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Best Practices for Fishing Sustainability: Fishing Gear Assessment in the Newfoundland Inshore Northern Cod Fishery

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Best Practices for Fishing Sustainability: Fishing Gear Assessment in the Newfoundland Inshore Northern Cod Fishery Master‘s thesis Best Practices for Fishing Sustainability: Fishing Gear Assessment in the Newfoundland Inshore Northern Cod Fishery Yann Rouxel Advisor: Dr. William Alan Montevecchi University of Akureyri Faculty of Business and Science University Centre of the Westfjords Master of Resource Management: Coastal and Marine Management Ísafjörður, February 2017 Supervisory Committee Advisor: Dr. William Alan Montevecchi Reader: Dr. Guðbjörg Ásta Ólafsdóttir Program Director: Dr. Catherine Chambers Yann Rouxel Best Practices for Fishing Sustainability: Fishing Gear Assessment in the Newfoundland Inshore Northern Cod Fishery 45 ECTS thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master of Resource Management degree in Coastal and Marine Management at the University Centre of the Westfjords, Suðurgata 12, 400 Ísafjörður, Iceland Degree accredited by the University of Akureyri, Faculty of Business and Science, Borgir, 600 Akureyri, Iceland Copyright © 2017 Yann Rouxel All rights reserved Printing: Háskólaprent, Reykjavík, March 2017. ii Declaration I hereby confirm that I am the sole author of this thesis and it is a product of my own academic research. ________________________________________ Yann Rouxel iii Abstract From the biggest fishery collapse in the history to a recent and limited reopening, the northern cod fishery of Newfoundland is now facing significant issues regarding its ecological and economic sustainability. Major pivotal factors influencing resource sustainability involve the predominant use of gillnets as the main fishing method and the perception of Atlantic cod as a low value commodity product. By considering gillnetting and two other fishing methods used in this fishery, handlines and Newfoundland cod pots, we identified strengths and weaknesses of each harvesting method as a basis for best practices management decisions. This assessment involves multi-criteria evaluations based on “ideal gear properties” identified by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) that was adapted to incorporate additional criteria based on data specific to this fishery and harvesting methods. An index scoring system involving 20 ecological, economic and social criteria was developed and used to assess the three gears. Catch related data were collected onboard commercial fishing vessels during 7 days of fishing and 15 structured interviews with fishermen were conducted in the economic and social criteria assessment. Literature reviews were also conducted to supplement these data. Handlining obtained the best results on each of the three main categories, with significant advantages with regard to collateral impacts on the marine ecosystem as well as economic and social incentives for an adaptive and accessible cod fishery. Newfoundland cod pots were evaluated with the second overall best results, offering benefits for cod population composition and interesting work conditions. Although this device presented economic disadvantages, Newfoundland cod pots ensure best quality of catches and therefore are an interesting option for a quality-based fishery. Though being the fishing gear the most widely in use by cod fishermen, bottom-set gillnets are the least sustainable fishing method. Its catch related advantageous, such as catch efficiency and size selectivity, seem nevertheless not adapted to the new quality-based fishery aimed at by many fishery stakeholders. There is therefore major rationale to promote the use of handlines and pots as these two fishing methods are easily complementary. Key words: Sustainability Index, Gillnets, Handlines, Cod pots, Best practices, Atlantic cod, Newfoundland. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... x List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... xi List of Acronyms................................................................................................................ xii Unit Conversions ............................................................................................................... xii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... xiii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1. The Newfoundland Inshore Northern Cod Fishery............................... 5 1.1. Species Biology ..................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Relative Stock Recovery ....................................................................................... 7 1.3. Current Inshore Fishery Landings ......................................................................... 8 1.4. Fishing Gears User in the Fishery ......................................................................... 9 1.4.1. Bottom Fixed Gillnet ................................................................................. 10 1.4.2. Newfoundland Cod Pot ............................................................................. 10 1.4.3. Hand-line ................................................................................................... 11 1.5. Fishery and Conservation Concerns .................................................................... 12 1.5.1. Lack of Fishery Attractiveness .................................................................. 12 1.5.2. Re-Thinking Seafood Production and Consumption: Quality and Ethics . 13 1.5.3. Collateral Effects of Fishing Gears ........................................................... 15 1.5.4. Seabird Bycatch Mitigation Project ........................................................... 16 1.5.5. Shifting Gears ............................................................................................ 17 2. Sustainability Index Methodology ........................................................ 19 2.1. Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................... 19 2.1.1. Objective and Hypothesis .......................................................................... 19 2.1.2. Holistic Sustainability Index ..................................................................... 20 2.2. Index Assessment Scoring System ...................................................................... 23 2.3. Data Collection and Study Area .......................................................................... 25 2.3.1. Fishing Gear Catches ................................................................................. 25 2.3.2. Fishermen Survey ...................................................................................... 26 2.4. Statistical Analysis .............................................................................................. 27 3. Sustainability Criteria Methodology .................................................... 29 3.1. Ecological Criteria Methodology ........................................................................ 29 3.1.1. Collateral Impacts Criteria......................................................................... 29 Habitat Impact ........................................................................................... 29 Ghost Fishing ............................................................................................ 29 Bycatch ...................................................................................................... 30 3.1.2. Catch Controls Criteria .............................................................................. 31 Undersized Catch ...................................................................................... 31 Post-Release Mortality .............................................................................. 31 vii Population Influence ................................................................................. 32 3.2. Economic Criteria Methodology ......................................................................... 33 3.2.1. Catch Criteria ............................................................................................. 33 Catch Efficiency ........................................................................................ 33 Flexibility and Reliability ......................................................................... 34 Size and Weight Selectivity ...................................................................... 34 Catch Quality ............................................................................................ 35 3.2.2. Cost Criteria ............................................................................................... 36 Initial Cost ................................................................................................. 36 Durability .................................................................................................. 36 Tool Requirements .................................................................................... 37 Bait ............................................................................................................ 37 Energy Cost ............................................................................................... 38
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