resources.
15

Outside the direct control of fisheries
managers
¥ The degradation of coastal waters as a result of agricultural or
industrial runoff;
¥ Introduction of exotic species through ballast water and the
hulls of container ships;
¥ Destruction of fish habitats through foreshore development,
offshore mining, oil and gas exploration and extraction and
other human activities;
¥ The contamination of fishery products by agriculture and
industry;
¥ Coastal erosion and the degrading of coastal habitat;
¥ The use of freshwater for power stations, irrigation and human
settlements which changes river flow;
¥ Climate change which affects the distribution and productivity
of stocks;
16

Ecosystem Management
“The application of ecological, economic, and social
information, options, and constraints to achieve desired social
benefits within a defined geographic area and over a
specified period" Lackey (1999).
17

Ecosystem Approach
“A strategy for the integrated management of land,
water, and living resources that promotes conservation and
sustainable use in an equitable way"
18

Ecosystem Approach to Management
An ecosystem is a geographically specified
system of organisms (including humans), the environment
and the processes that control its dynamics. Characteristics of
EAM are:
1. Adaptive
2. Incremental
3. Takes account of ecosystem knowledge and uncertainties
4. Considers multiple external influences
5. Strives to balance diverse social objectives and
geographically specified (NOAA working definition in
Murawksi, 2005).
19

EAF
“An extension of conventional fisheries
management recognizing more explicitly the interdependence
between human well-being and ecosystem health and the
need to maintain ecosystems productivity for present and
future generations, (e.g) conserving critical habitats,
reducing pollution and degradation, minimizing waste,
protecting endangered species“, Ward et al (2002) .
20

21

• The Convention on Biological Diversity considers that a
general application of an Ecosystem Approach will help
achieve a balance of three objectives,
1. Conservation – Ecological Integrity.
2. Sustainable use – Environmental & Economic
Integrity.
3. The fair and equitable sharing of benefits.
The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) is a practical way
to implement sustainable development principles.
(EAF.net)
22

CONVENTIONAL FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT
• Stakeholders are those directly
involved in fishing activities.
• Management is commonly by
Govt. fisheries authority.
(Top-down)
• Operates through regulations and
penalties for non compliance.
EAF
• Stakeholders are found through
out the fishery system and
society.
• Participation and co-
management with a broad
spectrum of stake holders.
(Down-top)
• Compliance to regulations
encouraged through incentives.23

CONVENTIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
• Single species or target
resource management.
• Focus on the fishery.
• Indicators related to fish
catches and fish stock.
• Scientific knowledge is the only
valid knowledge for decision
making.
EAF
• Includes also broader
ecosystem management and
biodiversity.
• Focus enlarged to he broader
fishery system including
interaction with other sectors.
• Indicators related to all parts of
the aquatic ecosystem, goods
and services.
• Traditional, local and scientific
knowledge is used for decision
making.
24

History
• 1995 FAO CCRF, stress the need for the adoption of
ecosystem approaches to fisheries (EAF).
• 2001, 57 countries issued the Reykjavik Declaration on
Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem
-work on incorporating ecosystem considerations into
fisheries management.
• The 2002 Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development called for, amongst other things,
• The application of the Reykjavik Declaration by 2010 as one
of the steps essential for ensuring the sustainable
development of the oceans.
25

Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries
Strives to balance diverse societal
objectives, by taking account of ecosystem knowledge
and uncertainties of biotic and abiotic and human
components of ecosystem and their interactions and
applying an integrated approach to fisheries within
ecologically meaningful boundaries (FAO, 2002).
26

Institutional
HumanEcological
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries as defined by FAO (2003)
27

http://www.boblme.org/eafm/28

Objective of EAF
The management and sustainable use of the aquatic
resources in their marine environment for
Efficient and effective delivery of food
Economic wealth
Recreation
29

