New Emerging Fisheries: Another chance to "get it right" in

the management of Canada's marine resources

Bruce G. HatcherBras Institute for Marine Ecosystem Research, Cape

Breton University

Anthony CharlesManagement Science / Environmental Studies, Saint

Mary's UniversityOMRN Conf.-2007

Scraping the bottom of the East coast fish barrel

• or “the arse is out of ‘er b’ys”• Capitalist inertia, poverty &/or desire for lost

ways of life leads to quest for here-to-for ignored fish ‘resources’

• What are the consequences for a trophically-challenged ocean?

• Where is the balance between ecological & economic sustainability? Between economic efficiency and equitable access?

• How can we manage these “emerging” fisheries better? (than we did those of the past)

Policy vacuumPolicy vacuum

• All fisheries were new sometime, but the big ones emerged under the (unwritten) resource grab (< 1979) or economic compensation (1992-2002) ‘policies’

• “Under-Utilized Species” were (and still are) treated by the regulating agency as a means to divert effort and assuage client demand for new access to fish

• The tenets of the Oceans Act mean that these fisheries can not be developed as in the past

New Fish Policy Evolution: variable in time & space

• Develop, for economic benefit of industries & communities at taxpayer’s expense– Poor cousin of the established fisheries in terms of

resources allocated for science & management

• Ignore, because existing fisheries are productive, or costs perceived to > benefits

• Develop, for benefit at proponent’s expense on a case-by-case basis – Use JPA’s to fund science with fish

• Permit access on a case-by-case basis according to graduated proof of sustainability

Canada’s New Emerging Fisheries Policy - 2001

• Definition is flexible, includes ‘old’ species in new grounds, new entrants & long, low effort fisheries

• Explicitly recognizes the needs for precaution and consideration of ecosystem effects

• Provides a progressive, interruptible, 3-stage process towards a commercial license:– Stage 1: find resource, demonstrate catch & market– Stage 2: assess resource, demonstrate direct &

indirect effects of fishing– Stage 3: generate sustainable exploitation, monitoring

& business plans

• Proponent pays for research & development.– JPAs allow compensation in fish until Larocque 2006

Anatomy of a New Emerging Fishery

• Species is poorly known to fisheries science, and even to biological & ecological sciences– Often low recruitment, growth & reproduction

• Distribution and abundance of resource is not quantified, time series are short or absent

• Fishing expertise is poorly developed• Market is weak, sporadic &/or distant• Research & Management expertise is weak• Funding for research is scarce• Interest & commitment is initially high, but

fickle

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Some examplesHag fish

Sea Urchin

Surf Clam

Monk fish

initiation date 1987/95 1989/93 1987/07? 1995

time to license 1y/>10y <1y/5y 2y/ 5y-No

science base No No/H-B No/Stock CPUE

ecosystm base No No No/Yes No

managmt base Effort & Gear

Effort / Area

TAC - ITQ

TAC By -catch

# of applicants 1/7 17/29 4/1 5

allocation criteria

FC-FS / Investmt

FC-FS / Capacity

FC-FS / buy outs

Inter-view

outcome (‘07) Sustaind Developg Sustaind Closed

Atlantic Surf Clam• “Discovered” by DFO researchers in 80’s• Vulnerable resource in robust habitat • Opened to 4 companies in 1986

– Fixed quota, enterprise allocations

• 1994 market issues force restructuring• No scientific basis for management until 1997

– Stock assessment & quota lowered.

• 2002 JPA signed with monopoly company• 2003(07) stock assessment doubles biomass

estimate for one area, results in science advice of 100%+ increase in quota

Canadian Science Advisory SecretariatMaritimes Region Science Advisory Report 2007/034

ASSESSMENT OF THE OCEAN QUAHOG (ARCTICA ISLANDICA) STOCKS ON SABLE BANK AND ST. MARY’S

BAY, AND THE ARCTIC SURFCLAM (MACTROMERIS POLYNYMA) STOCK ON BANQUEREAU

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Access & Allocation

• Allocation of licensed access to ‘new’ public fish resources involves vital decisions– Should be made in the public interest– Analogous to allocation of radio frequencies:

CRTC review panels

• The making of such decisions in the case of new fisheries is (and long has been) unclear in rules, variable in application and unpredictable in outcomes.– Leads to uncertainty and perceptions of inequity

• What policy elements might best use the opportunity provided by emerging fisheries?

Sustainable Development of New Fisheries

• Current use of limited resources should be in best interests of present AND future generations– Present use often DOES jeopardize future use

• Address all Four dimensions of Sustainability:– Ecological - M<PE @ BQ - requires precautionary rules

for use of populations & ecosystems – Economic - efficiency (B>C), innovation (Comptn) &

multiplier effects (societal & ecosystem $ >> fish $)– Social - equitable distribution & healthy communities– Institutional - stable legal, policy, admin. & operations

require adequate human & financial resources

Science perspectives• Population models of new fisheries are never

available and expensive to derive (guessTAC)• Monitoring initial time series of geospatial CPUE

is rarely done, but is the best investment• Fishery-independent information (R-S, legacy

data, LEK) is often available but poorly used • Limited human capacity & funding and data

delay estimates of ecologically sustainable exploitation levels

• Partnerships in research with fishery proponents are essential, but independent public investment is also (JPAs problematic)

Economic perspectivesEconomic perspectives

• Maximize Efficiency - greatest overall benefits (economic, social & ecosystem) for least cost – distribute benefits (& risks) across all dimensions

of sustainable development

• Control Capacity - just enough or somewhat less than required to achieve sustainability objectives– flexible development to avoid over-capacity

• Foster Innovation - usually linked through Competition– fully consider the effects of diversity vs. monopoly

Social PerspectivesSocial Perspectives

• Social, as well as ecological and economic considerations are part of sustainable development of emerging fisheries

• New fisheries are emerging in a transitional down-sizing and diversification of the seafood industry in Eastern Canada

• Decisions on the allocation of access to fish resources that support the self-reliance of coastal communities have high potential benefits.

Pareto-optimal solutions?

• Emerging fisheries are the acid testing ground for ecosystem-based fisheries management

• Area-based management of habitat exploitation and impacts is an appropriate & affordable alternative to population model-based management of emerging fisheries

• Legislatively mandated decision-making based on power-sharing between government agencies, the fishing sector and with other representatives of community interests will allow the broader vision of maximum combined benefit with acceptable ecological and economic cost to emerge