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Marine Ecosystems MEAM www.MEAM.net Vol. 7, No. 3 and Management December 2013 - News and analysis on ocean planning and ecosystem-based management January 2014

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest ocean planning publications and news? Subscribe to weekly OpenChannels email updates If you would like an easy way to stay informed of To get either or both of the updates, just create an the latest publications on MPAs, EBM, and marine account at OpenChannels.org and indicate which spatial planning, sign up to receive OpenChannels’ update(s) you would like to receive. weekly literature updates by email. Each update OpenChannels was built by MEAM and MPA News to contains links to new journal articles, reports, and help ocean planners and managers share knowledge more, and is arranged by topic for easy review. You more easily — through news, blogs, live chats with ex- can even see which publications are available free perts, an extensive literature library, and much more. In of charge. the past year and a half, we’ve served more than 28,000 In addition, if you would like to stay up-to-date on ocean professionals. Come join us! Table of Contents the latest news, blogs, job listings, and other content John B. Davis Are catch shares posted to OpenChannels.org each week, you MEAM Editor / OpenChannels Supervisor compatible with ecosystem- can sign up for our Weekly Update newsletter, also based management? delivered to your email address. OpenChannels is funded by the Gordon and Betty Experts respond...... 1 Moore Foundation. Tundi’s Take: Can anything as narrow as catch shares propel us toward EBM?.....5 Letters to the editor: More responses on Are catch shares compatible with ecosystem-based management? whether marine Experts respond conservation and food production are on a Governments around the world are striving to imple- ties exist for EBM and catch shares to complement collision course...... 5 ment ecosystem-based management (EBM) for their one another. We posed the question: Perspective: Reducing marine environments. At the same time, there is a “Can catch shares promote EBM?” trend toward applying catch shares to manage fisher- non-climate stresses: ies. Catch shares are systems in which the privilege …to a diverse panel of experts including fishers, not always a good idea?...7 to harvest a specific area or portion of a ’s total managers, social scientists, ecologists, and The EBM Toolbox: From catch is assigned to particular individuals or groups. conservation professionals. What emerged was a wide paper to digital – The (More details are in the box on page 2.) According variety of responses, reported below. mobile app revolution in to one study, 20-25% of global landings by volume To MEAM, their responses suggest that one answer fisheries...... 8 and 15-20% by value are now managed under catch to the question is, “It depends.” The devil is in the shares (http://bit.ly/EDFcatchshares ). details. A well-designed and well-implemented catch Notes & news...... 8 With the growing popularity of catch shares as a share system may indeed be able to play an important management tool, questions on how well this tool role in in an EBM system. On

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A meanwhile, have primarily focused on allocation by some of the responses below, it may be just as d of single species — although there are increasing n important to consider how EBM (and its tenets a examples of multi-species fisheries, too, that have h of ecological and human sustainability) can be M c used catch-share programs. a r used to promote good catch share programs as r a in se In this issue of MEAM, we examine what opportuni- vice versa. e Re continued on next page Affairs Tim Essington — [email protected] been incentivized to clear complex benthic habitat Associate Professor, University of Washington (US) Team to reduce the likelihood of net fouling and provide Member, Measuring the Effects of Catch Shares Project greater soft sediment habitat for target species. Hence, (http://catchshareindicators.org ) unless right-holders perceive that protecting aspects of the greater environment will increase the productivity Catch shares can indirectly support some goals of of target stocks and hence catch-rates, or somehow EBM. In my view, two of the biggest benefits of catch add value or minimize loss of value to the allocated shares are reducing the “race to fish” and fostering right, then there is no obvious incentive through collaboration among fishing participants. This has led which the allocation of catch rights will lead to better to quite a bit of innovation on and discard overall environmental outcomes. reduction. For instance, the real-time monitoring of bycatch that is currently happening in the US and The challenge therefore becomes how to create these Canadian trawl fisheries is possible only because of economic incentives. Ideas that have been put forward the catch share system. The ability to conduct “test include economic penalties or effective taxes for fish- tows” to minimize unwanted bycatch is a direct ing over high value habitat [and potentially damaging consequence of ending the race to fish. Finally, the that habitat]. This would incentivize fishers not to ability and incentives to invest in research to avoid fish in particular spatial areas that have been deemed interactions with threatened/endangered species are worthy of more protection. Economic penalties for enhanced in catch shares. In fact, I see few successful bycatch are also common, although these can create examples on this score outside of catch share fisheries. the perverse incentive of dumping bycatch. That being said, I don’t see catch shares assisting with It is not difficult to argue that catch rights on their other goals of EBM, such as managing trade-offs and own do not directly incentivize good environmental dealing with cumulative effects of anthropogenic stewardship. However, there are possible ways to add stressors. incentives into the rights that drive the desired stewardship outcomes (http://bit.ly/BeyondITQs ).

