Catch Shares in Action: British Columbia Integrated Groundfish Program

The British Columbia Integrated Groundfish Program (Integrated Program) is one of the most comprehensive catch share programs in the world. The multi-species program includes over 70 species, 30 of which are managed via quota, and includes all commercial fishermen targeting groundfish, regardless of gear type. The program includes a number of innovative design features such as quota set-asides, which are meant to encourage community development and incentivize positive treatment of crew. Additionally, the program requires 100% individual accountability of all catch and uses an innovative monitoring and catch accounting system to support accountability

The role of property rights in bycatch reduction: evidence from the British Columbia groundfish fishery

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014The following analysis seeks to contribute to the literature by examining the effectiveness of the individual vessel bycatch quota (IVBQ) system as an incentive structure for the mitigation of halibut bycatch in the British Columbia Groundfish fishery. Through the use of an OLS regression technique, this empirical analysis intends to quantify the importance and overall effectiveness of the vessel bycatch quota incentive system in respect to mitigating bycatch. The research utilizes time series fisheries data from 1962-2012, as provided by The International Pacific Halibut Commission and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The research indicates that the IVBQ system has proven to be highly effective, confirming the significance of private property rights as a tool for the reduction of bycatch within British Columbia. Policy makers may utilize the information provided in this paper to design more feasible and effective policy options to promote the preservation of ecological balance in the management of marine resources

Extinction by Miscalculation:

Species at Risk Act, Sakinaw sockeye, Cultus sockeye, fisheries management, extinction.

Developing a comparative marine socio-economic framework for the European Atlantic Area

Availability and easy access to a wide range of natural and human-activity data on the oceans and coastal regions of Europe is the basis for strategic decision-making on coastal and marine policy. Strategies within Europe’s Integrated Maritime Policy, including the Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic Area, Blue Growth, Maritime Spatial Planning and Marine Data and Knowledge, require coherent and comparable socio-economic data across European countries. Similarly, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires member states to carry out economic and social analysis of their waters and the reformed Common Fisheries Policy includes a social dimension requiring socio-economic data. However, the availability of consistent, accessible marine socio-economic data for the European Atlantic Arc regions is limited. Ocean economy studies have been undertaken in some countries (for example, Ireland, France, and UK) but timescales and methodologies are not necessarily comparable. Marnet is an EU transnational co-operation project involving eight partners from five member states of the Atlantic Area (Ireland, Spain, UK, France and Portugal). Marnet has developed a methodology to collate comparable marine socio-economic data across the Atlantic regions. The comparative marine socio-economic information system developed by Marnet could provide a template for other European States to follow that could potentially facilitate the construction of a Europe-wide marine economic information system as envisaged under the EU Integrated Maritime Policy

Nunavut Small Craft Harbours Report

This report was jointly developed in 2004 by an intergovernmental committee established by the Deputy Minister of Nunavut’s Department of Community Development and Transportation, and the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The mandate of the DFO-Nunavut Harbours Working Committee was to review and assess Nunavut’s request for financial assistance for harbour infrastructure from DFO’s Small Craft Harbours Branch. This report summarizes its findings and proposes possible implementation and funding options

From the Orderly World of Frameworks to the Messy World of Data: Canada’s Experience Measuring the Economic Contribution of Maritime Industries

This paper extends the frameworks developed by Park and Kildow (2014) to explore the use of supply chains to classify and organize ocean industries. Canada’s experience with measuring the economic contribution of ocean related sectors is discussed; with particular emphasis on illustrating the supply chain approach and of highlighting the multiple practical challenges that arise in defining and measuring the ocean economy. The overall conclusion is that Canada has succeeded in developing a methodological framework that allows it to report, on an annual basis high level estimates of gross domestic product, employment and labour income generated directly and indirectly by ocean sectors in Canada. The main challenge encountered is the potential for double counting, as a result of poor industry definition and use of input-output models to calculate total impacts (i.e. direct, indirect and induced)

Mussel Aquaculture Industry Development Experiences In Different Jurisdictions

Ultimately, this work will help inform the golden mussel initiative which BALTA is supporting, which aims to support the development of viable mussel aquaculture social enterprises in First Nations communities in BC that incorporate social economy principles.This is one of three literature reviews for research project D2 - Leveraging Social Ownership of Proprietary Trademarks related to the Golden Mussel as a Base for Expansion of Social Enterprise in Coastal B.C. Aboriginal Communities - of the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA). The review explores the development of the mussel aquaculture industry in New Zealand, Spain, Washington State, Atlantic Canada and British Columbia. The case study comparison of the experiences of different jurisdictions allows for the identification of key factors important to the expansion and growth of mussel culture. Each jurisdiction’s experience with the various aspects of industry development is detailed. These aspects include: the current status of the industry, the history of industry growth, the regulatory regime, financial supports to industry development, coordinating bodies, technical assistance, training and education opportunities, and research and advocacy. The extent of social enterprise and Aboriginal involvement in the mussel aquaculture industry in each area are also explored.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA

Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses

A SWOT analysis of aquaculture development in rural areas of Iran, an application to Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

In this study various important indices were selected to assess the sustainable aquaculture strategies in rural areas of Iran. In addition the government officials, consultants and managers were surveyed to assess the indices of aquaculture development. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats   analyses were used to make a comprehensive evaluation on internal and external factors, participating the development of aquaculture strategies. The sum of the attractiveness scores from the Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix was approximately 2.55, being larger than 2.5, indicating that the strengths exceed the weaknesses. The sum of the External Factor Evaluation Matrix scores was 3.49, indicating that opportunities were higher than threats. This analysis showed that the development of aquaculture, promotion of new cold-water species production, productivity enhancement, establishment of hatchery facilities and formation of an effective support organization are the most important strategies that should be considered in the studied area. Results obtained on this research help decision makers on work of the aquaculture sector in rural areas of Iran