Fishery management

FMSP Stock Assessment Tools

Training Workshop

Bangladesh

19th - 25th September 2005

Purpose of talk

To introduce a framework for fishery management based on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

Complements Chapters 1-2 of FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 487, as published by FMSP project R8360

Chapters 1-2

Content

Fishery management systems - a framework

The new international legal regime

The precautionary approach

Adaptive management

Goals and operational objectives

Indicators and reference points

Decision control rules

Management measures

Tying it all together - Management plans

Fishery management systems

A fishery management system is the overall combination of policies, legal arrangements, stock assessment methodologies, reference points, management measures, and monitoring and enforcement arrangements used to manage a fishery.

Chapter 2

The management context

The legal regime• Domestic laws• International agreements

Management approach to uncertainty

• Precautionary or adaptive management? Or both?

Management scope• Single or multi-species?• Ecosystem approach?

Property rights• Use rights?• Control rights?

Stakeholder roles in management

• State or community control?• Co-management?

Fishery scale• Industrial or artisanal?• Economically important?

Management capacity• Technical skills, staff, funds?

Sections 1.1 and 2.1 – 2.4

Fishery Policy

Define management intentions• Policy goals and operational objectives (biological,

ecological, economic, social, other sectors)Section 2.5.1

Stock assessment process

Data/Inputs

Intermediate parameters

Indicators Reference points

Management advice in terms of risk,

allowing for uncertainty

Chapters 3 and 4 and Parts 2 and 3

Management process

Fishery Management Plan

Define management standardsFor each operational objective:• Conceptual reference points

(target, limit, precautionary)• Indicators • Technical reference points

Set management measures• Decision control rules defined by

reference points and harvesting strategy• Management strategy, comprising

one or more control measures (inputs; outputs; technical, ecological etc)

Monitoring Control and Surveillance

Sections 2.5.2 – 2.5.5

Figure 1.1

A framework for fishery management (FTP 487)

The new international legal regime

1992 Convention on Biological Diversity

Chapter 17 of UNCED’s Agenda 21

1995 UN ‘Fish Stocks Agreement’

1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)

Section 1.1

The precautionary approachAll fishery managers face many uncertainties:

• Current state of fish stocks? Long term potential? Effect of environment, climate and other species?

FAO Code of Conduct advises that:• 7.5.1 States should apply the precautionary approach widely to

conservation, management and exploitation of living aquatic resources in order to protect them and preserve the aquatic environment. The absence of adequate scientific information should not be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take conservation and management measures.

• 7.5.2 In implementing the precautionary approach, States should take into account, inter alia, uncertainties relating to the size and productivity of the stocks, reference points, stock condition in relation to such reference points, levels and distribution of fishing mortality and the impact of fishing activities, including discards, on non-target and associated or dependent species, as well as environmental and socio-economic conditions.

Section 2.1.2

A precautionary management process

A management system should be developed with stakeholders, including the following elements:

• Goals and operational objectives• Performance indicators and reference points• Harvesting strategies and decision control rules, including

precautionary reference points allowing for uncertainty• Management measures and overall management strategy

– See FAO FTP 487 Chapter 2– and Cochrane, 2002 for further details

Section 2.5

Adaptive management

Too much precaution may provide little information about the dynamics of the fish stock (don’t know MSY until it has been exceeded!)

Adaptive management – ‘learning by doing’ – uses an experimental approach to reduce uncertainty and find good management solutions

Can be ‘passive’ (using natural variation) or ‘active’ – need to create good ‘contrast’ in treatments to get results

Most useful in inshore and inland resources, with high levels of natural diversity and where resource can be split into separate stock units

Guidelines developed by FMSP projects R7335 and R7834 (on http://www.fmsp.org website)

Section 2.1.3

Goals and operational objectives (1/3)

Goals set the specific priorities for each fishery

Operational objectives’ like OVIs in a logical framework should be precise, measurable, realistic and achievable

Some objectives will be incompatible – need to accept tradeoffs

Section 2.3.1

Goals and operational objectives (2/3)

Need to consider four subsets of goals: biological; ecological; economic and social

For sustainable development, give first priority to biology

Section 2.3.1

Examples of goals and op. objectives (3/3)