Mark Gibbs — [email protected] Technical Director – and New Zealand, AECOM (a Scott Edwards — [email protected] global provider of environmental science and management, Senior Director, Special Projects, Environmental as well as engineering services); Adjunct Associate Defense Fund Professor, University of Queensland Catch shares support EBM by aligning fishermen’s In my view, it’s all about incentives. Therefore the incentives with the protection of marine ecosystems question becomes, do catch shares incentivize good through a system of rights, responsibilities, and environmental steward- rewards. By giving fishermen the privilege or right to ship? In theory, allocat- harvest a secure area or share of the catch, fishermen Common types of catch shares ing rights incentivizes are responsible for protecting and marine good resource steward- ecosystems and are rewarded by stable and healthy The term catch shares refers to fisheries manage- populations. ment systems that allocate a secure privilege to har- ship. However, in the vest a specific area or portion of a fishery’s total catch case of catch rights, the Area-based catch shares, or Territorial Use Rights for to individuals, groups, or communities. Catch shares incentives apply to stew- Fishing (TURFs), allocate secure, exclusive fishing come in many forms with many acronyms. Some of ardship of the targeted areas to fishermen. Because TURF participants benefit the most common types and terms are: stock, and not necessar- directly from a healthy ocean within their area, they ily the greater ecosystem. are motivated to conserve and protect it. Several Individual Quotas (IQs): programs that allocate the By contrast, fishers TURFs around the world were even developed and right to harvest a portion of a fishery’s total allowable and catch share owners implemented with specific environmental goals in catch (TAC) to an individual. Individual Transferable often see an incentive mind. The Os Miñarzos of Fishing Quotas (ITQs) are IQs that can be bought, sold, or to degrade the greater Interest, a TURF located off the coast of Galicia, transferred to other individuals. environment in order to Spain, was implemented to help recover fish stocks Community Quotas: programs that allocate the right maximize catches, and and protect biodiversity. Within the TURF lie two to harvest a portion of the fishery’s total allowable hence maximize value of no-take reserves designed to protect highly productive catch (TAC) to a community. the catch right. spawning and breeding grounds. Since implementa- tion, fishermen have reported increased and larger Territorial Use Rights for Fisheries (TURFs): Perhaps the best example of this is shellfish or de- catches. In Japan, fishermen have voluntarily estab- programs that allocate the right to harvest a secure lished more than 1000 marine protected areas along area to an individual, group, or community. mersal fisheries in which fishers in the past have the coast and many have specifically been designated to support fish stocks in their TURFs.

