Conflict in Fishery Resource Utilization: the Case of Light Luring Anchovy Fishery in Thailand
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IIFET 2000 Proceedings Conflict in Fishery Resource Utilization: The Case of Light Luring Anchovy Fishery in Thailand Ruangrai Tokrisna Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand Abstract. In late 1999 Artisanal Fisherman Association in Thailand requested the government to take actions in curbing destructive anchovy fishing gears. They believed that anchovy fishing was the main cause of fishery resource depletion in their fishing grounds. Main anchovy fishing gears were light luring falling net, purse seine, and scoop net. All of them are Juvenile bycatch varied from 1.72 – 30.37% of total catches depending on gear type, vessel size, fishing ground, fishing month, and fishing year. Economic losses of juvenile bycatch were $1 – 331/boat/trip. In Songkhla, the crisis problem area, economic losses from light luring falling net were as high as 0.42 – 7.64 times of the return from anchovy. The losses from light luring anchovy purse seine were 23 – 35% of the return from anchovy. The losses from light luring scoop net varied around 2 – 7%. Anchovy catch values in Thailand was $26 million in 1997. Value added from processing was $65 million, mainly from fish sauce. In spite of low value added, 59% of the catches were processed as boiled-dried/dried anchovy mainly for export. 44% of the anchovy value in the importing country were the trade margins, including tax, in importing country. Fishing cost was 20%. This cost estimation did not include the economic loss from juvenile bycatch. Processing and marketing costs in Thailand amounted to 19%. Profit margins for domestic fishermen, processors and traders added up to 17%. Thailand might have been exporting anchovy at an underpaid resource value. The relatively better return from anchovy had led to rapid increase in anchovy fishing effort. If fishing effort exceeded carrying capacity especially in habitats of juvenile economic species, it could lead to decrease in fishing income due to resource depletion not only for artisanal fishermen but anchovy fishermen as well. Recommendations were to determine optimum fishing effort in specific fishing grounds and control the effort. Where there had been overfishing, auction on fishing license and fee on anchovy fishing on the basis of economic loss could be introduced. Coastal community should take part in controlling anchovy fishing effort. Relocation of artisanal fishermen through training and support on initial investment in non- fishing sector was recommended. Keywords: anchovy fishery, economic loss, market returns, and effort control. 1. THE PROBLEM suffered from the degraded fishery resources. They were artisanal fishermen who did not have alternative job Anchovy fishery in Thailand had been increasing rapidly. In opportunity but relied on coastal fishing. These artisanal 1985 there were 1,400 anchovy fishing vessels and fishermen, through Artisanal Fisherman Association in the increased to 2,522 vessels in 1995. In 1999 according to South requested the government to take action in curbing Department of Fisheries there were 1,808 light luring the “destructive” light luring anchovy fishing. They claimed anchovy fishing vessels. This number did not include light that the increasing in number of anchovy fishing vessels in luring squid cast nets, which could easily be converted to their fishing grounds led to less fishery resource abundance anchovy fishing. Most of these fishing vessels were light in such areas thus lowered their incomes. luring. It was noticed that a number of 16 meter and lower trawlers and squid cast netters were also converted to In response to the request, the government set up a anchovy fishing. Such conversion might have not been committee to undertake studies on this problem during July reported. The increase in anchovy fishing effort, using - October 1999. This report was a part of the studies. The unusual small mesh size and light luring could have a objectives of this report were to estimate the economic negative impact on fishery resource abundance especially in losses from the juvenile bycatch, review the cost and returns the coastal fishing grounds. from anchovy fishing, review their impacts on socio- economic conditions of the artisanal fishermen, and give Anchovy fishing areas expanded from the east of the Gulf of recommendations on measures to solve the conflict in Thailand to the lower upper Gulf, the southern west, and fishery resource utilization. recently to the Andaman Sea. The migration of the fleet led to a new source of income for those artisanal fishermen in the South who took part in anchovy processing and trading. 