Regulating Fisheries... yay...

marine science - fisheries

What needs to be considered?

• target species (fecundity, ages, size, population/stocks)

• ecosystem

• gears used

• location

• capacity of fishers and managers/ officers (cost/ personnel/ expanse)

• F = Fishing Mortality

• controls - input and output

what are input controls?

• input: prior to fishing, limit. the amount of EFFORT applied to a fishery

• Licenses available

• vessel size

• gear types

• gear sizes

• gear limits - pots, hooks, net hours

• closed area

• closed season

• 
  

what are output controls?

• TACC = total allowable commercial catch

• ITQ = individual transferable quotas (used to allocate TACC, called statutory fishing rights (SFRs)

• species-specific limit on catch

• catch limit based on sustainability (historic, estimated, modelled)

• total fishery limit

• protected species

• bag/trip limits

• size limits

• maturity stages of fish

• specific parts of fish

what are the specifics of vessel size regulations?

• length

• gross tonnage (GT)

• length + GT = Net tonnage

What are the specifics of gear types and sizes

• netting

• hook and line

• circle hooks vs j-hooks

• material

• add ons like BRD (bycatch reduction devices)

• line durability / material

• hook sizes

• wire trace gauge <2mm

• max hook size 12/0

• nets: length, width and mesh size

• gear limits: number of hooks, number of traps, net timing

what are closed area regulation specifics?

marine protected areas

• strict nature reserve/ wilderness area

• national park

• natural monument or feature

• habitat/species management area (allow for fishing)

• protected landscape or seascape (allow for fishing)

• protected areas with sustainable use of natural resources (allow for fishing)

• small or large

• species

• habitats

• overall reduction in fishing mortality

what are closed season regulation specifics?

• weather

• species spawning/breeding

• pupping

• migrations

what are combinations of input controls?

• closed area for a season - species breed in part of estuary for 3 months

• prohibited gear on a certain area - no trawls nets on sensitive habitats

• large vessels not allowed inshore

what are regulations for protected species?

• threatened, endangered, protected (TEP) - all need to be released, alive if possible.

• sometimes if dead - they can be kept

• majority are released

• different populations of the same species can have different statuses

what are bag/trip limits?

• number of species / group per fishing trip

• e.g. - ETBF: 20 sharks per trip

what are size limits?

• minimum

• maximum

• slot limit

• BOFFFFs - Big Old Fat Fecund Female Fish

what are maturity limits?

• can be linked to size limits

• gravid individuals - if the fish is bearing eggs they should be released.

what are specific part regulations?

• parts of the fish

• stone crab: claw can be removed then the crab is thrown back and survives and grows back claw

• egg bearing females shouldn’t be declawed

what are issues in regulations?

• monitoring and costs

• discard mortality

• known relationships between age and growth

what are input and output combos?

• prohibited species during spawning seasons - closed season (input) + specific species (output)

• Target species with certain gear - gear limits (input) + specific species (output)