The Role of PO and of Co-Management in the Value Chain: The Italian Case of the "fasolari" Fishery

The paper will focus on the Northern Adriatic Smoot clams (Callista chione) fishery, called in Italy "fasolari". The Italian production of "fasolari" takes place mainly in Friuli and Veneto regions, located in the Northern Adriatic area. Here the system (based on a co-management approach) is a very good example of optimal integration between the management system (Consortia) and the marketing system (POs) and of a modern and sustainable approach to fishery covering all the steps along the value chain. The role of POs has gradually increased over the time but nowadays a clear distinction between the role of the Consortia and of POs has been defined: consortia are responsible of the management measures (mainly, limitation of fishing days and the establishment of maximum daily fishing quantities) while POs help them to match supply with market demands and support them in creating added value. The paper will contribute to better understand how the governance and the marketing structure affect the mechanism of price formation and will also focus on the promotion of products ("fasolari") through market valorisation strategies (e.g. the PO attempt to obtain an environmental sustainability certification). The paper will present the main finding of the analysis developed under the H2020 SUCCESS project (value chain) and of a recent Italian national project aimed to the applicability of an environmental sustainability certification.Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, held July 11-15, 2016 at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

Data availability and participatory approach: the right mix for enhancing Mediterranean fisheries’ sustainability

A misalignment between the legislation and the effectiveness of Mediterranean fisheries management has emerged due to the status of the stocks (still largely in overfishing) and the discontent of stakeholders regarding management plans and tools that are not always recognized as appropriate to the characteristics of the concerned fisheries. Stakeholders’ involvement in management processes is one of the main pillars of the Common Fisheries Policy revision. The literature underlines, in an increasingly urgent manner, the importance of stakeholders fully understanding the contents of management plans and, vice versa, necessary for the successful implementation of policies. Focusing on the path towards sustainability endorsed by the BluFish project, the paper tries to provide an answer about the sustainability of some selected Southern Italian fisheries, by adopting the assessment approach of the Marine Stewardship Council. The assessment approach, based on a set of Performance Indicators and on a well-defined scoring scheme, focuses on three dimensions of sustainability. In addition to the classic assessment of the state of the stocks, there is an extensive screening of the impact of anthropic activity such as fishing on the entire ecosystem, including both the impact on accessory species and on vulnerable habitats and species. The evaluation adopted goes even further, with an approach that also includes the management and governance sphere, also trying to evaluate the level of involvement of the operators in the decision-making process. The paper illustrates that the selected fisheries are not fully sustainable but some of them have excellent potential for improvement even in the short term by identifying and implementing the appropriate action. The most relevant weaknesses identified refer to the low scores obtained for sustainability of stocks, mainly around the Harvest Control Rules (HCR) and the Harvest Strategy indicators, highlighting the importance of improving the management of the assessed stocks. The paper highlights how data and scientific knowledge availability is essential for a detailed mapping and evaluation of fishing activities but also that the path towards more sustainable and responsible fisheries does not work without a strong participation of all the key stakeholders

Understanding EU Fisheries Management Dynamics by Engaging Stakeholders through Online Group Model-Building

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has a challenging mandate to find the right policy mix to simultaneously achieve all three aspects of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. But development and implementation of an effective and sustainable fisheries management policy has been a challenge all over the world. The evidence of this failure is found in the continuous decline in fish stocks. Faced with the difficulty in fulfilling this mandate, the European Commission has increasingly been embracing fisheries stakeholders’ involvement. Stakeholder involvement in policy development and implementation is important because it tries to bring the relevant interested parties together, understanding and paying attention to what is important to each and every stakeholder, identifying the individual and common issues. This process in turn can foster connections, trust, confidence, and buy-in, and commitment for the implementation of the policy. This research describes a group model-building (GMB) approach using system dynamic methodology as a participatory model building tool, enabling stakeholders to become deeply involved in the identification and modelling of the complex issues faced by the EU fisheries. Given the geographical diversity of the stakeholders, GMB was applied online, both synchronously and asynchronously, providing participants time to carefully reflect on key variables, their relationships, and the behaviour of the overall system. The study demonstrated the need and relevance of an adequate engagement of the stakeholders, with online stakeholder consultation proving an effective method of engagement. Hence, the study is very relevant for both scientists and managers. The GMB process meant the final model evolved significantly from the initial one offered, which pointed to active involvement in and progressive learning from the modelling process itself, as the methodology argues. Two quantitative stock-flow models using actual numbers were built not only to aid the GMB process but to depict how all three aspects of sustainability could actually be met with the right set of policies that consider feedback loops and inherent trade-offs

