A retrospective analysis of the effects of adopting individual transferable quotas in the Tasmanian red rock lobster,Jasus edwardsii, fishery

Individual transferable quotas (ITQ) were implemented in the Tasmanian red rock lobster fishery in 1998 and ten years later we assessed the impacts on the fishery. Particular attention was devoted to investigating the performances of the fishery with regard to three features identified as major impacts in the literature: rationalization of the fishing fleet, change in fishing strategy in order to maximise the fisher’s profit and concentration of fishing rights and activity. On average, the fishery reacted as expected and reached its objective in terms of reconstruction of the biomass, but the overall assessment in terms of resulting profitability is not very conclusive. There is no evidence of decrease of the profitability over the period of the study but the fishery is more reactive to external factors on its export market in China than to changes in its own structure.The first author is supported by a PhD scholarship co-funded by IFREMER and the joint CSIRO-UTAS Quantitative Marine Science program (QMS

A Model of Fishing Through Fish Communities

Recent work in the domain of fisheries ecology has shown that major changes occur in fish communities exploited by commercial fisheries. Selective fishing pressure on the more highly valued components of fish communities is amongst the key factors proposed to explain these changes. Under de facto open access conditions, it is suggested that sequential over harvesting of higher valued fish and/or fish species leads to modifications in the structure of both fish communities, and fisheries landings. This poses the question of the economic drivers of such sequential over-harvesting, and the implications of this process in terms of the total value of landings from a given fish community. The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of this question using a simple bio-economic model of an open access fishery targeting different species. The model is used to analyze the process by which harvesting of the set of species develops, given differences in the economic and biological characteristics of these species. Sensitivity to these differences of both development paths and steady state equilibrium of the fishery are analyzed. Simulation results show that, where total effort is controlled but its allocation between alternative species may occur freely (a case of regulated open access), there may be significant consequences in terms of the biological status of stocks, and of potential maximum rents.Keywords: Fisheries Economics, Modeling and Economic Theory, Fisheries Modelin

What Willingness to Pay on the French Market for An Ecolabelled Shrimp?

Shrimp is the most important commodity in the world seafood market (in value). Nevertheless shrimp fishing is also one of the most destructive. Its farming is also considered as having negative impacts on the environment. Ecolabelling is a tool used for more environmental responsibility of the industry. It is based on a win-win strategy for the farmer/fisherman, the consumers and the environment. The objective of this work is (i) to analyse the perception by consumers of the environmental problems associated with some productions in fisheries and aquaculture, including shrimps and (ii) to identify a possible premium for ecolabelled shrimps. A survey (302 people interviewed) showed that there is a market for ecolabelled shrimps in and around the city of Brest (France). Most of the people interviewed said they are concerned by environmental issues and that they know about the concept of ecolabels. They also declare that they buy ecolabelled products to act in favour of the environment protection. A payment card approach has been used to estimate the willingness to pay of the consumers to buy ecolabelled shrimps. A simple LOGIT model has been applied to identify what variables explain the consumers willingness to pay. This work showed that seafood ecolabelling debate is not without interest in a country with a high level of seafood consumption like France and that further development of the research in that area can contribute to raise awareness among consumers and within the industry.Keywords: Fisheries Economics, Markets and Trade, Markets and LabelsKeywords: Fisheries Economics, Markets and Trade, Markets and Label

Integrating economics into fisheries science and advice: progress, needs, and future opportunities

While the science supporting fisheriesmanagement has generally been dominated by the natural sciences, there has been a growing recognition that managing fisheries essentially means managing economic systems. Indeed, over the past seven decades, economic ideas and insights have increasingly come to play a role in fisheries management and policy. As an illustration of this, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has been actively seeking to expand the scope of its scientific expertise beyond natural sciences [another inter-governmental marine science organization which has done this over the same period is the North Pacific Marine Science organization (PICES)]. In particular, the recently created ICES Working Group on Economics set out to review current work and key future needs relating to economic research and management advice on marine capture fisheries. This article presents the results of this review and addresses how economic research can be incorporated into the science of ICES to provide integrated perspectives on fisheries systems that can contribute to the provision of advice in support of policy development and management decision-making for sustainable uses of living marine resources.We would like to thank the ICES secretariat for its support in organizing face-to-face and online meetings of the ECON working group and in developing the online survey of fisheries economists.We also express our gratitude to the three reviewers for their thoughtful suggestions, which helped us improve the manuscript

