Paul A.M. van Zwieten

The Tragedy of Our Legacy: How do Global Management Discourses Affect Small Scale Fisheries in the South?

Modern fisheries management discourse is supported by two fundamental narratives that have global impacts. One is the fear of open access regimes, and the other is the condemnation of catching under-sized and immature fish. These narratives have existed for more than half a century and originate from the common property theory and the maximum yield per recruit theory. Our aim is to critically discuss and evaluate these narratives which have been developed within the context of scientific management of single-species industrial fisheries. We will show that the underlying assumptions can be seriously wrong and particularly absurd in fluctuating multi-species, multi-gear artisanal fisheries. Fishing effort in small scale fisheries is often largely regulated by natural production, like other top predators, and many targeted fish stocks and fish communities display a high degree of resilience. Furthermore, in spite of common belief, small scale unregulated, non-selective, adaptive fishing patterns could be healthier and far more ecosystem conserving than the current imposed single species management strategies. Many of these fisheries are serving as a ‘social security system’ – a common good and thereby function as a ‘last resort’ for economic mishap. Limiting open access will undermine the role of small scale fisheries to provide insurance, particularly for the poorest and least advantaged. The immense pressure to adapt to modern fisheries management thinking and economic theory is based on flawed assumptions and will not only have negative social effects, but also negative biological effects.

Improving the usage of fisheries statistics in Vietnam for production planning, fisheries management and nature conservation

The organisation of a fisheries statistical system dictates the potential usage of its information output. Information is used for planning of food production (fish as a commodity), for fisheries management (fish as a renewable natural resource), and for nature conservation (fish as an indicator for ecosystem quality). In this sequence, the required temporal, spatial and categorical resolution of data increases, while aggregation into meaningful ecological spaces requires a subtle way of organising the data flow. The effective usage of the present fisheries information of Vietnam is constrained by (1) its low categorical resolution and (2) the non-transparent aggregation of data into mere administrative spaces. Information requirements can be better articulated with the instalment of mandatory evaluation procedures at all levels in the fisheries administration. Our examples range from the national administration of the 4 million ton marine fisheries in Hanoi, to the local administration of a fishing commune in the Red River Delta.

Challenges of a transition to a sustainably managed shrimp culture agro-ecosystem in the Mahakam delta, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Around 1990, when in other countries mangrove protection took off, massive conversion of mangrove forest into shrimp ponds started in the Mahakam delta. To identify constraints to and options for sustainable management we analysed institutions and constraints with stakeholders. In 3 sites we used participatory tools and a complementary survey to assess the livelihood framework. Since 1970, ponds for shrimp farming gradually replaced 75% of mangrove forested area. After 2004, recovery of mangrove took off, as, mainly due to low shrimp yields, ponds were abandoned. In 2008, 54% of the delta was dedicated to ponds for shrimp production. Around 80% of livelihood activities of pond-farmers, pond caretakers, and fishermen was related to mangroves. The involvement of men and women in these activities varied between sites and types. Poor households depended more on mangroves. Most activities resulted in seasonal income peaks; only a few activities resulted in a full daily livelihood. Ponds, on the other hand, provide 50% of households’ livelihood, but this remains vulnerable in the context of the risky shrimp production. Skewed land holding, unequal sharing of benefits, competing claims and vested interests of stakeholders pose a great challenge to a transition to a more sustainable use of the mangrove area. In particular, ponds located on peat soils are non-sustainable and would require full restoration into mangrove; ponds on other soils could best be transformed into a mixed mangrove-pond system using a ‘green-water’ technology.

BIOECONOMIC MODELING OF SHRIMP AQUACULTURE STRATEGIES FOR THE MAHAKAM DELTA, INDONESIA

Bioeconomic modeling was used to evaluate traditional and extensive shrimp production in the Mahakam Delta and impacts of adopting Better Management Practices (BMP) for semi-intensive and integrated mangrove-shrimp culture. Modeling outcomes indicate that traditional production is not financially viable, failing to generate a positive 10-year Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Such practices persist in the Mahakam Delta as capital costs have been depreciated against past financial returns, input costs are negligible, risks are minimal, opportunity costs are low and options to intensify production have been retained by producers. Returns from BMP-guided semi-intensive culture (20% IRR) are marginally higher compared to extensive culture but entail a 10-fold increase in operating costs and greater risks. Integrated mangrove-shrimp production gives a reasonable IRR (53%) but costs remain high, management demanding and risks uncertain. Risk adverse operators with short-term leases may favor traditional and extensive practices. Sustainable intensification, allied to social capital development and rehabilitation of mangrove ecosystem services and environmental flows, is needed to reconcile multiple demands.

Closing the Incentive Gap: The Role of Public and Private Actors in Governing Indonesia's Tuna Fisheries

Abstract Indonesia is one of the worlds largest tuna producing countries, yet regulatory oversight remains weak and management is poor. Incentive-based approaches are a way to improve state-based resource management, but they often require strong government regulation. In this paper, we use principal–agent theory and the notion of the ‘incentive gap’ to explore how incentives could be brought to bear in Indonesia through a combination of private and public actors. With a shared fish stock like tuna, we argue that a double principal–agent problem emerges, where information, asymmetries between various players complicate management. We focus on the problems of adverse selection and moral hazard in three different tuna fisheries in Indonesia to identify the nature of the incentive gap, and comment on the mix of public and private actors currently engaged in tuna fishery governance towards reducing the gap. The double principal–agent problem is a useful yet underutilized framework to understand the dynamics of shared stocks management. In this first application to a developing country fishery, we conclude that information asymmetries cannot be overcome without the involvement of private actors, who are increasingly becoming important in aligning regional and global objectives with those of fishers themselves.

The role of spatial information in the preservation of the shrimp nursery function of mangroves: A spatially explicit bio-economic model for the assessment of land use trade-offs

Conversion to aquaculture affects the provision of important ecosystem services provided by mangrove ecosystems, and this effect depends strongly on the location of the conversion. We introduce in a bio-economic mathematical programming model relevant spatial elements that affect the provision of the nursery habitat service of mangroves: (1) direct or indirect connection of mangroves to watercourses; (2) the spatial allocation of aquaculture ponds; and (3) the presence of non-linear relations between mangrove extent and juvenile recruitment to wild shrimp populations. By tracing out the production possibilities frontier of wild and cultivated shrimp, the model assesses the role of spatial information in the trade-off between aquaculture and the nursery habitat function using spatial elements relevant to our model of a mangrove area in Ca Mau Province, Viet Nam. Results show that where mangrove forests have to coexist with shrimp aquaculture ponds, the inclusion of specific spatial information on ecosystem functions in considerations of land allocation can achieve aquaculture benefits while largely preserving the economic benefits generated by the nursery habitat function. However, if spatial criteria are ignored, ill-advised land allocation decisions can easily lead to a collapse of the mangroves nursery function.

Commentary: BESTTuna: Benefiting from equitable and sustainable trans-boundary tuna fisheries in the Western Pacific

Abstract In this commentary we introduce the BESTTuna research programme which addresses the challenges of governing sustainable and equitable tuna fisheries in the Western Pacific. The research in this programme attempts to build an inter-disciplinary understanding of the complex social-ecological interactions in tuna fisheries in order to contribute to the design of effective and equitable governance arrangements that can steer public and private interests in the fishery to more desirable outcomes. In addition, the programme aims to develop an effective long-term science-governance network for sustainable tuna fisheries in the Western Pacific, which generates, disseminates and uses knowledge on tuna ecology, tuna fisher behaviours, and tuna fisheries management and governance.