Section 2.3.1

Goals Operational Objectives

Biological To maintain the target species at or above the levels necessary to ensure their continued productivity

To maintain the stock at all times above 50% of its mean unexploited level

Ecological To minimise the impacts of fishing on the physical environment and on non-target (bycatch), associated and dependent species

To maintain all non-target, associated and dependent species above 50% of their mean biomass levels in the absence of fishing activities

Economic To maximise the net incomes of the participating fishers

To stabilise net income per fisher at a level above the national minimum desired income

Social To maximise employment opportunities for those dependent on the fishery for their livelihoods

To include as many of the existing participants in the fishery as is possible given the biological, ecological and economic objectives listed above

Indicators and reference points

Set indicators and reference points for each operational objective

An indicator is a specific state, or variable, which can be monitored in a system such as a fishery to give a measure of the state of the system at any given time (Cochrane, 2002)

A reference point is an estimated value derived from an agreed scientific procedure and/or an agreed model which corresponds to a state of the resource and/or of the fishery and can be used as a guide for fisheries management

Indicators and ‘RP’s should be used in combination to express the operational objectives in ways that can be measured in quantitative fisheries assessments.

Section 2.5.2

Indicators

Quantitative measures of the state of the fishery

(one required for each objective)

Often fall into one of three categories

The catch of fish

The size of the fish stock (the ‘biomass’)

The amount of fishing (the ‘pressure’ on the stock)

In the short term, each of these are directly related to each other as ….. C = F x B

Catch

Fishing effort Stock size (biomass)

Catch

Fishing effort

Catch per unit effort (CPUE)

or

Stock size (biomass)

Long term (equilibrium) relationships

between Catch, Effort and Stock size Indicators

(not directly related!)

Reference points

Give the point to aim at (target) or to avoid (limit) for each indicator and objective

Can estimate using stock assessment tools (e.g. FMSY, F0.1) (or set as arbitrary, but agreed values, e.g. C=450mt)

You will provide management advice by comparing current values of indicators and reference points, e.g.:

If Fnow > FMSY ‘Over-fishing’

If Fnow > F0.1 Potential over-fishing

If Fnow < F2/3 MSYAssumed to be sustainable

Indicators & Reference Points - examples

• Operational objective - to maintain stock at all times above 50% of its mean unexploited level

• Reference point - 50% of the carrying capacity, K, as estimated by the Schaefer production model (i.e. above BMSY) using X data and Y fitting method

• Indicator - stock size • Performance indicator - stock size as a percentage of the

chosen reference point (e.g. B / BMSY)

• As another example, YPR is an indicator, while F0.1 and Fmax are reference points that are based on YPR

Section 2.5.2

Reference points

Conceptual reference points – used in defining the decision control rules, e.g.

• Limit reference points (LRPs, e.g. Blim, Flim)

• Target reference points (TRPs)

• Precautionary reference points or buffers (e.g. Bpa, Fpa)

Technical reference points – mathematical expressions used to clearly define each conceptual reference point

• E.g. FMSY, F0.1, BMSY, MBAL etc (see later)

Section 2.3.2

Target or limit reference points?(defining the objectives and control rules)

Target RP - aim here, slightly above or below both OK

Indicator X

Limit RP - avoid danger zone below here

Indicator X

E.g. Catch rateE.g. Catch rate E.g. spawning stock size E.g. spawning stock size

BMSY Stock size this year

FMSY

If Bnow < BMSY, no fishing allowed next year (danger zone)

Fishing mortality rate to be allowed next year

If Bnow > BMSY, fishing allowed at rate of FMSY next year

Decision control rules – a simple example

Section 2.3.3

Precautionary reference points

Such points were adopted in response to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (see point 5 of Annex II), to help make sure that the LRPs are avoided.

Define the point at which managers should take action, to avoid the LRPs being reached.

The distance by which the precautionary point is removed from the LRP is usually set according to:• the uncertainty in the data • and the risk tolerance of the manager.

Section 2.3.4

And ‘precautionary’ reference points...

