scholarly journals A Bio-Economic Analysis of the Liberian Coastal Fisheries

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9848
Author(s):  
Alvin Slewion Jueseah ◽  
Dadi Mar Kristofersson ◽  
Tumi Tómasson ◽  
Ogmundur Knutsson
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Species Complexes ◽  
Limited Enforcement ◽  
Dugout Canoes ◽  
The Government

Many coastal fisheries are subject to harvesting externalities due to inadequate regulations compounded by limited enforcement. Coastal fisheries in Liberia consist of a fleet of dugout canoes (Kru) primarily targeting demersal finfish, larger open wooden boats propelled with outboard engines targeting small inshore pelagics (Fanti), and a small number of industrial trawlers employing midwater and bottom trawls targeting finfish and shrimp. This paper develops a bio-economic model for the coastal fisheries in Liberia and employs the model to identify economic optimal fishing effort and harvesting trajectories for the different coastal fleets. The results show under harvesting and disinvestments in the coastal fisheries in Liberia. In 2010 the Government of Liberia declared a six nautical mile inshore exclusion zone accessible only to small-scale fisheries (SSF), which was accompanied by increased enforcement. The coastal fleets in 2016 were profitable but the distribution of profits was tilted to the small-scale fleets. The government needs to evaluate what policy options are available to fully utilize the fisheries potential for different species complexes while at the same time reduce the risk of conflict and overharvesting. There appears to be a need for investment in new technologies, which can only take place if fishing in Liberia will remain profitable.

scholarly journals Technical Efficiency Analysis of Coastal Small-Scale Fisheries in Liberia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7767
Author(s):  
Alvin Slewion Jueseah ◽  
Tumi Tómasson ◽  
Ogmundur Knutsson ◽  
Dadi Mar Kristofersson
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Technical Improvement ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Reinforced Plastic ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
The Government ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity

The coastal fisheries in Liberia comprise small-scale Kru and Fanti low technology canoes and open boats, as well as industrial trawlers. At the end of the war in 2003, foreign industrial trawlers dominated the coastal fisheries in Liberia. After the war, the industrial fleet declined rapidly from 60 in 2004 to 15 in 2010. Over the same period the local Kru canoes grew from <400 to over 2400 and the motorized Fanti boats increased from <200 to about 800. Since 2010, when the government established a six nautical mile inshore exclusion zone, the industrial fleet has continued to decline, the Fantis have remained fairly constant, but the Kru fleet has continued to expand, reaching 3800 canoes by 2019. This paper analyzes the technical efficiency and productivity of the SSF fleets in Liberia. Data were collected from 46 randomly chosen Kru and 86 Fanti boats. There is a considerable difference between the Kru and the Fanti boats in terms of quantities of inputs used and output produced. Mean efficiency of the Kru canoes was 0.53, while for the Fanti boats it was 0.70, indicating considerable inefficiencies and scope for technical improvement. Vessel length and skipper’s age are the two main factors significantly influencing technical efficiency of the Kru and Fanti boats. The younger Kru operators (≤40 years) using newer and smaller dugout canoes (≤6.1 m) were more efficient than the older fishers in older and larger canoes, while the opposite was true for the Fantis. There were efficient boats and inefficient vessels among the Kru and Fanti but on average they were profitable. However, the design of these vessels offers limited scope to introduce improved fishing technology. To address the current technological regress and increase productivity in the fisheries, it is recommended that the Liberian government explore new harvesting technologies such as fiberglass reinforced plastic in the coastal fisheries.

scholarly journals Experimental evaluation of influence of FADs on community structure and fisheries in coastal Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel K. Mbaru ◽  
Dorcas Sigana ◽  
Renison K. Ruwa ◽  
Elizabeth M. Mueni ◽  
Collins K. Ndoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
Catch Composition ◽  
Structural Indices ◽  
Fish Aggregating Devices

Fish aggregating devices (FADs) have been widely used by commercial fisheries to increase the catchability of pelagic stocks in the open sea. FADs have the potential to enhance nearshore small-scale fisheries where stocks are often overfished. This study examined changes in catch composition, abundance, catch and effort, and aspects of diversity in Kenya's nearshore coastal fisheries after deployment of anchored fish aggregating devices (AFADs). The study combined both fishery independent and dependent methods in assessing changes in fish assemblages post-deployment. Results showed orders of magnitude increase in length, weight, commercial value, and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of landed catch after deployment of FADs suggesting that FADs had a positive effect on the local fishery. Species richness at FAD sites increased post-deployment (n = 281) compared to pre-deployment values (n = 223). Simultaneous use of several complementary structural indices may be required in order to accurately describe and monitor fish assemblages around the FADs. The findings suggest that AFADs are capable of creating both short and long-term impacts on livelihoods, with the potential to deflect pressure on the overfished nearshore fish stocks. However, more research will be needed on redistribution of fish around FADs, design and placement configuration, and site selection amongst others.