Ecosystem approach to managing fisheries
Impact of fishing on ecosystems
30

Impact of ecosystems on fisheries
• water
31

Principles of the EA
• Principle 1; The objective of management of land,
water and living resources are a matter of societal
choices.
• Principle 2; Management should be decentralized to
the lowest appropriate level.
• Principle 3; Ecosystem managers should consider the
effects(actual or potential) of their activities on
adjacent and other ecosystem.
• Principle 4; Recognizing potential gains from
management, there is usually a need to understand and
manage the ecosystem in an economic context.
1.Reduce that market distortions that adversely affect
biological diversity.
2.Align incentives to promote biodiversity conservation
and sustainable use. 32

Principle 5; Conservation of ecosystem structure and
functioning.
Principle 6; Ecosystems must be managed within the
limits of their functioning.
Principle 7; The ecosystem approach should be
undertaken at the appropriate spatial and temporal
scales.
Principle 8; Objectives for ecosystem management
should be set for the long term.
Principle 9; Management must recognize that change
is inevitable.
33

Principle 10; The ecosystem approach should seek the
appropriate balance between conservation and use of
biological diversity.
Principle 11; Consider all forms of relevant info,
including scientific and indigenous and local
knowledge.
Principle 12; Ecosystem approach should involve all
relevant sectors.
34

Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs)
• Launched after the 1992 Earth Summit.
• ‘’Regions of ocean space encompassing coastal
areas from river basins and estuaries to the
seaward boundary of continental shelves and the
seaward margins of coastal current systems’’.
• Large regions (200 000 km2 or more) characterized
by distinct bathymetry, hydrography, productivity
and trophically dependent populations.
• World-64 (India-2).
35

The LME approach uses five modules:
•productivity module considers the oceanic
variability and its effect on the production of
phyto and zooplankton
•fish and fishery module concerned with
the sustainability of individual species and the
maintenance of biodiversity
•pollution and ecosystem health
module examines health indices,
eutrophication, bio toxins, pathology and
emerging diseases
•socio-economic module integrates
assessments of human forcing and the long-
term sustainability and associated socio-
economic benefits of various management
measures, and
•governance module involves adaptive
management and stakeholder participation.36

BOBP - LME
Area
• Total maritime area : 6.2 million km2
• Total area of EEZs : 4.3 million km2
• Combined length of coastline : 14,000 km
Environment
• 8% of the world’s mangroves
• 12% of the world’s coral reefs
• Some of the largest estuaries in the world
Fisheries
• Employment in fisheries : 4.5 million
• Number of fishers : 2.2 million
37

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The BOBLME project is working on
• Coastal resource management
• Marine protected areas
• Ecosystem health
• Fisheries statistics
• Hilsa shad
• Indian mackerel
• Sharks
• Critical habitats and iconic species
• Large-scale processes
• Climate change
• Marine pollution
39

Ecosystem Based Management
Management of the uses and values of
ecosystems in conjunction with stakeholders to
ensure ecological integrity is maintained, and
recognizing that ecosystems are dynamic and
inherently uncertain (ward et al., 2002)
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management
A new direction for fishery management,
essentially reversing the order of management
priorities to start with the ecosystem rather than the
target species (Pikitch et al., 2004).
40

Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management
• “An approach that takes major ecosystem
components and services - both structural and
functional - into account in managing fisheries...
• It values habitat, embraces a multispecies
perspective, and is committed to understanding
ecosystem processes...
• Its goal is to rebuild and sustain populations,
species, biological communities and marine
ecosystems at high levels of productivity and
biological diversity.
41

42SOURCE : www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov

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HOW WE CAN MANAGE ?
SOURCE : www.greenpeace.org
SS…?
EAFM…?
EBFM…?