2 MEAM Well-designed catch share programs are increasing tions between and among catch limit compliance and driving reductions in ecosystem components Designing ecologically sound bycatch and discarded fish. In addition they are is that it allows for more protecting and restoring , while also effective evaluation of catch share programs meeting socio-economic goals like increasing rev- tradeoffs and better- By Kate Bonzon enues, stabilizing jobs, and reducing fishing expenses informed decisions when Director, Catch Share Design Center, for fishermen. These programs not only support EBM setting harvest levels. The Environmental Defense Fund. but are vital to preserving the health and sustainability EBM approach does not Email: [email protected] of our oceans and marine habitats. eliminate the need to set Web: catchshares.edf.org and strictly enforce science-based catch limits Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently Patricia Clay — [email protected] for individual stocks. In released a toolkit with an updated Catch Share Anthropologist, NOAA Fisheries fact, doing this is a prereq- Design Manual that gives fishery managers and uisite for effective EBM. fishers the resources they need to design fishery Patricia Pinto da Silva — patricia.pinto.da.silva@ management programs that support the health and noaa.gov So the question becomes sustainability of marine ecosystems. Social Scientist, NOAA Fisheries how best to effect these individual catch limits One of the most important steps in designing a Implementing EBM involves defining policy goals catch share program that meets ecological goals is and recognizing trade-offs. In fisheries, catch shares within an EBM context. Clearly, open-access di- to define and quantify the available resource. This is can be used as a distributional tool once trade-offs are the case whether the management goal is rebuilding determined. Given clear policy goals, thoughtfully rected fisheries often result in enormous inter-annual depleted fish stocks or reducing bycatch of non- designed programs where outcomes are monitored target species. For this step, the manual outlines key and evaluated, and management approaches that can variability in fishing effort and instability for questions that help users select species and stocks be modified to mitigate undesirable outcomes, catch to include in the program, identify the appropriate shares can support EBM. commercial harvesters, which makes this ap- spatial range of the program, and set appropriate Regrettably, goal setting in fisheries has often been proach incompatible with mortality controls. These actions prevent an afterthought, with monitoring of socio-economic effective EBM. Once a and help maintain marine ecosystem balance by outcomes rare. Choices about what ecosystem services fishery operates under a ensuring that catch is appropriately limited and all should be sustained, what tradeoffs must be made, well-informed, responsible sources of fishing mortality are included. and how services are best distributed across communi- catch cap and has transi- Since many fisheries managers and stakeholders do ties should inform EBM implementation. Otherwise, tioned to a limited access not have access to the resources needed to fully as- it is unlikely that EBM will succeed. These issues program to allow for sess fish stocks, particularly in developing countries, become more complex at broader marine planning better management, then the toolkit also includes a guide to science-based scales where multiple jurisdictions come into play allocation or catch shares management of data-limited fisheries. This supple- over a broader set of interests. are the most effective way ment to the Catch Share Design Manual outlines a In the Northeast USA, social scientists have developed to allow harvesters and systematic approach that fishery managers can use socio-economic fishery performance measures that fishing businesses the to conduct quick and relatively inexpensive science- track outcomes of firms and fishery-dependent stability and flexibility to based assessments — enabling fisheries around communities. In two catch share fisheries (the operate successfully within the world to take an important step toward effective, Northeast groundfish “sectors” and the Mid-Atlantic the system. ecologically sound management. ITQ tilefish fishery), these measures connect socio- Catch share management The guide, along with the entire toolkit, is available economic performance to ecosystem performance, does not, by itself, pro- at http://catchshares.edf.org/resources/toolkit allowing evaluations of the efficacy of management mote or encourage EBM. programs in achieving objectives. Ultimately, while It can serve as a key com- catch shares can be an integral part of EBM in some ponent of a comprehen- fisheries, successful implementation of EBM depends sive EBM approach, by facilitating the adherence to a on many other factors, including the distribution of catch limit — which can both help to end overfishing benefits and costs. and support rebuilding depleted resources. The criti- cal catch share design elements necessary to achieve this are: 1) comprehensive catch accountability; Tom Dempsey — [email protected] 2) annual quota-setting including real-time informa- Policy Director, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance tion and explicit consideration of ecosystem relation- (Northeastern US) ships; and 3) measures to provide fishing businesses and communities opportunities to build stability and The value and promise of transitioning to a manage- resilience by securing diverse fisheries access. ment approach that recognizes the complex interac-

