Report on the impact of socio-economic effects of fisheries management

Assessing the socio-economic impacts of fisheries management is crucial to ensuring full and effective implementation of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM). That said, socio-economic dimensions are often considered as secondary in the evaluation of management scenarios. However, consideration of social and economic variables alongside the ecological is essential to ensuring the sustainability of both the fishing industry and the marine ecosystems it relies upon. 

This is especially critical when assessing the robustness of management strategies in the face of projected climate change, and their combined impacts on the marine environment, along with the fishing livelihoods and coastal economies that rely on it.

SEAwise research

As part of our theme on the ‘Evaluation of Fisheries Management’, SEAwise researchers employed bio-economic models (i.e. models that include both biological and economic elements) to explore the effects of a variety of management measures under future climate change scenarios. Drawing on Management Plans already in place, this work focused on three of our Case Study regions: the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and Western Waters (Bay of Biscay and Celtic Sea). The models outlined in this report integrate and build on findings, model iterations, and workshops undertaken as part of SEAwise’s previous work.

Five scenarios, representing different management measures, were modelled for each of the above case study regions:

  • Status-quo scenario: under which current fishing effort levels are maintained in line with current Management Plans.
  • FMSY scenario: whereby fishing catch or effort is capped at sustainable levels (i.e. Maximum Sustainable Yield) for all fish stocks. This scenario focuses on fish species most at risk, and, in locations where it is in force, mimics the Landing Obligation, which requires all fish caught to be landed irrespective of their size or whether they were the target species.
  • PGY (Pretty Good Yield) scenario: where fishing catch or effort is capped at sustainable levels but within a more flexible range than would be the case under a strict Maximum Sustainable Yield approach – aiming to avoid both overfishing and wasting fish by keeping catches within a sustainable range.
  • FMSY combined scenario: reflecting reduced fishing effort to keep all fish stocks healthy, ensuring that the overall amount of catch does not exceed sustainable levels for any species.

A case-specific scenario: with fishing limits tailored to advice specific to each fishery, reflecting the latest data and understanding of that particular environment and its fish populations.

Across these scenarios, the effects of three different climate change scenarios were also assessed: 1) a ‘no climate change’ scenario (with present-day temperatures continuing into the future), 2) a RCP 4.5 scenario (with average temperatures 2.5 to 3°C higher than those experienced in 2000), 3) a RCP8.5 scenario (with average temperatures 4 to 6°C higher than those experienced in 2000).

Drawing on model outputs across the Case Study regions, we found that:

  • Continued fishing activity simulated in the status-quo scenario, which most closely mirrors current practice, is suboptimal in socio-economic terms compared to the other scenarios explored.
  • Balancing management between the extremes of the status-quo and FMSY (with strict Landing Obligation enforcement) scenarios could mitigate some of the negative socio-economic impacts of climate change on the fishery and decrease the CO2 emissions per kg of fish landed. However, this is regionally dependent and fleet specific.
  • In economic terms, the impact of management scenarios varied between the small- and large-scale fleet segments.
  • Climate impacts also varied depending on the scale of the fleet, with this again differing between regions as well as being determined by the ecological and environmental vulnerability of the fleet’s target fishery (i.e. a nearshore fishery being located in shallower waters, and thereby more affected by increases in water temperature).

What happens next?

Following on from this report, subsequent work will focus on further fine-tuning and tailoring SEAwise models through a series of review workshops, gaining stakeholder input which will be integrated into the model iterations included in upcoming deliverables. Beyond SEAwise, the findings outlined in this report will also provide valuable inputs to be considered within the ongoing review of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Read the full report here.

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