scholarly journals Combining participatory and socioeconomic approaches to map fishing effort in small-scale fisheries

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. e0176862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauric Thiault ◽  
Antoine Collin ◽  
Frédérique Chlous ◽  
Stefan Gelcich ◽  
Joachim Claudet
Keyword(s):  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries

scholarly journals Fishing Effort and Associated Catch per Unit Effort for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mozambique Channel Region: 1950–2016

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Zeller ◽  
Gabriel M. S. Vianna ◽  
Matthew Ansell ◽  
Angie Coulter ◽  
Brittany Derrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Mozambique Channel ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Fishing Capacity ◽  
Channel Region

The Mozambique Channel region in East Africa has diverse marine ecosystems and serves as a migratory corridor for economically important species. Local and foreign industrial fisheries operate in the Mozambique Channel, but regional small-scale fisheries are the crucially important fisheries that provide food security, livelihoods, and economic opportunities for rural coastal communities. This study reconstructed and investigated trends in the fishing effort and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of small-scale marine fisheries in four Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that constitute the Mozambique Channel, i.e., Union of Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Mozambique, from 1950 to 2016. Effective fishing effort for small-scale fisheries in the form of fishing capacity in kWdays (i.e., kilowatt days) was derived using the number, length, motorization (engine power) by fishing vessels, as well as an approximate human-powered equivalent for shore-based fishers without vessels, as well as days of fishing per year. Effective small-scale fishing effort in the Mozambique Channel increased by nearly 60 times from just over 386,000 kWdays in 1950 to over 23 million kWdays in 2016. Correspondingly, the overall small-scale CPUE, based on previously and independently reconstructed catch data declined by 91% in the region as a whole, from just under 175 kg⋅kWday–1 in the early 1950s to just over 15 kg⋅kWday–1 in recent years. All four EEZs showed the strongest declines in the small-scale CPUE in the earlier decades, driven by motorization and growth in vessel numbers impacting effective fishing effort. Increased motorization combined with a substantial growth in overall vessel numbers were the drivers of the increasing fishing effort and decreasing CPUE, and clearly suggest that continuing to increase the fishing capacity of small-scale fisheries in the absence of effective and restrictive management actions may exacerbate overexploitation risk.

scholarly journals Co-Management of Small-Scale Fisheries in Chile From a Network Governance Perspective

Environments ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Cristian Albornoz ◽  
Johannes Glückler
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Public Subsidies ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Shared Authority ◽  
The Government ◽  
Benthic Resources

We examine decision-making, shared authority, and pluralism as key characteristics for the effective co-management of natural resources. Drawing on the concept of network governance, we complement this approach by studying localized practices of governance that support existing and compensate for missing aspects in the regulation. The regime of territorial use rights for fisheries (TURF) in Chile is a recognized example of large-scale co-management that has given rise to local organizations that manage and exploit benthic resources. Based on multi-sited qualitative fieldwork across five regions, we analyze practices with respect to two governance objects: the deterrence of illegal fishing and the periodic assessment of the fisheries’ biology fields. Our analysis shows that local fisher organizations have institutionalized informal practices of surveillance and monitoring to fill in the gaps of existing regulations. Although fisher organizations and consultants—the so-called management and exploitation areas for benthic resources (AMERB)—have managed to operate the TURF regime, they depend on the government to enforce regulations and receive public subsidies to cover the costs of delegated governance tasks. We suggest that governance effectiveness could benefit from delegating additional authority to the local level. This would enhance the supervision of productive areas and better adaptation of national co-management regulations to the specific geographical context.

scholarly journals Seasonal dynamics of small-scale fisheries in the Adriatic Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
FABIO GRATI ◽  
ADMIR ALADZUZ ◽  
ERNESTO AZZURRO ◽  
LUCA BOLOGNINI ◽  
PIERLUIGI CARBONARA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Dynamics ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Blue Growth ◽  
Physical And Chemical

