Peer-reviewed articles

Results-based management in practice: Lessons learned and policy recommendations from the implementation of RBM in European fisheries outside Europe

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

This paper summarizes the lessons learned from the implementation of a practical approach to Results-based Management (RBM) within the EU H2020 FarFish project, where RBM is conceptualized as a contract situation. From these lessons a set of policy recommendations for the improvement of the fisheries management through the adoption of RBM for EU vessels fishing in international- and Sustainable FisheriesPartnership Agreements (SFPA) waters were put forward. The policy recommendations are based on key project outputs and additional semi-structured interviews on the experiences of project partners. This exercise revealed advancements and shortcomings for the broader implementation of a more participatory, inclusive, and responsive approach to fisheries governance. Meaningful and effective participation was a pivotal factor for the success of the process. Absence of relevant bodies, sectors and fleet segments proved detrimental throughout all cases. The importance of scoping, goal setting and timing of the actions, as well as managing realistic expectations within the RBM, were highlighted. Data availability and accountability was pivotal, as in cases where cooperation was successful, data was made available, and knowledge was expanded and enriched. The implementation of this approach to RBM showed great potential when extended to other aspects of fisheries' management, fishing categories and fleets. This structured approach to RBM provides a promising alternative to current fisheries management systems around the world.

Reports

Coastal fisheries in Iceland / Small boat fishing in Iceland

Published:

15/03/2014

Authors:

Gunnar Þórðarson, Jónas R. Viðarsson

Supported by:

NORA and AG ‐ fisk (The Nordic working group for fisheries cooperation)

Contact

Gunnar Þórðarson

Regional Manager

gunnar.thordarson@matis.is

Coastal fisheries in Iceland / Small boat fishing in Iceland

The Icelandic coastal fleet includes around 2,000 vessels and is divided into different categories. Within the Icelandic fisheries management system the coastal fleet is split up into two main groups, operated within the Individual Transferable Quota system (ITQ) and the Jig and Line system (J & Ls). The coastal fleet is then influenced by the fisheries legislations in many other ways, like the regional quota system, the lumpfish system, the leisure fishing system, the coastal jigging system and many other ascendance. Vessels categorized as being apart the coastal fleet are less than 15 meters long and under 30 gross tonnage in size. The fleet is an important contributor to the national economy and is considered a key element for regional development in the country. More than 97% of the coastal catches in Icelandic waters are demersal species, but the rest are pelagic spices and other. Cod is the by far the most important species caught by coastal vessels, with haddock trailing in second place. The coastal fleet has significant role in Icelandic economy landing more than 17% of the total demersal catch, at the value of 170 million Euros in the fishing year 2012/13. Around 1,600 fishermen are working full ‐ time within the J & Ls and approximately 700 have temporary employment on coastal vessels, manly within the Coastal Jigging system during the summer months.

The Icelandic small boat fleet counts over 2,000 boats and they are divided into two main categories, boats that fish within the TAC system (large system) and the hook TAC system (small system). Small boat fishing in Iceland is dependent on many other sectors of the fisheries management system, such as local quotas, grayling fishing systems, recreational fishing and coastal fishing to name a few. In Iceland, small boats are defined as fishing boats that have a carrying capacity of 30 gross tons or less and are less than 15 meters long. The small boat fleet is important for the country's economy, whether in terms of number of jobs, values or the impact on rural development. About 97% of the small boat fleet's catch are demersal species, but only about 1% are pelagic species. Small boats caught about 17% of the total catch of demersal species in Iceland in the fishing year 2012/13 and the value was 26.6 billion ISK. Cod is by far the most important species in this fleet. About 1,600 fishermen are in the berth of small boats fishing within the hook quota system and another 700 have temporary employment within the sector, mainly during coastal fishing in the summer.

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Reports

Fisheries management for the future / Fisheries management for the future

Published:

01/11/2012

Authors:

Sigríður Sigurðardóttir, Sveinn Margeirsson, Jónas R. Viðarsson

Supported by:

AVS, MariFish, FP7

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Fisheries management for the future / Fisheries management for the future

This report is the final report to AVS in the Fisheries Management for the Future project, which was partly funded by the AVS Research Fund. This is Sigríður Sigurðardóttir's doctoral project in industrial engineering, where the main subject is modeling in fisheries management. The project itself, which is about halfway through, is part of two larger European projects, EcoFishMan and Badminton. This is not a standard final report as the project has not been completed, but the results of the work components and the detailed methodology will be available in the interim or final reports of both projects when they are published. Similarly, it is planned to publish the results in peer-reviewed articles. This report describes the European projects as a whole, then describes the areas covered by the AVS grant. Methodology and implementation are reported. The badminton project focuses on discard research and its causes. The work component that the Fisheries Management will cover in the future included a systematic analysis of methods for reducing discards, as the result is a kind of tool that fisheries managers can use in decision-making. The EcoFishMan project is intended to be a contribution to the review of the European Union's fisheries management system and focuses on co-operation. The work described here is about modeling grayling fishing in Iceland.

This is a final report to the AVS fund in the project Fisheries management for the future, which was partly funded by the AVS research fund. The project is a part of Sigriður Sigurðardottir's PhD in industrial engineering, where the main topic is to develop simulation modes on fisheries management. Sigriður's PhD, which is half-way done, is a part of two larger European projects, EcoFishMan and Badminton. This report therefore only report's on intermediate results in the larger contents. Further information will be available in reports and publications connected with EcoFishMan and Badminton. This report contains brief descriptions of the European projects and more detailed coverage of the progress, methodology and results in the work funded by AVS. Badminton is a project that focuses on the discarding problem in European waters. Fiskveiðistjórnun til framtíðar contributed to the project by analyzing mitigating measures and developed a kind of a decision support tool for resource managers to assist with decision making. EcoFishMan is a project that is to contribute to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy of the EU, by implementing co-management and results-based management into European fisheries management. The part of EcoFishMan covered in this report describes simulation modeling for the Icelandic lumpfish fishery, which is a case study in EcoFishMan.

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