December 2013 - January 2014 3 Mike Donoghue — [email protected] the socioeconomic wellbeing of fishing communities. Threatened and Migratory Species Adviser, Secretariat for High grading (bringing only the highest quality fish to the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and shore and throwing away the rest) is one of the damag- owner of recreational charter fishing vessel MV Te Wairoa ing ecosystem effects usually associated with IFQs. Also, IFQs are typically single-species oriented, making multi- Twenty-five years ago, I started out as a commercial species or ecosystem approaches difficult or unviable. fisher in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. I paid $35 for my license to fish for snapper (Pagrus auratus) by The initial allocation of IFQs is usually the most dif- demersal longline and joined a fleet of about 20 vessels ficult socioeconomic aspect in the implementation of working out of the town of Coromandel. There was a catch shares. It involves the privatization of an otherwise Total Allowable Catch for the fishery, and in theory, the public resource and its transfer to a few selected initial fishery would be closed when this limit was reached. recipients, frequently without proper consultation or In practice, however, this never happened, and snapper sharing of economic returns and benefits with society. stocks in the Gulf were grossly over-fished for years. Other problems to be avoided are the concentration of shares in few hands, the impoverishment and eventual Five years into my fishing career, the NZ Government displacement of traditional local fishing communities, introduced Individual Transferable Quotas for recognized and the transfer of the wealth generated by the fishery commercial fishers, defined as those who held a valid to the newly created catch shares owners sector, which license and landed more than five tons of fish per year. may be outside the fishery sector and even outside the This definition had the effect of disenfranchising the fishing country when shares are transferable. To retain majority of Maori fishers, most of whom caught more this wealth, some countries limit transferability of shares than five tons but distributed their catch around their to nationals or national fisheries entrepreneurs, boat local community before selling the surplus. owners, or fishermen. Fast-forward to 2013. Snapper stocks have (to an extent) recovered, but the local commercial fishing industry has all but collapsed. No more than half-a-dozen vessels work Ragnar Arnason — [email protected] out of Coromandel, and the local processing plant has Professor of Economics, University of Iceland closed. The fundamental reason for this is that any fisher who does not own quota now has to rent catch entitle- If (i) healthy and (ii) sustainable eco- and human systems ment from a quota owner at 30-40% of the value of the are understood to be those that exhibit a strong tendency fish caught. Quota ownership has steadily moved from to persist in a fairly unchanged form, I have found in my individual fishers to large companies, which use more en- research that catch shares in fisheries generally promote vironmentally damaging fishing methods such as Danish such healthy and sustainable eco- and human systems seining and bottom trawling. Owner-operators are now a compared to many (perhaps most) alternatives. rarity in the Hauraki Gulf. This experience demonstrates With secure, long-lasting catch shares, the holders of that ITQs do not necessarily promote EBM and can these shares have a vested interest as well as some power have harmful social and ecological consequences even if to manipulate the to maximize the To comment on the target stock shows signs of recovery. this article: http:// value of their catch shares. This generally implies restor- openchannels.org/ ing the stock sizes of species that have been negatively node/5306 affected by previous fishing activity (under most alterna- Jorge Csirke — [email protected] tive management systems), reducing stock fluctuations, Former Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and reducing the risk of serious shocks to the ecosystem, Division (now Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources Use and thus promoting ecosystem health and sustainability. Conservation Division), Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Catch shares also increase the flow of sustainable UN Food and Agricultural Organization economic benefits from the fishery (be it recreational Catch shares may not be the best management option or commercial) and thus promote (in a certain sense) for every fishery, but where appropriate and properly healthier and more sustainable human societies. Note implemented, they are expected to promote EBM. that catch shares may in many cases substantially alter The granting of limited access privileges and individual the human fishing societies that developed under the fishing quotas (IFQs) associated with catch shares can previous fisheries management system (as they will the eliminate the “race for fish”, reduce overinvestment and aquatic ecosystem). The previous human system (as well overcapacity, reduce or eliminate overfishing, improve as the ecosystem) was probably not healthy and sustain- profits, and improve fishermen’s safety. These achieve- able in the above sense anyway for a number of reasons ments are well in line with EBM objectives. including excessive fishing and the attraction of (and possibly environmental impact from) other human eco- However, catch shares can also have significant negative nomic activities not subject to the same environmental effects that can be detrimental for ecosystem health and constraints.

