Total Allowable Catch &

Regulation of Mesh Size

Presented byJitendra KumarPh.D. DFK 1303

Dept. of Fisheries Resources and ManagementCollege of Fisheries, Mangalore

jitendrafishco@gmail.com

• Survival- many costal communities, particularly in developing countries, fish as a primary food source.

• Recreation- fishing for fun.

• Profit- commercial exploitation as a means of earning a livelihood.

What is “fishing” and Why?

What is “over fishing”?• Removal of organisms from the marine

environment by human at a rate which cannot be sustained mans by the local ecosystem and therefore significantly alters natural ecosystem.

or

• Fishing a population faster than it can replace itself; the population decreases in size as a result.

What are some consequences of over fishing?

• Much more complicated than reduction of one species

• Trophic interactions• Examples: Salmon, killer whale, sea otter

• Change in ecosystem structure

• Loss of biodiversity

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Collapse: End of Global Fish Stock by 2050? (Source: Globalization 101.org, the Levin Institute)

According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),

Over 70 percent of fish species are currently in danger of collapse. 

Monitoring 600 groups of fish species, the FAO deems52 % to be fully exploited, 17 % overexploited, 7 % depleted, and 1 % recovering. 

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Projections

Incentive Blocking Capacity Mitigating Measures

• Limited entry programs,• Buyback programs,• Gear and vessel restrictions,• Total Allowable Catches,• Vessel catch limits, and• Individual effort quotas

FAO, 2002

Definition

TACs are usually expressed in tonnes of live-weight equivalent, but are sometimes set in terms of numbers of fish.

The total allowable catch (TAC) is a catch limit set for a particular fishery, generally for a year or a fishing season.

Total Allowable Catches, known as TACs,

are set annually by the European Union Commission

Based on ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) scientific advice

(Andersen et al., 2009)

Total allowable catch (TAC)

• The CFP sets quotas for how much of each species can be caught (in a certain area)

• Each country is given a quota based upon the total available (Total Allowable Catch, TAC) and their traditional share

• TACs are fixed annually by the Council of Ministers

• After quota are fixed by the Council of Ministers, each EU member state is responsible for policing its own quota.

• Different countries distribute their quota among fishermen using different systems.

Mesh Size

• Minimum size of square mesh:

• All shallow water prawn otter trawl nets: 35mm

• All deepwater prawn otter trawl nets: 45mm

• All scallop otter trawl nets: 88mm• All beam trawl nets: 28mm

In India

• The code-end mesh size of the net was reduced to ~25 mm streched so as to prevent the escape of tiny shrimp.

(Ayyappan, 2011)

• These nets, called the shrimp trawls, exploit huge quantities of small fishes and juveniles of large fishes.

• The catch rate of demersals decreased from• 17.3kg/hr in 1994 to • 13.6 kg/hr in 2004

• Another disturbing aspect of trawl is the size of codend mesh

• Which is very small <15mm

• The optimum prescribed for sustainable fishery is 35 mm

Unregulated

Open Access

Questions AnswersWho can fish? Anyone

When, where and how can they fish?

Any time, anywhere, any way they wish

How much can an individual fisherman catch?

As much as he can

What limits the total catch?

When fishermen stop fishing—which is driven by resource and economic conditions. Typically, they keep fishing until it’s no longer profitable.

UNREGULATED OPEN ACCESS

Regulated Open

Access

Questions AnswersWho can fish? Anyone

When, where and how can they fish?

Only when, where and how managers allow fishing

How much can an individual fisherman catch?

As much as he can, given management regulations

What limits the total catch?

Area limits, gear limits, season limits, & other types of restrictions. Managers may close the fishery after a Total Allowable Effort (TAE) or Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is reached.

REGULATED OPEN ACCESS

Limited Entry

Questions AnswersWho can fish? Only holders of limited entry permits

When, where and how can they fish?

Only when, where and how managers allow fishing

How much can an individual fisherman catch?

As much as he can, given management regulations

What limits the total catch?

Area limits, gear limits, season limits, & other types of restrictions. Managers may close the fishery after a Total Allowable Effort (TAE) or Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is reached.

LIMITED ENTRY

Individual Catch Shares

Questions AnswersWho can fish? Only holders of catch shares

When, where and how can they fish?

Only when, where and how managers allow fishing

How much can an individual fisherman catch?

Only as much as his individual quota (his catch share of the Total Allowable Catch)

What limits the total catch?

The Total Allowable Catch (TAC)

INDIVIDUAL CATCH SHARES

How would YOU rate this type of management system with respect to resource protection?

79%

0%4%

17%

How would YOU rate this type of management system with respect to economic efficiency?

56%

0%0%

44%

How would YOU rate this type of management system with respect to simplicity?

11% 11%

56%

22%

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Management of Fishery Resources

• Catch and release programs are based on the idea that a recreational angler does not have to kill his or her catch to produce utility from fishing.

• These regulations allow fish to be caught, released, and left to grow, reproduce, and be caught again.

• Both restrictions are designed to protect the reproductive viability of the fish stocks.

• FAO’s Code of conduct for responsible fisheries should be follow…… (CCRF-Oct, 1995)

Management tools• Input controls – tools that indirectly control catch using fishing effort

restrictions.• Limiting the number of fishers and/or boats (by licences or other

means).• Gear restrictions.• Limits on the number of fishing days.• Temporal (e.g. seasonal closures) or spatial closures.

Close Season

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• 15 April to• 31 MayEast coast:

• 15 June to• 31 JulyWest coast:

Fishing Holiday

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Summary

• Fishery resources are renewable but destructible.

• The destructibility problem is amplified by the open-access nature of many of the world’s fishery resources.

• For commercial fishing, optimal management strategy requires the limitation of effort to a level that maximizes the sum of consumers’ surplus, producers’ surplus, and fishery rent.

MY HYPOTHESIS:

There is no “perfect” fishery management system

• No system performs “best” with respect to all objectives

• Systems that perform well with respect to some objectives may perform poorly with respect to other objectives

DID YOU AGREE?

My conclusion . . .

For any society, the “best” fishery management system depends upon the society’s objectives as well as the specific circumstances of the society, the fishery, markets, and technology.

Thank You