Managing tropical trawl fisheries Development of the APFIC regional guidelines

Simon Funge-Smith Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

Short history of trawling in Asia• Earliest records beam trawls towed behind sailboats in Manila Bay. Industrial

trawling began in the early part of the 20th Century.

• Steamships, then diesel-powered vessels began to tow large nets. Early 1970’s modification of otter board gear to suit small, low powered vessels

• Otter board trawling rapidly became a dominant form of fishing in the tropical Asian waters . – underwent a rapid expansion over a period of decades – led to massive increases in the total catches of shrimp and finfish.

“Tongkol” first Malaysian steam trawler

Types of trawl

• Variety of trawl gears used in Asia’s tropical trawl fisheries – Bottom otter trawl (shrimp trawl and fish

trawl)– Pair trawls (variously allowed or banned)– bottom or mid-water, high opening etc

• Typically operated– between 10 m - 150 m depth– Usually maximum of about 70 m

• Trawling therefore remains a feature of coastal fisheries – results in significant overlap and interaction

with other gear type fisheries

• There are now an estimated 83,000 trawl vessels currently operating in the tropical parts of the APFIC region (Funge-Smith et al 2012).

Catch from trawling• Trawl fishing one of the chief methods responsible

for placing the Asia-Pacific region as the world’s largest producer of fish

• Asia catches ~50 % of the world’s wild fish

– 48.7 million tonnes– Trawling > 6.6 million tonnes?

• 25-52% of the total marine catch in countries with significant tropical trawling– China south China sea area >50%– Indonesia 25%– India 50% – Thailand 52%– VietNam 43%– Malaysia 48%

• China and four other Asian countries produce ~55 % of the global shrimp catch

What is being caught?

• Tropical trawl fisheries in Asia catch approximately 800 species

• shark , fish crustaceans, cephalopods, shellfish, echinoderms

• ~300 species contribute to the fishery.

• This vast number of species are all utilized

• Discarding is relatively uncommon and low level except in targeted shrimp trawling

Catch levels • Increases in capture fishery production that

are being achieved in this region in recent decades attributed to:– increases in fishing effort – expansion of the geographical range of fishing

activities – retention of most animals caught (including

shorter-lived, small, fast-recruiting species).

• Tropical trawl fisheries a major driver of these trends

Many tropical trawl fisheries in poor shape

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Status of trawl fishery Typical featuresHigh ecosystem integrityHigh diversity

Under fished Fully fished

• Effective management• Limits on effort• Fishery operating close to maximum value for food fish• Fishery operating at Maximum Economic Yield

Modified ecosystemMedium diversity

Fully fishedOverfished

• Some management in place, • Probably excess fishing capacity/fishing effort • Ecosystem changed by fishing, loss of higher value

species • Producing a mixture of good, medium and low quality

fish for direct consumption, processing, surimi, and animal feeds

• Capacity reduction, gear restrictions needed

Degraded ecosystemHighly modified

Overfished for extended period

• Little effective management - Over-capacity• Fishery not very profitable - Subsidies • Fished down• Producing low value species that are largely directed for

surimi or processing and for feeds • Management needed to improve efficiency and reduce

overfishing effects

Ecological and environmental issues that arise from trawling• Overfishing

– Trawling highly efficient but non-selective method– Widespread trawling in Asia’s tropics contributes to

overfishing and long-term declines of stocks

• Bycatch of immature fish and small sized fish– Bycatch is a common feature of any trawl fishery, – landing of low-value fish common– Dependence developed - aquaculture/agriculture

feeds & surimi processing – Drives targetting of small fish

• Effects on habitat and ecosystem Function– mobile gear, damage benthic habitats– Impacts benthic habitats and changes

ecosystem/species interactions– tropical benthic habitat recovery may be quick after

trawling

Social & economic issues that arise from trawling• Overcapacity & unprofitable Trawl Sector:

– > 83,000 trawlers working in tropical Asia – probably too many vessels for the size/value of the

catch – Rising fuel prices and labour costs– Stable or declining catches – many trawl fisheries unprofitable.