4 MEAM Tundi’s Take: Can anything as narrow as catch shares propel us toward EBM? I find myself hopelessly adrift in appraising whether Maybe where ITQs run amok is in their methods of catch shares and ITQs work or not. As in Shake- allocation. But the real question for MEAM is, even speare’s Julius Caesar, the last person to speak is the when catch shares succeed in making fisheries sustain- one I find most convincing. In theory the idea of able – do they help us achieve EBM? Here again, I’m catch shares is the kind of paradigm-shifting man- of two minds. agement measure that we need. But in practice we On the one hand, fisheries management remains one have seen how transferable rights have led to market of the highest priorities for marine EBM, and getting consolidation, empowering the already powerful, and it right can only contribute to a more effective man- sometimes pushing small-scale fishers into oblivion. agement regime. In our UNEP EBM Manual Admittedly there are success stories, all of which (www.unep.org/pdf/EBM_Manual_r15_Final.pdf ), we rest on the premise that any users will protect what point to fisheries management as one of five ap- they own (or have limited access to). Instead of the proaches that EBM must embrace (the other four amorphous free-for-all that exists in most fisheries — being watershed management, integrated coastal which not only puts pressure on the fish stocks but management, designation, and also tests the mettle of the management authorities marine spatial planning). But that’s the crux of the that are charged with ensuring that use is sustainable matter: fisheries is but one use of marine resources — tradable rights lay the groundwork for rational and space. Tackling fisheries extraction does not help control. There are at least three features of catch us with controlling pollution, stemming habitat loss, share fisheries that seem to predispose them to be limiting the impact of invasive species, maintaining inherently better forms of fisheries management than system resilience in the face of climate change, and other effort controls: other equally pressing management issues. To comment on this article: 1) They require a solid understanding of stocks and And – importantly – designing and implementing http://openchannels.org/ population dynamics, without which the limited catch shares rarely if ever involves the kind of broad node/5307 entry scheme cannot be designed; stakeholder engagement that true EBM requires. Instead, catch share methods focus the discussion and 2) They are based on a widely recognized value of negotiation to the narrowest group of special interests. the fisheries – made even more valuable by percep- So perhaps there is no yes or no answer. Let’s accept tion that is enhanced by the limited entry; and that catch shares can improve some situations, when 3) The fishing pressure is inherently bounded by appropriate to a particular fishery and society. But the limited entry scheme, instead of spiraling out let’s also remember that EBM will almost inevitably of control in a race to catch the last fish. require much more.

Letters to the Editor More responses on whether marine on a collision route because they were not talking conservation and food production are on a enough to each other and acting in harmony. He was collision course not referring to the governance rhetoric (which is generally correct and similar in both streams) but to The letters below are responses to a piece by Jake the global reality and resulting outcomes. I share his Rice, Chief Scientist with Fisheries and Oceans conclusion that, without a radical institutional change Canada, which appeared in the August-September for closer interaction, both systems may fail to meet 2013 issue of MEAM. Titled “ their respective goals. and sustainable food production are on a collision course”, Rice’s piece already elicited responses from Most of the responses to Jake’s letter recognized his To comment on several readers, which appeared in our October- point of view. Many stressed what is being done or these letters: November 2013 issue (meam.net/MEAM33.html ). advocated in each governance stream to address both http://openchannels.org/ sets of issues, and the similarities in the prescrip- node/5308 Dear MEAM: tions are strikingly similar. Among the issues that are In his recent Letter to the Editor, Jake Rice did not highlighted, equity, social impacts, good governance, say that conservation and food security are incompat- and social and economic costs of economic reforms ible. He stressed that the two governance streams are are important as they affect political will, legitimacy,

December 2013 - January 2014 5 willingness to pay, and compliance in both streams. history of , the roll-out of successive MEAM Technological fixes have also been proposed in the wonder solutions is clearly evident: single species responses — the real social, economic, and environ- methods, MSY and TACs, TURFs, EDITOR mental impacts of which need careful examination. ITQs and MPAs are some examples in more or less John B. Davis Marine spatial planning is offered as a reconciliation chronological order of modern emergence. Each has CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Tundi Agardy platform and needs more consideration. an important role to play in the right environment and context, but, as is clearly evident today, none ASSOCIATE EDITOR There is probably good agreement on the need to on its own made the big break-through or has come Sarah Carr finding compromise solutions, minimizing risks and close to solving the basic problems on its own. OPENCHANNELS MANAGER costs to both streams, tackling the difficult issue of Nick Wehner allocation of short- and long-term costs and benefits, Together with Rolf Willmann and William Emerson, EDITORIAL BOARD: and developing ecological and social resilience. The I wrote a paper on the topic entitled “Sustainable Chair - David Fluharty University of Washington resistance stems from the respective perceptions of fisheries: the importance of the bigger picture”. [Edi- Sarah Carr risks and their relative allocation to humans or Nature; tor’s note: this paper is at www.fisheriessociety.org/ EBM Tools Network the level of tolerance for misses and false alarms; and proofs/sf/cochrane.pdf .] In it, we expressed the view Kevern Cochrane Rhodes University the level of impact deemed “acceptable”. that “ensuring effective, sustainable, and responsible fisheries is neither simple nor are there any quick fixes Jon Day My response to the question in the title is YES: marine Great Barrier Reef Marine to the problems being experienced.” In my view, the conservation and sustainable food production are on Park Authority common tendency for