An integrated and statistical approach for the valuation of economic status of small scale fisheries

The small scale fisheries are generally unknown over the world due to a crucial lack of data, and particularly costs and earnings data. This is also true for the European fisheries while vessels less than 12 meters represent almost 75% of the total European fleet. Faced to the increasing price of fuel and the depletion of traditional exploiting marine resources, fisheries managers need to know more about the small scale fleet, also in terms of its diversity. This paper first presents an integrated methodology, combining both biological and economic disciplines, used to collect data on small scale fisheries through questionnaires. The first set of collected data is used to produce a revenue model to assess individual earnings depending on technical characteristics and the fishing activity of the vessel. This revenue model allows then to assess the production of small scale fisheries per group of vessels. This revenue model is used in parallel to optimize the following sampling plans for collection of costs and earnings data. Implemented for 6 years in France, this system makes possible the assessment of total and per fleet gross value added and direct employment in the small scale fisheries. The results are presented in this paper and show the significant role of small scale fisheries in the French fishing sector

An integrated and statistical approach for the valuation of economic status of small scale fisheries

International audienceThe small scale fisheries are generally unknown over the world due to a crucial lack of data, and particularly costs and earnings data. This is also true for the European fisheries while vessels less than 12 meters represent almost 75% of the total European fleet. Faced to the increasing price of fuel and the depletion of traditional exploiting marine resources, fisheries managers need to know more about the small scale fleet, also in terms of its diversity. This paper first presents an integrated methodology, combining both biological and economic disciplines, used to collect data on small scale fisheries through questionnaires. The first set of collected data is used to produce a revenue model to assess individual earnings depending on technical characteristics and the fishing activity of the vessel. This revenue model allows then to assess the production of small scale fisheries per group of vessels. This revenue model is used in parallel to optimize the following sampling plans for collection of costs and earnings data. Implemented for 6 years in France, this system makes possible the assessment of total and per fleet gross value added and direct employment in the small scale fisheries. The results are presented in this paper and show the significant role of small scale fisheries in the French fishing sector

A new approach to estimate catches and fishing effort of small scale fisheries by sampling fishing trips on-site

International audienceSmall-scale fisheries are commonly little understood as a consequence of a crucial lack of data. This is also true for European fisheries, where vessels less than 12 m represent almost 75% of the total fleet. This paper details a methodology developed to estimate catches and fishing effort of small-scale vessels by sampling fishing trips on-site. The benefits of using auxiliary census data, the annual activity calendars collected by the Fisheries Information System (FIS), to improve the precision of the estimates are evaluated. Sampling schemes to estimate catches and fishing effort need to take account of the variability resulting from different categories of vessels, métiers, zones, and seasonality. To meet this objective, the methodology used here aims to optimize the sampling effort's allocation according to the diversity of métiers and the intensity of activity in each harbour. Different methods for the extrapolation of catch and effort data have been tested on the basis of the métiers and on the typologies of fleets. The results obtained are presented and their accuracy discussed. For Réunion Island, our estimation by sampling is compared with the declared fishing forms

Fishing effort allocation between reef and pelagic ecosystems in Martinique and Guadeloupe A preliminary analysis

International audienc

From fleet census to sampling schemes: an original collection of data on fishing activity for the assessment of the French fisheries

International audienceThe development of a fishery ecosystem approach implies the improvement of integrated analyses of fisheries by considering biological as well as socio-economic dimensions, and thus improvement of the data available about the fleet structure, evolution, and activity. Since 2000, Ifremer has been developing a Fisheries Information System (FIS), a multidisciplinary monitoring network allowing an integrated and comprehensive view of fishery systems including biological, technical, environmental, and economic components. The FIS covers all the French fisheries, including the often neglected small-scale fisheries. One of the unique features of the FIS lies in the fleet-monitoring procedure—a comprehensive collection of annual activity calendars designed to characterize the inactivity or activity of the vessels each month of the year and, in the latter case, the métiers practised (use of a gear to target one or several species) and the main fishing areas. This survey covers all the fleets and provides minimum but exhaustive information on the vessels. It is particularly instructive for the small-scale fisheries, where catches and effort data are often incomplete. Furthermore, this exhaustive data allows stratification of the fleet and thus provides the basis for (i) the implementation of sampling schemes to estimate catches, landings, discards, or economic performance of the different fleets and (ii) the development of a fleet-métier matrix, giving the possibility of identifying at any one time the structure of the whole fleet, the métier polyvalence of the vessels, and the allocation of fishing effort on the different fishing resource