Relevant international
agreements and frameworks
• 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance
• 1973 Convention on International Trade of
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna
(CITES)
• 1979 Bonn Convention on the Conservation of
Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS)
• 1991 Global Environment Facility (GEF)
44

Contd…
• 1992 Declaration of the UN Conference on Environment
and Development
• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)
• 1992 UN Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD)
• 1995 UN Agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks
45

Contd…
• 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Jakarta Mandate on Marine and Coastal Biological Diversity
• UNEP Regional Seas Conventions
• 2001 Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the
Marine Ecosystem
• 2002 Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development.
46

EQUITY
• The relative distribution of value and resources among
individuals and groups in society according to notions of
fairness and justice and interpersonal comparisons of
utility.
• Equity implies that similar options are available to all
parties.
47

Inter-generational equity
• Future generations be given the same opportunity
as the present ones to decide on how to use
resources.
• Consideration of long-term consequences in
decision-making, and rehabilitation of degraded
physical and biological environments.
48

Intra-generational equity
• Equity among sections of the present generation.
• Recognized as a major source of both conflict and non-
compliance.
• Eg..Conflicts between Country craft fishermen and
Mechanized Trawlers,
€ Gear wars conflicts,
€ Differences in fishing ground,
€ commercial versus recreational fishers.
49

Inter - sectorial equity
• Very hard to define and make operational, but implies, for
instance, that the fishery sector be treated fairly when its
interests conflict with those of other sectors.
(Eg) The fishery vs competing aquatic uses:
 Shipping (particularly involving oil spills),
 Ocean mining (as in Canada, Indonesia, Norway and
elsewhere),
 Tourism (as in many Caribbean islands).
50

• Cross boundary equity may be condition for
success full shared stocks agreements.
(Eg) IOTC for Tuna, Bill fishes.
• Inter-cultural equity is relevant when allocating
resources to different cultures or defining rights
(e.g. between indigenous and other populations).
51

RIGHTS-BASED MANAGEMENT
APPROACHES
• An appropriate system of allocating access rights in a
fishery should ensure that fishing capacity and effort
correspond to the productivity of the resource.
• Rights granted to individuals, groups or communities to fish
in certain, clearly defined locations.
• It should ensure longer-term security for the rights holders.
• Enable them to view the resource as an asset to be used
responsibly.
52

Territorial use rights (TURFs)
TURFs are frequently used in combination with
decentralization of control, giving the rights holder in a
particular TURF control over some or all management
functions, for example surveillance and compliance.
53

Limited-entry systems
• It allow only a certain number of individuals or
vessels to take part in a fishery.
• Entry being granted by way of a license or other
form of permit.
• Entry may also be regulated through a system of
effort rights (input rights) or by setting catch
controls (output rights)
54

Individual Transferable Quota
• " Individual fishing quotas (IFQs) " are one kind of
catch share.
• The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable
catch (TAC), typically by weight and for a given time
period.
• ITQs were first implemented in Iceland in 1979 for
Herring.
55

Constructing an ITQ system
1) Recommendations by fish biologists, fisheries authority
annually determines and declares a TAC for each commercial
species fishery;
2) Depending on historical landings and size of boat, each
fisherman/fishing firm is initially allocated a percentage of TAC
for each species , where an ITQ is usually attached to a
specified fishing vessel (also called IVQ).
• Allocation of TAC- share is conducted only once when ITQ is
introduced.
• Newcomer must through quota market to obtain his quota.
• A fisherman/fishing firm can keep his TAC-share forever
unless he actively transfers it to others.
56

Advantages & disadvantages
• The ecological, social, economic and political environment
varies from fishery to fishery.
• TURFs may be particularly suitable for the management of
sedentary resources.
• Total allowable catch (TAC) management systems, is
particularly common in fisheries where the catch is based
upon fewer species.
57

Contd…
• Effort rights Catch rights
- there are no reliable estimates of biomass
- where species diversity is high
• Catch rights may best facilitate the management of highly
migratory and trans boundary stocks.
• Effort management may be more effective - fishery uses
primarily the same gear type.
• Catch rights - fishery using many different gear types, may
be preferable.
58

References
• Gabriella Bianchi, Hein R. Skjoldal (eds): The Ecosystem
Approach to Fisheries. Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. 40 - 53.
• http://www.oag-
bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/att__e_36059.html
• http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/13261/en
• http://www.worldfishcenter.org/resource_centre/WF_177
3.pdf
• http://www.boblme.org/eafm/
• http://www.cbd.int/abs/
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UNESCO Tagline
ONE PLANET…ONE OCEAN
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