scientists, conservationists, Mark Erdmann a collision course. While progress is being made in development agencies, and others to promote magic Conservation International some areas, in others the collision is already hitting Ben Halpern bullets as the solution has done at least as much to the poorest people. Moreover, in a context of increas- Center for Marine distract governments, decision-makers, funding agen- Assessment and Planning ing economic, financial, and social distress, States are cies, and other potential change-agents from finding Karen McLeod already shelving some of their former environmental Oregon State University the true, holistic solutions to the world’s sustain- commitments with important social and environmen- Jake Rice able use problems as they have helped to solve the Department of Fisheries tal implications. To avoid further social and environ- problems. Individual management measures are es- and Oceans, Canada mental degradations, affordable solutions need to be Kristin Sherwood sential for day-to-day management. Even in the most elaborated urgently and jointly, not separately and in The Nature Conservancy stressed fisheries they may provide some protection Kevin Stokes competition. Fisheries Consultant against total collapse. But in the absence of broad,

CORRESPONDENCE: Serge M. Garcia robust solutions to underlying conflicts and desperate MEAM Serge Garcia is Chair of the Fisheries Expert Group of the needs, they will remain little more than superficial School of Marine and bandages for deep-seated problems. Envirnmental Affairs IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management University of Washington The second category of responses was the big-picture 3707 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. Seattle, WA 98105, US perspectives of Meryl Williams, Chris Béné, and [email protected] Dear MEAM: Jake’s initial letter. These pointed to the importance Tel: +1 425 788 8185 Thank you to Jake Rice for raising this fundamental of the underlying drivers of the problems, the need Marine Ecosystems and conflict and for prompting some good discussion. The to consider the human system as a whole, and the Management is published responses generated by his letter are interesting and recognition that there will only rarely be options for bimonthly by Marine Affairs Research and Education informative. win-win solutions. I side firmly with the big picture (MARE), a 501(c)(3) not-for- advocates. profit corporation. Financial Based on the published replies (which I recognize may support is provided in part by be abridged in some cases), I would categorize those If one considers my own country, South Africa, as an a grant from the David and responses into two broad groups. The first and larger example, it has a well-developed and fully subscribed Lucile Packard Foundation. group is made up of those who have replied with fisheries sector that makes important contributions All content has been written by off-the-shelf solutions: participation, fish aggregation to livelihoods and employment for approximately the MEAM editorial staff unless otherwise attributed. The views devices, aquaculture, and marine protected areas. In 25,000 people and their dependents living on the expressed herein are those of my view, each of these tools has a potential role to play coast — frequently in areas where there are only the author(s). in fisheries governance and management, but none limited alternative employment opportunities. These Subscriptions to provides even close to the total solution and, with the fisheries are taking place in a country with approxi- MEAM are free. exception of participation, none will be an appropriate mately 25% unemployment, with over a third of To subscribe, send an e-mail to tool in every case. I am not suggesting it was the inten- the population living on less than US $2.50 per day, [email protected]. Type “subscribe” on the subject tion of the respondents, but pushed too hard and too and ongoing efforts to achieve equality in fisheries line and include your name, blindly, this single-measure approach easily becomes after the injustices of apartheid. Within this context, mailing address and daytime a case of a solution looking for a problem. Advocacy the offshore fisheries, which are inaccessible without phone in the text of the mes- sage. Please note whether you of specific “solutions” as a cure has been an all-too- high capital investments, are generally well-managed would like your subscription common feature of the scientific and management for sustainable use and the resources are in reason- to be delivered by email or in advice that has characterized so much of the fisheries able condition or recovering. However, the inshore paper form. debate for at least the last century. If one looks at the fisheries are much more accessible and many of the

6 MEAM resources — particularly the valuable and easily It goes without saying that I cannot offer a solution accessed abalone and West Coast rock lobster — to reconciling the tripod of poverty alleviation, sus- are badly over-exploited and are subjected to high tainable fisheries and biodiversity conservation, but levels of illegal fishing that is proving very difficult I can put forward a first step. That is that anyone to control. The drivers of the illegal fishing include or any agency aiming to improve the performance “greed” to use Meryl’s terminology, particularly in of fisheries anywhere in the world should: the case of abalone, but I think there would be little 1) approach the task with a completely open mind; disagreement that “need” is the much stronger and 2) work closely with and be guided by all the major less tractable driver. stakeholders; 3) think of no solutions until they have understood the full set of objectives and analyzed the Various management measures have been and are be- problems and the big picture of which they are a part; ing tried to bring these fisheries under better control and 4) recognize that holistic, multi-faceted, and but they have proven insufficient. The only long-term multi-stakeholder solutions will almost invariably be solution must be to resolve the high levels of poverty required for long-term, sustainable solutions. and unemployment in the adjacent coastal areas. Aquaculture is certainly one potential contributor to Kevern Cochrane this, but the harsh coastline and scarcity of inland Kevern Cochrane is Professor of Ichthyology and Fisher- waters in most of the area will limit this option. ies Science at Rhodes University, South Africa. E-mail: Comparable situations exist in most, if not all, [email protected] developing countries and in some fisheries-dependent developed countries around the world. There will be no simple fixes for most of these.