Re-assessing the French small-scale coastal fisheries: from fleet activity to economic performance

Papier disponible en ligne (pdf) : http://www.ices.dk/products/CMdocs/CM-2008/K/K1008.pdfInternational audienceAlthough the majority of small-scale fisheries are found in developing nations, a considerable number exist in developed nations as well. Small-scale fisheries are strongly represented in all European Union (EU) Member States, 81% and 87% of the EU 25 whole fleet is composed of vessels less than 12 and 15 m long, respectively. In 2000, European regulation established a fishery data collection framework including economic information requirements in order to provide the scientific basis for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy. This paper presents the methodology designed to collect the relevant economic data and characterize the status of the French fleets from an economic perspective. Based on a stratified sampling plan including the following of small-scale fleets, data collection by field survey is based on a single questionnaire for all the fleets, whatever the size of the vessel, the gear used, the fishing area or the species targeted. It provides a large dataset including earnings and costs but also capital, employment, fishing activity figures. Statistical analysis through a revenue model gives the basis for a re-assessment of the smallscale fisheries contribution to national production. Economic indicators such as gross added value, rents, and direct employment are derived from the dataset. The significant role of small-scale fisheries in the French fishing sector is established and the use of indicators in bioeconomic analysis is discussed

Système d'Informations relatif aux activités de pêche maritime en Martinique (SIHM)

Rapport intermédiaire du projet pilote 2007-2008, 42 p

Small scale fisheries in Europe: A comparative analysis based on a selection of case studies

Full text: http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00118/22934/20757.pdf (Version "auteur", 0.44 Mo)International audienceSmall-scale fisheries have traditionally received less research effort than large-scale fisheries and are generally under-studied in Europe. In spite of their comparatively low volume of catches and economic importance, small-scale fisheries are socially important and an integral part of the European coastal zone. Considering the high heterogeneity of situations and the paucity of quantitative data, we used an analytical methodology based on the comparative method. We carried out an analysis of small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in Europe based on a selection of nine case studies. Our objective was to obtain a comprehensive description of small-scale fleets covering different areas/fisheries/species, encompassing the diversity and specific conditions under which SSFs operate, in order to demonstrate the ecological and social sustainability of this often overlooked fisheries segment. A common approach formulated so that the case studies could be compared with the case histories of other competing users, required that for each set of criteria - technical, biological, socio-economic, and institutional - a set of relevant items and indicators was established. An analysis of characteristics common to the selected case studies is conducted and an attempt made to extend our comparisons to the whole of the European Union. Our results show that (as compared with large-scale fleets, their main competitor) small-scale fleets: (i) are composed of smaller vessels and, consequently, travel lower distances to fishing grounds, and are more reliant on coastal areas; (ii) have smaller crews (although the global employment figure is similar to that of large-scale fleets in Europe); (iii) use mostly, but not exclusively, passive gears; (iv) use multi-purpose fishing approaches, and can change the fish species they target during the year; (v) have lower extraction rates; (vi) have lower total capital investments (including fishing rights), turnover and costs; and (vii) have lower fuel consumption, making them less sensitive to changing oil prices. Dependence on subsidies is lower (viii). Involvement in fisheries management is variable, conservation and access regulation measures are largely local in origin. For the selected case studies, the most significant competitors are large-scale fleets, and recreational fisheries, but other sources of interaction (water quality, invasive species, etc.) cannot be ignored

Système d'Informations relatif aux activités de pêche maritime en Guadeloupe (SIHG)

Rapport intermédiaire du projet pilote 2007-2008, 47 p