• Governments policy– Focus on production, ignoring sustainability– more fish for food security and job creation– Subsidies - low cost fuel, develop port

infrastructure, low-cost loans, cheap foreign labour– Ignoring/overlooking IUU

• These incentives/subsidies – offset the real production costs and make fishing

look profitable – Encourages increased fishing effort– Encourage IUU fishing– Undermine safety at sea, labour conditions

Policy & governance• Management measures vs IUU fishing

– closed areas, seasons or other zones, mesh sizes, gear restrictions

– Often poor compliance, illegal activity, over-capacity, weak fishery control

– Constrains management, leads to significant conflicts

• Conflicts– conflicts with other fishers (esp. artisanal)– target the same species, encroachment in reserved

areas

• Impacts on supporting industries: – Fish processing, surimi, fishmeal , aquaculture have

grown– Availability of trawl products– Limiting catch of trawl fishery may have negative

impacts

• Strong economic and social interests will affect acceptability of management measures

Why we need to manage• Expansion & increased production replaced by

over-capacity & over-exploitation– Downhill from here– Social, economic and trade implications

• Management, legal frameworks have taken too long to adjust – introduction of fishery management is never an

easy path.

• Looking for balance to satisfy demands– for fish for human consumption (e.g. fresh/frozen

and surimi) – for feeds and fishmeal for aquaculture– for sustained ecosystem functions in the marine

fishery – For improved capture fishery quality (value)

APFIC tasked by member countries

Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission 32nd Session agreed to focus on trawl fisheries…

“…as a model through which to directly address the management of trawling and indirectly to build capacity in fishery and ecosystem management approaches with the APFIC member countries in Asia”

Regional guidelines for the management of tropical trawl fisheries in AsiaAPFIC/FAO Regional Expert Workshop, Phuket, Thailand, 30 September–4 October 2013

• targeted primarily at – fishery departments – decentralized institutions tasked with

fishery management

• a practical and usable product– uses an ecosystem approach– support the development of management

plans for tropical trawl fisheries in Asia

• increase understanding to the issues of tropical trawl fisheries and the ways that they can be managed– Provide an effective basis for the greater

engagement of relevant actors

A regional vision

“Effective management of the tropical trawl sector, that balances the demand for fish for human consumption and for aquaculture feeds, with the need to sustain ecosystem functions in the marine fishery and improve capture fishery quality”

Complex, but can be addressed by applying an ecosystem approach to fisheries

Recognize that trawl fisheries are different

• Need clear management objectives– try to maximize the existing utility for the fishery even

though it may not be operating at an optimally level of diversity?

– attempt to return to the maximal ecological function?

• Classify trawl fisheries into those which:

– have a reasonable chance of being restored to provide MEY/high trophic index

– could be better-managed to improve the existing services & profitability

– are heavily modified, there is little that can be achieved without a major reform of the fishery and its dependent industries

High ecosystem integrityHigh diversity

Modified ecosystemMedium diversity

Degraded ecosystemHighly modified

Practical management options

• The guidelines will need give practical advice:– assessment of needs for management – area-scale interventions (spatial)– temporal (seasonal) measures– innovative MCS approaches– gear–based methods– creative use of incentives (redirect subsidies)

• Need to address how multi-gear multi-species fisheries can be managed– to yield catch from multiple trophic levels– reduce impacts on other segments of the fishery– minimize growth overfishing

Diverse management goals and objectives

• Typically:– Sustain or improve fishery livelihoods – Improve the economic performance of

the fishery– Reduce conflicts between fleet segments– Improve nearshore fishery diversity– Reduce impacts on nearshore habitats– Sustain supply of surimi species to

support on-shore industry– Secure supply of fish meal/bycatch to

supply aquaculture

• Some of these may conflict or require a trade-off

Impacts on dependent industries

• Dependent industries may suffer if trawl catches and overall sector is reduced

• Management changes to trawl sector are implemented gradually, allowing support industries to adjust

• May undermine management efforts - demanding fish to stay in business

Guidelines advice on management

• Initiate a process for managing trawl fisheries– Develop a fisheries management plan ,

establish consultative processes

• Reduce the impact of trawl through spatial, habitat and temporal measures – exclusion zone, critical habitats, seasonal

closures

• Reduce the impact of trawl gear– Regulate trawl specifications for lighter gear,

larger mesh size, – improved selection gear designs with industry

(BRDs, JTEDs, TEDs, etc)– reduced duration of trawl tows

Guidelines advice on management

• Strengthen Monitoring, Control & Surveillance – Clear vessel markings visible from a distance– Get effective MCS working (port controls,

VMS, fishers’ volunteer watch/reporting)

• Manage fishing effort and fishing vessel over-capacity– Improve vessel registration and licensing

system – Cap trawler numbers at existing levels – Maintain horsepower and headrope length – Stop or reform the use of subsidies – Ensure all financial incentives in trawl

fisheries reward sustainable fishing practices

Conclusion

• It is possible to develop pragmatic management plans for trawl fisheries

• The APFIC guidelines offer the options and approach

• Country pilots on some key trawl fisheries would pave the way for national implementation

Thank youwww.apfic.org/training/apfic-trawl-management-guidelines.html