The main aim of the present study is to increase the knowledge on the seasonal dynamics of the set gears used by Adriatic small-scale fisheries (SSFs) through the collation of data (landings, fishing effort, composition of catches, length-frequency distributions of target species and economic value of landings) on target species,. The study focused on the three set gears mainly used in the basin: gillnets, trammel nets and traps. The results confirmed that SSFs are diverse, complex and dynamic, representing an economic and social engine and providing seafood and employment to local economies. In the Adriatic Sea, SSFs exploit coastal fishing grounds where the seasonal fluctuations of the physical and chemical parameters of the water column strongly influence the occurrence of the different species. Because of this, many different types of set gears are currently used to catch a pool of target species over the year. Fishermen use more than one set gear during the year and tend to increase the fishing effort when the target species concentrate inside the coastal areas during the recruitment or the spawning season. Accordingly, landings reached the highest values during such periods and often include a large portion of juveniles and/or spawners. The study highlighted that the lack of appropriate data and complete statistics is still one of the main constraints for most of the Adriatic coastal countries, as few countries have in place routinely monitoring programs while others are dealing mostly with estimates. These gaps often have the effect of marginalizing and undervaluing the real role of SSFs in a Blue Growth process.

Strengthening participatory approaches to coastal fisheries governance in Papua New Guinea: the role of local-level government legislation

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
Gina Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Local Level ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Participatory Approaches ◽  
Fisheries Governance ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Government Legislation

Fisheries governance in Papua New Guinea is a significant factor to the nation’s sustainable development. In seeking to strengthen community-based and participatory approaches to fisheries management in the nation, this paper will highlight the significant role of local-level governments in re-envisioning coastal and small-scale fisheries governance and argues that such local-level legislative authorities provide an opportunity to progress the nation’s coastal fisheries governance.

scholarly journals Fishers’ responses to the Danish seiner ban and the history of fisheries governance on the Java north coast

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pujo Semedi ◽  
Katharina Schneider
Keyword(s):  
North Coast ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Government Interventions ◽  
Fisheries Governance ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government

AbstractIn 2015, the Indonesian government announced that it would prohibit the operation of the so-called cantrang (Danish Seine). The stated purpose of the cantrang ban was to make marine fisheries more environmentally sustainable. In response, cantrang fishers along the north coast of Java staged mass protests, and after 3 years of negotiations and uncertainty, the government exempted the cantrang fleets on the Java north coast from the policy. This paper analyses fishers’ responses to the ban from a historical and ethnographic perspective. Specifically, it compares the cantrang ban to two earlier government interventions in the fisheries on the Java north coast, one in 1905, the second 1980/81. With each intervention, a new governance principle was introduced to small-scale fisheries, established elites transferred their capital elsewhere, and new elites emerged who supported the new principle locally. Since 2015, however, only very few members of the established elites have exited the cantrang fishery, and no members of a new local elite have emerged yet who would support sustainability as a governance principle for fisheries. The paper aims to clarify why this was the case. More generally, it suggests that understanding the history of fisheries governance on the Java north coast requires attention to the role of local elites, and therefore to social differentiations among fishers.

Using stakeholder’s perspectives of ‘Managed Access’ to guide management efforts in small-scale fisheries

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Chad A Bowman ◽  
Stephen C Mangi ◽  
Hazel A Oxenford
Keyword(s):  
Q Methodology ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Systems Implementation ◽  
Financial Investments

Summary Controlling and monitoring fishing effort and understanding human perspectives on fisheries management strategies are paramount to the successful management and sustainability of fisheries. Open-access fishing, which is commonplace in the small-scale fisheries (SSFs) of developing countries, poses severe challenges to management, and to address many of these challenges, Belize implemented a country-wide rights-based fishery (RBF) management strategy known as Managed Access (MA). This study uses Q methodology to explore the perspectives of four key stakeholder groups on the early impacts of the strategy, revealing five distinct perspectives. Perspective 1 supported MA but believed some components needed revision. Perspective 2 had high confidence in MA and expected improvements with financial investments. Perspective 3 did not believe in the strategy and expressed frustration with it not protecting fishers’ rights. Perspective 4 captured the biological concerns not addressed by the strategy, while Perspective 5 focused on the strategy’s inability to make the fisheries more profitable thus far. The different perspectives indicate that MA will be unlikely to meet its objectives without more financial investment in enforcement and stakeholder engagement, research and the strengthening of institutional capacity. This study contributes to the scarce scientific information on the early stages of RBF systems implementation in SSFs.

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