Perspective: Reducing non-climate stresses — not always a good idea? By Jennie Hoffman gistic, but had no effect or even increased harm when Editor’s note: interactions were antagonistic. Jennie Hoffman is founder [For titles and web links to the journal articles referenced in and principal of Adaptation this piece, go to www.meam.net/Hoffman.html .] Do antagonistic effects really occur in the real world? Research and Consulting, Research in the northeastern US (and published in In the climate change adaptation world, as elsewhere, and an expert in climate a pair of papers by Coverdale et al. and Bertness and change vulnerability as- some big ideas that are assumed to rest on the best of Coverdale) suggests they do. scientific practice actually draw a significant portion sessment and adaptation of of their support from “Well, it just makes sense.” In many Cape Cod salt marshes, loss of predators on an natural resource manage- In these cases, a few well-documented examples are herbivorous crab (Sesarma reticulatum) has led to sig- ment and conservation to taken to indicate larger truths. But what if these nificant cordgrass die-off, which in turn has led to more climate change. Hoffman assumptions are not always true? rapid erosion and greater vulnerability to sea level rise. has co-authored three In heavily damaged marshes that have been invaded by books: Climate Savvy: One adaptation truism is, “Reduce non-climate stres- non-native green crabs (Carcinus maenas), cordgrass is Adapting Conservation and sors.” Who could argue against this? Images of massive recovering, apparently because Carcinus reduces Sesarma Resource Management to a oil spills and thick blooms of non-native jellies chomp- consumption of cordgrass. So if the goal is to reduce Changing World; Scanning ing larval fish in the Mediterranean leap to mind. Still, the vulnerability of salt marshes and increase protection the Conservation Horizon: as we advocate evidence-based conservation, we ought from erosion for local communities, getting rid of the A Guide to Climate Change to take a thoughtful look at the actual evidence. invading crabs could be the wrong thing to do. Vulnerability Assessment; and Designing Climate- A recent set of papers brought home to me the im- Is this an isolated, bizarre case of a local stressor decreas- portance of considering not just synergistic interac- Smart Conservation: ing vulnerability to climate change? Unlikely. There are Guidance and Case Stud- tions — where the combined effects of two stressors other examples of non-climate stressors likely reduc- are greater than the sum of their independent effects ies. Her email is jennie@ ing vulnerability to climate change (e.g., Norkko et al. adaptationinsight.com — but also antagonistic effects, where the combined 2012 on the effects of invasive polychaetes on hypoxia effects are less than the sum of independent effects. in the North Sea). Recent meta-analyses of interactive Brown et al. (2013) modeled additive, synergistic, and cumulative effects of anthropogenic stressors found To comment on and antagonistic interactions between climate change that antagonistic interactions accounted for roughly a this article: and local stressors in seagrass and fish communities. third of interactions at the population and community http://openchannels.org/ Reducing local stressors did indeed lead to big wins level (Crain et al. 2008; Darling and Cote 2008). This node/5309 when interactions with climate change were syner- suggests that we should not assume that reducing non-

December 2013 - January 2014 7 climate stressors will always mitigate climate change be that some unconventional thinking is now needed effects. around the idea that all reduction of non-climate stressors is a good thing. This means heading into Rules of thumb can be quite useful when available uncomfortable territory for adaptationists — but isn’t evidence is limited. But when new evidence is avail- that what makes this such an interesting line of work? able, we need to re-examine our assumptions. It may