A Stochastic Viability Approach for Ecosystem-Based Management of Mixed Fisheries: The Case of The Bay of Biscay Demersal Fisheries

Marine scientists and stakeholders are increasingly advocating ecosystembased fishery management (EBFM). However, the way to operationalize such EBFM remains controversial. The viability approach can be a relevant modelling framework for EBFM as it accounts for dynamic complexities, uncertainties, risks and sustainability objectives balancing ecological, economic and social dimensions together with intergenerational equity. Mixed fisheries operating in the Bay of Biscay provide a challenging example to illustrate these issues. The present paper focuses on the case of the demersal fisheries catching nephrops, hake, sole and monkfish. A bioeconomic multi-species and multi-fleets model is developed to examine the capacity for the stochastic viability framework to assist in developing practical approaches to EBFM. The model integrates the dynamics of the harvested stocks with an uncertain recruitment and technical interactions through joint catches. It relies on data from ICES and IFREMER. A coviability analysis of the fish populations/fisheries system is performed to investigate how to simultaneously preserve the species (using Bpa precautionary referenced points) and guarantee economic incomes for the fleets. First results suggest that the viable harvesting intensities require a significant reduction in the effort of some fleets, as compared to reference year 2006.Keywords: Bioeconomic Analysis of Fisheries, Fish and Aquaculture Sectors Development, Fisheries EconomicsKeywords: Bioeconomic Analysis of Fisheries, Fish and Aquaculture Sectors Development, Fisheries Economic

Decreased lung fibroblast growth factor 18 and elastin in human congenital diaphragmatic hernia and animal models.

International audienceRATIONALE: Lung hypoplasia in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) seems to involve impaired alveolar septation. We hypothesized that disturbed deposition of elastin and expression of fibroblast growth factor 18 (FGF18), an elastogenesis stimulus, occurs in CDH. OBJECTIVES: To document FGF18 and elastin in human CDH and ovine surgical and rat nitrofen models and to use models to evaluate the benefit of treatments. METHODS: Human CDH and control lungs were collected post mortem. Diaphragmatic hernia was created in sheep at 85 days; fetal lungs were collected at 139 days (term = 145 days). Pregnant rats received nitrofen at 12 days; fetal lungs were collected at 21 days (term = 22 days). Some of the sheep fetuses with hernia underwent tracheal occlusion (TO); some of the nitrofen-treated pregnant rats received vitamin A. Both treatments are known to promote lung growth. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Coincidental with the onset of secondary septation, FGF18 protein increased threefold in control human lungs, which failed to occur in CDH. FGF18 labeling was found in interstitial cells of septa. Elastin staining demonstrated poor septation and markedly decreased elastin density in CDH lungs. Consistently, lung FGF18 transcripts were diminished 60 and 83% by CDH in sheep and rats, respectively, and elastin density and expression were diminished. TO and vitamin A restored FGF18 and elastin expression in sheep and rats, respectively. TO restored elastin density. CONCLUSIONS: Impaired septation in CDH is associated with decreased FGF18 expression and elastic fiber deposition. Simultaneous correction of FGF18 and elastin defects by TO and vitamin A suggests that defective elastogenesis may result, at least partly, from FGF18 deficiency

Assessing Economic Performance and Capital Productivity in the Fisheries Sector - The Case of Fishing Vessels in Brittany (France)