Limit

RP

Indicator X

Take action at the Precautionary RP to avoid the risk of getting to the Limit RP

Precautionary

RP

Blim BpaStock size this year

Flim

Fpa

Fishing mortality rate to be allowed next year

If Bnow > Bpa, fishing allowed at rate of Fpa next year

If Bnow < Blim, no fishing allowed next year (danger zone)

If Blim < Bnow < Bpa, fishing allowed next year at a rate below Fpa, as set by the sliding scale

Decision control rules – a ‘precautionary’ example

Using ref. pts. to monitor the state of the fishery

The precautionary plotused by ICES (North Atlantic)

Axes reversed, now:X-axis: pressureY-axis: state

Note definitions:overfishing vs overfished

Section 2.3.2

Fpa Flim

Bpa

Blim

TARGET ZONE

BUFFER ZONE

OVERFISHED

OVERFISHING

HIGH RISK ZONE

Fishing mortality rate

Sto

ck s

ize

(bio

mas

s)

19901991

1992

1993

1994

1998 19961997

19951999

2000

Reference points andAnnex II of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement

4. Management strategies shall seek to maintain or restore populations of harvested stocks, and where necessary associated or dependent species, at levels consistent with previously agreed precautionary reference points. Such reference points shall be used to trigger pre-agreed conservation and management action. Management strategies shall include measures which can be implemented when precautionary reference points are approached.

5. Fishery management strategies shall ensure that the risk of exceeding limit reference points is very low. If a stock falls below a limit reference point or is at risk of falling below such a reference point, conservation and management action should be initiated to facilitate stock recovery. Fishery management strategies shall ensure that target reference points are not exceeded on average.

Section 2.3.2

Bangladesh signed 1995, not

yet ratified (?)

India ratified 2003, now bound

to comply

FAO Guidance on Indicators

Most reference points and control rule systems have so far been set up using age-based stock assessments, e.g. VPA etc, and using spawning stock biomass to set F

FAO however emphasise the generality of these proposals, with a ‘basket’ of reference points needed for biological, ecological, economic and social goals

See FAO ‘sustainable development reference system’• FAO. 1999. Indicators for sustainable development of marine

capture fisheries. FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. No. 8. Rome, FAO. 1999. 68p.

Section 2.3.2

Management measures

1. Input controls (fishing effort restrictions)2. Output controls (catch limits)3. Technical measures (size limits, closed seasons, closed

areas etc) 4. Ecological and integrated management

Input and output controls often vary between years, depending on harvesting strategy and state of stock

Technical measures usually fixed, or updated every few years based on long-term assessments

Sections 2.3.5 and 5.4

Management plans

The full fishery management system for each fishery unit should be agreed in advance with stakeholders and clearly described in a management plan

This should identify the goals, objectives, reference points, decision control rules, monitoring methods, management measures etc, ...

.... in addition to specifying clearly the roles, rights and responsibilities of the fishery management authority and any other interested parties.

see e.g. FAO, 1997; Die, 2002

Sections 2.3 and 2.4

Phase I

Where are you now?

Phase II

Where do you want to be?

Phase III

How are you going to get there?

Time

Phase IV

How will you know you are there?

Plan

Do

ReviewNew plan

Do

ReviewNew plan

etc

Process for developing a management plan

See new guidebooks from FMSP project R8468

Summary of the management plan

Purpose Goals Objectives Management Standards

Management Measures

Indicator Reference Point

Management Measures

Decision Control Rules

Biological

Ecological

Social

Economic

How to quantify the goals and objectives

How to achieve the goals and objectives

Phase II

Where do you want to be?

Phase III

How are you going to get there?

Summary – elements of the fishery system

ContextLegal regimeApproach to uncertainty – precautionary, adaptive or bothManagement scope (single species, multi-species or ecosystem) and geographic areaControl rights (co-management, decision making and stakeholder roles)Allocation of use rights in the fishery (access to fishing, or rights to catches)Fishery scale – industrial or artisanal, economically important?

PolicyGoals and operational objectives (biological, economic, social, ecological)

Management ProcessDecision control rule framework – conceptual and precautionary reference pointsTechnical reference points and indicators to be used, stock assessment

methodologies and tools, and the data requiredHarvesting strategy and management measures

See Part 1 summary tables