2. ECONOMIC LOSSES FROM JUVENILE Most of the catches in the South were boiled-dried, mainly BYCATCH for export to neighboring country. Nevertheless there were Department of Fisheries collected data on catch composition artisanal fishermen who did not involve in anchovy fishery, of different anchovy fishing gears in different fishing could not share the benefits from this development but grounds and different times/years. Available from these data IIFET 2000 Proceedings were species, weight and length of juvenile bycatch. Length- juvenile bycatch including king mackerel and squid, which b weight relationship (Wo = aLO ) was employed to estimate if left to grow to marketable size would yield high prices. weight of juvenile bycatch. The coefficients “a” and “b” were available from the previous studies of marine Beside the critical area in Songkhla, Department of biologists from Department of Fisheries. Dividing the total Fisheries also collected the catch composition of anchovy weight of each species bycatch by individual fish weight, the fishing in the East, the Upper South, and the South. The number of bycatch (No) could be calculated. The number of data were available for different years depending on the survivals to the marketable size was calculated by Nm = development of anchovy fishery in those areas. Economic -Z't Noe . Z was the fish mortality, natural and being fished as losses of juvenile bycatch were given in Table 2. The loss estimated by the fishery scientists. 't was calculated from was highest in case of light luring falling net in the critical -k't Von Bertalanffy relation, Lt = LD(1– e ). From the length Songkhla area due to the high catch of king mackerel, the at marketable size (Lm,), the weight at marketable size (Wm) high price economic species. Light luring falling net in the was calculated using the length-weight relationship. The other areas (the South in Satul, Phangnga and Phuket in value of economic juvenile bycatch was estimated from the 1998/99 and Pattani in 1996, the Upper South in Chumporn product of the estimated total weight of bycatch if allowed to and Prachaub in 1998 and 1997) incurred much lower grow to the marketable size (Nm.Wm) and the fish price. losses since their juvenile bycatch did not consist of high value juvenile species. Economic losses of juvenile bycatch The data on 1997/1998 catch composition were available were also calculated for different fishing gears by season for anchovy fishing in Songkhla , which was the critical and by distance from shore. Juvenile bycatch in most cases problem area. Fishing gear in this area was mainly small were sardinellas, mackerels, and trevallies. If there were light luring falling net. Fishing vessels were those migrated bycatch of king mackerel and squid, economic losses would from the East and local vessels, which were mainly, usually be high. converted small trawlers. In Table 1, economic losses were given for non-local fishing vessel and local fishing vessel (in By season the percentage of losses were varied by the catch two districts – Thepa and Jana). Non-local fishing vessels composition in each location. By distance from shore the used a larger vessels thus had a higher catches. Catches of losses were usually higher for those fishing closer to shore, local vessels varied in the two districts but both were much except in case of light luring purse seines, which had the lower than the catches of non-local vessels. Nevertheless highest loss for those fishing more than 20 miles from shore. the percentages of juvenile economic species bycatch were These were larger anchovy fishing vessels at an economic higher for the non-local vessels (17.81% compared to 8.34 loss of $106 - $208/trip. and 16.58% for the local vessels). The economic loss of juvenile economic species was highest in case of Thepa Juvenile bycatch of anchovy fishing varied from 1.72 % local boat ($215/trip or 3.4 times of the return from (falling net in Prajuab in October 1997, 5 – 10 miles from anchovy), followed by non-local boat ($148/trip or 1.2 shore) to as high as 30.37% (falling net in Songkhla in May times of return from anchovy while the loss was least for 1997/98) by weight. Catch composition varied. In term of Jana local boat ($54/trip or 1.8 times of return from economic loss, the loss could be as low as $1/trip in cases of anchovy). falling net in Chumporn and Prajuab in 1997, falling net in Prajuab in October 1997 within 5 – 20 miles from shore, When compared by season the loss was highest in and scoop net in Cholburi in 1993. The highest economic September ($245/trip or 4.7 times of anchovy return). It loss was $331/trip in case of falling net in Songkhla within was also high during June – August ($113-140/trip or 0.7 – 5 miles from shore. Compare to the return from anchovy, 1.6 times of anchovy return). When compared by distance the lowest loss ratio was 2% in case of falling net in Prajuab from shore, fishing boat within 5 miles from shore incurred in August 1997 within 5 – 20 miles from shore.