Indicators of the economic performance of fishing vessels are frequently computed in many countries. Usually, measures of economic performance are based on the return on capital invested. However, several measures of capital value exist, according to the economic information available. In this paper, we use different types of information to assess capital value and economic performance of fishing vessels. On the one hand, field surveys provide technical and financial information on the main components of fishing capital (vessel, engine, electronics, and storage equipment). On the other hand, book values are given in bookkeeping databases. Both sources of information on fishing capital are used for the same set of vessels, namely the commercial fishing fleet of the French region of Brittany. Based on these two sources, several measures of economic performance can be produced, concerning return on capital and capital productivity. The measures of performance obtained are presented, and the differences between them are then discussed

The Australian Coral Reef Fin-Fish Fishery ITQ Market

The Australian coral reef fin-fish fishery (CRFFF) on the Great Barrier Reef has been managed under ITQs since 2004. A large number of different reef species (>155) are covered by the management plan, but the primary species in terms of value and volume landed are coral trout and red throat emperor. All remaining species are classified as other species for management purposes. The operational side of the fishery is relatively heterogeneous and distinct sub-divisions exist between participants in terms of individual vessel characteristics and the species and product forms landed. The ITQ system has introduced an additional dimension for heterogeneity between fishers whilst also allowing investors not participating in the fishery to hold and trade quota. This analysis uses data on individual level quota holdings and trades to assess the CRFFF quota market and its evolution through time. Fishery level trends in ownership and trade are determined, and market participants are identified as belonging to one out of a set of seven generalized types. The emergence of groups such as investors and lease dependent fishers is clear. In 2010-11 42% of coral trout quota was owned by participants that did not fish it and 69% of total coral trout landings were made by fishers that owned only 11% of the quota. The incentives faced by the groups within the fishery differ, as do their vulnerabilities and resilience to natural or management related changes in the fishery's situation

The triple bottom line: Meeting ecological, economic and social goals with Individual Transferable Quotas

This paper deals with the sustainable management of a renewable resource based on individual and transferable quotas (ITQs) when agents differ in terms of harvesting costs or catchability. In a dynamic bio-economic model, we determine the conditions under which the manager of an ITQ system can achieve sustainability objectives which simultaneously account for stock renewal, economic efficiency and maintenance of fishing activity for the agents along time. We use the viability approach and more specifically the viability kernel to handle such a feasibility problem. We show that the capacity for the manager to set viable management strategies based on fixing Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits simultaneously depends on the degree of heterogeneity of users in the fishery, the current value of the stock and its dynamic features. To quantify this, we also compute the maximal number of active (viable) agents for a given set of agents and a given stock. It is shown how this number decreases with heterogeneity of involved agents while it increases with the stock. A numerical example illustrates the whole results.Keywords: Fisheries Modeling, Fisheries Economics, Modeling and Economic TheoryKeywords: Fisheries Modeling, Fisheries Economics, Modeling and Economic Theor

Investment and capital dynamics under long-term changes in marine fish communities: the case of French fleets exploiting the Bay of Biscay fisheries

This paper deals with capital mobility for artisanal vessels (of less than 24 meters in length) and with its structural adaptation, considering long-term changes in marine fish communities, using the Bay of Biscay fisheries as a case study. Long term changes are related to the impacts of fishing, to changes in the physical environment as climate change, or both. Hence, changes in the relative abundance of species in a fish community have impacted fisheries but at different degrees according to individual fishing strategies implemented. The aim is to valuate the probability for a boat to leave the fleet in terms of its technical characteristics, economic performance and of its localisation, under long-term changes in marine fish communities. This probability has all the more an important play on the regional economic activity than fishing industry is highly regionally based. The estimated model is a logit model, which also estimates the marginal effect of explanatory variables on the leaving probability. Particularly, we study the effect of boat characteristics and economic results on this probability. This leads to a logistic curve of a growing rate of the probability to leave the fleet. The rate value is not constant but changes in terms of fishing boats age, in contrast with the result obtained in the linear probabilistic model.Keywords: Marine fishing communities, Regional economic activity, Long term changes, Investment and capital dynamics, Fisheries Economics, Bay of BiscayKeywords: Marine fishing communities, Regional economic activity, Long term changes, Investment and capital dynamics, Fisheries Economics, Bay of Bisca