Understanding EU Fisheries Management Dynamics by Engaging Stakeholders through Online Group Model-Building

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has a challenging mandate to find the right policy mix to simultaneously achieve all three aspects of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. But development and implementation of an effective and sustainable fisheries management policy has been a challenge all over the world. The evidence of this failure is found in the continuous decline in fish stocks. Faced with the difficulty in fulfilling this mandate, the European Commission has increasingly been embracing fisheries stakeholders’ involvement. Stakeholder involvement in policy development and implementation is important because it tries to bring the relevant interested parties together, understanding and paying attention to what is important to each and every stakeholder, identifying the individual and common issues. This process in turn can foster connections, trust, confidence, and buy-in, and commitment for the implementation of the policy. This research describes a group model-building (GMB) approach using system dynamic methodology as a participatory model building tool, enabling stakeholders to become deeply involved in the identification and modelling of the complex issues faced by the EU fisheries. Given the geographical diversity of the stakeholders, GMB was applied online, both synchronously and asynchronously, providing participants time to carefully reflect on key variables, their relationships, and the behaviour of the overall system. The study demonstrated the need and relevance of an adequate engagement of the stakeholders, with online stakeholder consultation proving an effective method of engagement. Hence, the study is very relevant for both scientists and managers. The GMB process meant the final model evolved significantly from the initial one offered, which pointed to active involvement in and progressive learning from the modelling process itself, as the methodology argues. Two quantitative stock-flow models using actual numbers were built not only to aid the GMB process but to depict how all three aspects of sustainability could actually be met with the right set of policies that consider feedback loops and inherent trade-offs

Capital value in fisheries : the case of Italy

The EU framework for the collection and management of fisheries data (EU Reg. 1004/2017) requires estimates of four variables related to capital value and capital cost of fishing fleets, i.e. Consumption of fixed capital, Value of physical capital, Value of quota and other fishing rights, Investments in tangible assets. The results of these estimates are, however, heterogeneous as derived from different methods. For example, in case of the physical capital value and related costs, the legislation foresees the application of the Permanent Inventory Method (PIM), whereas gross investments in tangible assets are estimated based on separate surveys which are not always consistent with the capital value. Furthermore, there is no shared methodology regarding the estimation of intangible assets linked to fishing rights such as licenses, which in the Italian case rights cannot be sold separately from the vessel. In this paper we review the methods used in the fisheries sector and in other related sectors for the estimation of capital value and related economic variables. A second methodological part aims to deepen the application aspects and takes into account regional and sectoral specificities (in terms of fishing activities), in order to verify the hypotheses and basic assumptions related to the application of the PIM in the Italian context, and propose alternative approaches

Towards the Introduction of Sustainable Fishery Products: The Bid of a Major Italian Retailer

Intense fishing pressure has been depleting marine resources worldwide. At a time when almost a third of world stocks are overexploited, the demand for fish and seafood is growing both due to the increasing world population and to rising per capita consumption. Over the past few decades, the demand for fish products has in turn grown considerably in Italy, although concern about sustainable fisheries here is not perceived as keenly as in Northern European countries, where certified fish and seafood products coming from sustainable fisheries are widely available. In this study, 248 fish and seafood products sold by a major Italian retailer were evaluated in terms of geographic origin, gear used, species conservation status, and stock status to gain information in view of the introduction of sustainable fishery products in Italy’s outlets. A literature review illustrated that most species came from some of the most intensely exploited fishing grounds in the world, where they are usually caught by trawls. The results highlighted the importance of supplying seafood products coming from sustainable sources and fisheries through the adoption of eco-labels and certification schemes. Finally, the present study stresses the urgency to promote more responsible fish and seafood consumption in Italy