Editor’s note: The goal of The EBM Toolbox is to promote awareness of tools for Notes & news facilitating EBM. New guide to MSP for maritime professionals The Nautical Institute and World Ocean Council The EBM Toolbox By Ruby Gates have jointly released a guide, “The Shipping Industry and Marine Spatial Planning: A Professional Ap- From Paper to Digital – The Mobile App Revolution in Fisheries proach”, to help maritime professions understand and engage in MSP. The guide identifies the steps in a It’s 3 a.m. and Ernest Quetel, Jr., and his brother Derek, third generation fisher- typical MSP process and highlights how the shipping men from the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, are sorting their catch. With only a community can participate. It also helps others in- few hours left before morning customers arrive, they still have to fill out their catch volved in MSP processes to understand the industry’s report — a lengthy paper form required by the Division of Fish and Wildlife for fish- requirements for ocean management. The document eries management. Once a week, Ernest and Derek carve out time to drive over to is available at www.nautinst.org/en/forums/msp the east end of the island to deliver their stack of finished reports. The good news for the Quetel brothers is that, thanks to new software tools, MSP film Ocean Frontiers II launches the hassle and inefficiency of the paper reports is disappearing. With emerging A new film documents the creation of a marine spatial technologies such as Digital Deck, eCatch, mFisheries, DeckHand, and iAngler, plan for the US state of Rhode Island. Produced by data can now flow seamlessly from the Quetels’ boat after their harvest to fisheries Green Fire Productions, Ocean Frontiers II features management databases. Aggregated data are delivered to the agencies to inform interviews with government officials, stakeholders, decision making, and secure proprietary data are provided back to the brothers academics, and others who were involved in the plan- through their mobile devices. ning process. It is the sequel to a film (Ocean Fron- These mobile apps not only provide a platform for digitizing time-consuming tiers) that showed how US stakeholders are joining catch reports; they can upload valuable information on species patterns, ocean together to ensure sustainable ocean economies. To demographics, and fishermen’s behavior. They ensure that all stakeholders from view a trailer of Ocean Frontiers II or to find or host a sea to shore have access to information, leading to data being used in new ways. screening of it, go to www.ocean-frontiers.org In the Solomon Islands, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is using Digital Deck to collect fishery-landing data from vendors in the market so they can Proposal to initiate pan-Arctic MSP begin to evaluate how they will meet their future food security needs. And in Morro Most Arctic governments have been slow to Bay, California, the automated reporting system eCatch has been used to create pursue comprehensive MSP. A new book, Arctic an innovative, shared risk pool system to reduce catch of sensitive species Marine Governance, proposes that networks and (http://conservationmagazine.org/2013/09/ecatch ). partnerships of non-governmental actors in the region could initiate MSP across the Arctic. The Back in the US Virgin Islands, use of Digital Deck by fishermen like the Quetel book’s MSP content is contained in a chapter titled brothers has led to increased incorporation of fishermen’s perspectives and in-the- “Pan-Arctic Marine Spatial Planning: An Idea field insights into natural resource decision making. Greater use of such technolo- Whose Time Has Come”, authored by Charles gies will provide a layer of feedback not previously leveraged in the resource Ehler. The chapter and the full book are available management process and help level the playing field between fishermen and for purchase separately or together at http://link. resource managers. springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-38595-7_9 • Digital Deck: http://pointnineseven.com/news/downloads/CaseStudy_USVI_FINAL.pdf Canadian government purges fisheries libraries • eCatch: www.ecatch.org Fisheries and Oceans Canada has closed seven of its • mFisheries: http://cirp.org.tt/mfisheries eleven fisheries libraries in a move aimed at saving the • Deckhand: http://deckhandapp.com government Cdn $430,000 (US $395,000) annually. • iAngler: http://angleraction.org The closures involved giving away or throwing out the libraries’ publications, which had provided [Ruby Gates is CEO of Point 97, which provides tech solutions and engagement decades of baseline records of the nation’s marine and strategies for the marine planning sector — www.pointnineseven.com .] freshwater resources, from long before the digitization To comment: http://openchannels.org/node/5310 of information. For more on this move, go to http://bit.ly/DFOlibraries

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