Applicability of community fisheries management What fisheries and
Applicability of community fisheries management: What fisheries and situations? Jon G. Sutinen Environmental & Natural Resource Economics University of Rhode Island USA
Some Basic Issues • What makes up a ‘community’? • How large is a ‘community’? • What is the essential feature of ‘community’ for community fisheries management (CFM)? • When/where is CFM necessary, or particularly valuable?
Some Basic Issues • What makes up a ‘community’? – a set of people (or economic agents) with some shared element • of interests, of place • of resource users (crew, suppliers, buyers, voters, etc. ) • How large is a ‘community’? – What size? How many members? – What scope? • All species, all gear types? • All ports?
Some Basic Issues • What is the essential significance of ‘community’ for CFM? – evokes a sense of collectivity • collective choice by independent economic agents • When/where is CFM necessary, or particularly valuable?
Community Fisheries Management for Recreational Fisheries
Purpose • Propose CFM as a way to fully integrate the recreational sector into the management of – the Red Snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico • a typical mixed recreational-commercial marine fishery • Design an almost ideal organization – for community recreational fishery management
Red Snapper Fishery • An important component of the large multi-species reef fishery in the Gulf of Mexico • Red snapper is one of the primary reef fish targeted by both commercial and recreational fishing sectors • Red snapper stock is currently classified as both – overfished and – subject to overfishing
Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
Red Snapper fishery • Commercial harvests in general correspond with the commercial TAC • Recreational harvests have often exceeded the official recreational TAC – Often by significant margins
Red Snapper Harvest & TACs
Red Snapper Fishery • For-hire boats land 70% – Charter 42% – Headboats 28% • Both fishery sectors reveal a pattern in which open days have diminished over time – Even as the total harvest has remained relatively constant – This is typical of competitive TAC management
Days Open Red Snapper Fishery
Red Snapper Fishery • Also a trend towards – smaller bag limits and – increasing minimum length • Uniform management measures – Entire Gulf of Mexico
Red Snapper Management • The GMFMC sets management regulations over a wide spatial scale – The recreational season for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, • runs from April 21 through October 31, • applies throughout the Gulf, – With no local or regional variation – The particular dates of the open season, reportedly do not provide optimal benefits to anglers in all geographic areas
Red Snapper Management • Current management – Declining benefits from recreational fishing – Not serving local & regional interests – Weak control over fishing mortality • Current trends – Point to a dismal future
Red Snapper Fishery • Red snapper reflects a general set of problems with recreational fishery management – U. S. , Australia & New Zealand • Weak control of recreational catch levels – threatens to undermine the sustainability of fisheries • Expansion of fishing effort by both recreational and commercial sectors – Especially during the 1990 s – Placed fish stocks under pressure in several fisheries
Conflict • The growth of the recreational and commercial fishing sectors has caused – conflicts between the two sectors • Conflicts between the two competing sectors typically concern the allocation of the fishery resource – A prominent example of this conflict involves the allocation of quota in fisheries managed under a total allowable catch (TAC)
Conflict • The TAC is divided between the two sectors such that the commercial sector and recreational sector each receives a percentage of the TAC – The commercial sector may be subject to a ‘hard’ TAC, • in which the commercial fishery is closed when the quota is met, – While no hard cap on catch restricts the recreational sector • target achieved indirectly using a combination of bag limits, size restrictions, and seasonal closures
Conflict • Overages of the TAC subtracted from – Either next season’s TAC, – Or next season’s commercial share of the TAC • This indirect penalty on the commercial sector causes conflict between the two sectors • Conflict also caused by use of different management measures in the two sectors
Prospects • Significant economic gains may be realized through management arrangements that – successfully integrate the recreational sector into overall fishery management, – control fishing mortality, and – address the dispersion and heterogeneity characteristics of the recreational fishery – “Integrated Management”
Management Integration • What is integrated management? – Management measures & other arrangements applied to the recreational sector that • Achieve the goals of the fishery management plan – such as sustainability and socioeconomic objectives • Achieve the agreed upon allocation of catches – among recreational, commercial, and other user groups
Management Integration • The recreational sector of the Red Snapper fishery is not fully integrated into the fishery management program – The management measures provide little or only weak control over recreational fishing mortality; & – The measures allows one sector to erode the amount of catch to which the other sector is entitled.
Management Integration • Principles of integration – Derived from theory & evidence – Necessary & sufficient conditions • For integrated recreational fishery management
7 Principles of Integrated Recreational Management • Desirable only where the benefits outweigh the costs of integration. • A mechanism must exist for allocating catches among recreational and other user groups as a precondition for integrated recreational management. • Managers must implement measures that provide a high degree of control over recreational fishing mortality.
