Development of a Marine Strategy for Qeshm Island

This paper discusses the development of a Marine Sector Strategy for Qeshm Island for the Qeshm Free Area Authority (QFA). Qeshm Island is an Iranian island, a Free Trade Zone near the entrance of the Persian Gulf in the Straits of Hormuz. The long-term strategy of QFA is to develop Qeshm as Iran’s leading centre for Marine activities. The Marine Sector Strategy has been developed with this long-term vision in mind and the scope of work and implementation strategies work towards this long-term goal. The Scope of Work provided for the strategy to cover all marine related activities including commercial and recreational fishery development and management; measurement and monitoring of marine resources, development of rules and regulations for fisheries management; post catch and downstream processing; marketing strategies; aquaculture and marine park development, and their impacts on the marine ecosystem. The study identifies interaction between marine sector users and with other sectors, infrastructure requirements and the impacts of the Qeshm marine sector on Iran and regionally. The paper presents findings from the study, the results of the analysis of potential for fisheries development and enhancement of management practises in the context of a planned marine sector in the discrete coastal and marine environment of Qeshm Island. The paper will present conclusions on the benefits of spatial planning within the marine sector and across other sectors of the Qeshm Island economy. It will also address the specific issues of fishing and the environment

The Economics of Allocation in Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOS)

The paper reviews existing allocation mechanisms in the five tuna regional fisheries management organizatins and shows that although they have adopted different approaches all have failed to prevent overcapacity and, or some stocks, overexploitation. As an alternative, it is proposed that each tuna regional fishing management organization establish total allowable catches by species and area, and then allocate non-transferable and permanent country shares (as a proportion of the total harvest) to member countries. Each country would be free to use or sell its annual allocation of fish that would be determined by the permanent country shares, but the sales could only be to fellow member countries. A two-tier allocation to countries of permanenet shares of a total allowable catch, and then annual harvest allocations to vessels of member countries, offers the promise of mitigating, and possibly overcoming, the twin problems of overcapacity and overexploitation in the highly migratory and high seas tuna fisheries.tuna, property rights, allocation

Development of Aquaculture in the Gulf States

This paper discusses the development of aquaculture in the countries of the Gulf Cooperating Council (GCC) with particular emphasis on Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Aquaculture in the GCC countries, with some notable exceptions, has been slow to develop, with investors reluctant to invest in aquaculture projects that do not produce quick returns. There have been some substantial shrimp farm developments in Saudi Arabia and smaller scale efforts in other countries but no concerted efforts, despite good access to marine waters and an amount of research undertaken by research institutes in the region on suitable local species. The picture in 2012 is one of untapped opportunity, now being addressed seriously by Governments and the private sector. Two drivers are identified, these being firstly the desire to diversify from economic reliance on the oil and gas sector, and secondly the realization that food security for GCC countries must be ensured with aquaculture being one of the tools to be utilized. Two examples will be used to demonstrate this. Firstly Oman where the Government has, during 2011, placed significant emphasis on aquaculture with an extensive site survey undertaken, new permitting arrangements and a drive to encourage and assist investors. This culminated in an international conference for aquaculture investors in December 2011. The second example will be the United Arab Emirates and specifically the Emirate of Abu Dhabi where the Government has encouraged aquaculture development and is implementing a suite of new policies to effectively manage development and encourage investment.Keywords: Fish & Aquaculture Sectors' Development, Managing Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture sectors Part I, Fisheries Economic

Fisheries Economics and Policy in Devolved Application –Overview

This presentation provides an overview of a Special Session presentation held at the IIFET 2016 Scotland conference in July 2016, as well as details of the proceedings of the session.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

Introduction to the IIFET 2002 Proceedings

KEYWORDS: IIFET 2002, Introduction, Fisheries economic

Devolution of Fisheries Administrative Services in New Zealand - A Case Study

KEYWORDS: Future Paths for Rights Based Fisheries Management, Fisheries economic

Implementing Change in Fisheries Management: Principles and Case Study

New Zealand has recently implemented major changes to its Fisheries management regimes including strengthening the quota based property right, devolving the delivery of quota registry services to the industry and developing new computer systems to support industry and government requirements. The success of these changes is due to a number of key factors including a property right based quota system, a single strong industry body representing the interests of fishers, an existing cost recovery process providing incentives for greater transparency and efficiency, co-operation between the government Fisheries Agency and the Industry, devolved but regulated delivery of registry services, and a third party able to facilitate the working of all parties together. A third party business integrator helped bring the Fisheries Agency and the Industry together to develop a joint programme with agreed joint funding to meet the requirements of new legislation. This occurred under a strong governance structure with government and industry as equal partners. A comprehensive plan was developed that required all parties to work together to common goals, namely the development of the processes and systems required to deliver the registry services required by the new Fisheries Act and the establishment of the devolved organisation to deliver these services. This plan operated from March 2000 through successful implementation of the Act and its associated processes and systems on 1 October 2001. The critical path for implementation was the development of new computer systems. The key ingredients for success here were a pragmatic approach to requirements, careful planning, a stable team and use of offshore resources.KEYWORDS: Fisheries economics, devolution, Fisheries management, Future Paths for Rights Based Fisheries Management, governance, computer system

The Economics of Allocation in Tuna Regional Fisheries

The paper reviews existing allocation mechanisms in the five tuna regional fisheries management organizatins and shows that although they have adopted different approaches all have failed to prevent overcapacity and, or some stocks, overexploitation. As an alternative, it is proposed that each tuna regional fishing management organization establish total allowable catches by species and area, and then allocate non-transferable and permanent country shares (as a proportion of the total harvest) to member countries. Each country would be free to use or sell its annual allocation of fish that would be determined by the permanent country shares, but the sales could only be to fellow member countries. A two-tier allocation to countries of permanenet shares of a total allowable catch, and then annual harvest allocations to vessels of member countries, offers the promise of mitigating, and possibly overcoming, the twin problems of overcapacity and overexploitation in the highly migratory and high seas tuna fisheries