Global Directions in Bycatch Management
- Challenges for the Southeast Asia -
Petri Suuronen
FAO, Fishing Operations and Technology Service (FIRO)
CTFF Bali, June 15-17 2010
Bycatch – What is it?
1. Much confusion and misunderstanding:
•
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No single definition!
Fish – Juveniles - Turtles – Seabirds - Marine mammals
2. Economic dimension:
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‘Trash fish’ a major component of catch in many fisheries
 increasingly used as animal feed
Food supply, livelihood, employment, income
3. User conflicts:
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Bycatch is lost yield to somebody!
4. Ethical/moral issues:
•
Wasteful usage of natural resources.
Bycatch and discards quantities
1.
FAO 1994
“The Alverson Report”
27 mil. t
Bycatch + Discards
2.
FAO 1998
“FAO SOFIA”
20 mil. t
Bycatch + Discards
3.
FAO 2005 “The Kelleher Report”
7.3 mil. t
Discards
Discarded global catch has reduced:
1. More selective fishing!
2. Improved management and
enforcement actions!
3. Increased utilization of ‘bycatch’
species.
4. Decline of some fisheries having
high bycatch rates.
Why worry?
• Because high levels of bycatch and discards
still exist in many fisheries!
• Because many fisheries in high-biodiversity
ecosystems produces large quantities of low
value fish!
 ‘bycatch’, ‘trash fish’
 include juveniles of ecologically important and
economically valuable species
• Because bycatch may represent a significant
unaccounted source of fishing mortality!
Bycatch – a broad problem
•
In many fisheries the juvenile fish are
increasingly targeted and landed!
•
There is growing concern that excessive
bycatch is:
•

threatening the long-term sustainability of
many fisheries,

decreasing food security, and

negatively affecting the livelihoods of millions
of fishers and fishworkers that depend on fish
resources.
Bycatch may also has significant broader
impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Classical symptoms of fishery failures
• Lost yield due to overfishing and illegal fishing
• Poor economic performance
• Great government subsidies
• Increasing conflicts among user groups
• Lost yield due to bycatch and discarding
• Catches consisting increasingly of juveniles
• Fishing causing excessive pressure on ecosystem
“Fishing down the food chain”
PAST
PRESENT
FUTURE?
Source: Pauly et al. Science, 1998
Challenges in managing bycatch (I)
• Time series data on bycatch often not
available - amount of bycatch often
not known
• Overall impacts of bycatch poorly
known on:
– Resources - ecosystems
– Livelihoods - Income
– Nutrition - Consumption
– Conflicts
• Where, when and why is ‘bycatch’ a
problem?
• What is the acceptable level of
bycatch?
Challenges in managing bycatch (II)
• Major gaps in the current regimes to
manage bycatch.
• Adoption of mitigation measures
heavily constrained by:
– Political will
– Economic incentives
– Poor awareness
– Financial and human resources
• What are the priority issues that
should be addressed in various
fisheries?
International Guidelines on Bycatch
Management and Reduction of Discards 1
The Guidelines will provide:
• Guidance on how bycatch can be
integrated in resource management
• The framework for actions at national
and regional level
1
The 28th session of COFI (2009) agreed FAO to develop these
Guidelines through Expert Consultation and Technical Consultation
Expert Consultation:
‘Bycatch’ is the catch that a fisher
 did not intend to catch
 did not want to catch
 did not choose to use, or
 which should not be caught for whatever reason
Main elements of International Guidelines
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•
•
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Governance and institutional frameworks
Bycatch management plans
Data collection, reporting and assessment;
Monitoring control and surveillance (MCS)
Research and development on bycatch mitigation and discard
reduction technologies
 identification of best practices
• Awareness, communication and capacity building
• Special requirements of developing States
Tools to manage bycatch and discards
• Capacity and effort controls
• Measures relating to fishing gear design and
their use
– size and type of mesh, hook; BRDs, TEDs, SMPs, etc.
– technologies to reduce encounters and to increase
survival probability
– alternative fishing gears and practices
• Spatial and temporal closures
– closed areas and seasons, MPAs, real-time closures,
fishing gear bans, etc.
• Limits on bycatch
– bycatch quotas, no-discard regimes, etc
• Economic incentives – facilitation of the uptake
– market-based tools (increasingly important)
Performance of measures - case specific
• A few universal solutions exist
 real drivers have to be identified
 fisheries based solutions are needed.
• The interests and possibilities of different fleets
vary considerably.
• Adoption of selective techniques may mean loss
of income (in the short term at least).
• Incentives are needed to encourage fishers
uptake of measures!
 what are the benefits and who will get them?
• Costs associated with implementation and
enforcement vary considerably.
Potential benefits to reduce bycatch
 improved productive potential of fish
stocks

improved yields in the future
•
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positive public attitude (image)
•
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larger size of fish, better price
better business opportunities
reduction of operational costs
•
reduced fuel cost
•
reduced sorting time of catch
o
improved catch quality
Special concerns related to SE Asia
• Ambitious objectives to address
– Widespread Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported
fishing (IUU)
– Highly migratory species (= management scenarios
extend beyond the area)
– Endangered marine species
• A large area to cover
– Conservation measures are vulnerable to ‘outside
forces’
– Measures are undermined by mobile fishing capacity
and open access
• How to ensure stakeholder involvement?
– Balance between environmental well-being & human
well-being?
– Rights & equity & food security
No clear strategy on how to
– Combating IUU
• IUU fishing often undertaken by countries outside of the region
– Managing excessive fishing capacity (a driver of IUU)
• Monitoring control and surveillance (MCS)
• Vessel monitoring systems (VMS)
• Developing fishing vessel registers
• Port State Measures (to close ports and markets to IUU fish)
– Use market measures, certification schemes and ecolabelling
• substantial part of markets lie outside of the region
– Regional agreements to address the issues
• Broad regional level action is required to “cement” together the national activities
• Linkages to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries
• Fisheries do not exist in isolation -
fish stocks are elements of an
ecosystem
• Increasing awareness of the
importance of various interactions in
marine ecosystems
• Recognition of a wide range of
societal interests in marine
ecosystems
• Poor performance of current
management practices
Strong co-operation needed
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We are all working towards the same goal
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There are no easy solutions
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Collaboration with all partners is needed
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Engagement of private sector to participate in
developing and adopting best practices is crucial
Thank you!