7 Principles of Integrated Recreational Management • Management should be based on a system of strong angling rights. • Angling rights should be assigned to groups as well as individuals in recreational fisheries. • Management should be decentralized – with limited management authority devolved to and shared with local organizations and governing institutions. • Cost recovery should be applied to recreational fishery management
Community-Based Recreational Fisheries Management • Angling Management Organizations – Combine • Community-based management – Local control • Strong angling rights – Exclusive right to a share of the TAC – Satisfy the 7 principles of integrated management • Scientifically sound
Community-Based Recreational Fisheries Management • The hallmark of the proposed approach is – the devolution of management authority within a rights-based framework • The details of on-the-ground AMO development and management are to be left largely to stakeholders – in this case those involved in the recreational GOM reef fishery
Design Elements • Rights & duties • Initial allocation – Quota – AMO shares • Ownership • Membership • Management measures • Eligibility • Attributes of – Quota – AMO shares • Access to the fishery • Quota trading • Funding/financing • Spatial attributes • • • Scope & size of AMOs Monitoring & enforcement Transition
How would you design a community recreational fishery management organization? 1. Rights & duties 2. Ownership 3. Membership 4. Management measures 5. Access to the fishery 6. Quota trading 7. Funding/financing 8. Spatial attributes 9. Initial allocation – Quota – AMO shares 10. Eligibility 11. Attributes of – Quota – AMO shares 12. Scope & size of AMOs 13. Monitoring & enforcement 14. Transition
Breakout Session
An approach: AMOs Sutinen, J. G. and R. J. Johnston. 2003. Angling Management Organizations: Integrating the Recreational Sector into Fishery Management. Marine Policy 27: 471 -487 (November).
Angling Management Organizations • AMOs are non-governmental organizations – comprised of groups of those with interests in the recreational fishery • typically recreational anglers • Angling rights are assigned to AMOs, – through an assignment of a share of the recreational total allowable catch (TAC) applicable to each AMO
Angling Management Organizations • Individual anglers – Own shares in a particular AMO, • much as one might own shares or stock in a private corporation. – May trade shares in AMOs • AMOs own quota shares – AMOs may trade quota much like traditional IFQs • Individual anglers do not own quota shares
Angling Management Organizations • An exclusive right – to determine how to use its share of the recreational TAC; • Shareholders of an AMO possess a collective right – to manage harvest • Authority – to implement measures to optimize socioeconomic objectives;
Angling Management Organizations • A non-governmental organization of anglers; – Financially independent and sustainable; • AMOs are for-profit organizations – AMO stock has value
Angling Management Organizations • Provides equal opportunity to fish – to all anglers. • All anglers – whether or not they are shareholders – Have an equal opportunity to • acquire a unit of the AMO’s harvest right, • i. e. to acquire the right to catch a unit of the quota – Purchase a license, punch card, or fish tag
Angling Management Organizations • Attributes of AMOs – An exclusive right to determine how to use its share of the recreational TAC; – Authority to implement measures to optimize socioeconomic objectives; – A non-governmental organization of anglers; – Financially independent and sustainable; – Provides equal opportunity to fish to all recreational anglers.
How would AMOs work? • An AMO would be allocated a share of the TAC each year – E. g. , 1. 0 million lbs • The AMO would have the right and responsibility to manage its quota • The AMO would set the management measures – – – Bag limit Season (open days the recreational fishery) Other measures
Implementation • Scope & size – Different for each AMO – May be defined by any or all of the following • Geographically, • By harvest category (charter, head, not-for-hire) • By species – Optimal S&S unknown ex ante • Start large, one each in Eastern & Western GOM • Facilitate separation into smaller AMOs
Implementation • Transition authority – Facilitate formation of provisional AMOs • Limited time frame (e. g. , 3 years) • Develop plan for managing its share of the TAC(s) – Appointed & responsible to Secretary of Commerce – Expert staff & budget – Members with • • Privatization experience Business management experience Fishery management experience, plus Recreational sector representatives
Expected Achievements • Full integration of the recreational fishery – in the management system, • Sustainable utilization – of fishery resources, • Optimal socioeconomic benefits – to anglers & coastal communities, • Financially sustainable management – of recreational fishery resources,
Expected Achievements • Self-sufficiency and self-determination, • Professional staffs – to guide management and negotiate with government and other stakeholders, • Greater compliance with regulations – by anglers, • Superior means of resolving conflicts among stakeholders,
Expected Achievements • Greater balance of influence and power among stakeholders in political and commercial marketplaces – since AMOs are the recreational equivalents of commercial quota owner associations & companies
Other Options • Status quo – Is inferior to all other management alternatives • Superior to status quo, but not preferred – – – Sub-regional recreational councils Sub-regional recreational advisory committees State & local management • Not preferred because – Angling rights are not strengthened – Weak accountability
Other Options • IFQs in the for-hire sector – Superior to options above – Alaska halibut charter IFQs • Applying IFQs to all components of the recreational sector is problematic – E. g. , noncompliance by not-for-hire fishers
Conclusions • AMOs are superior to other options – because of the desirable mix of incentives created by the proposed structure of these community-based organizations • Elsewhere – we also develop a practical strategy for implementing a network of AMOs in the red snapper fishery, based on prior work in the establishment of fishery co-management.
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