Policy decisions in fishery management are becoming increasingly complex and difficult. This is especially true for the salmon fisheries where policy outcomes affect the productivity of the salmon resource and the subsequent well-being of commercial fishermen, charter boat operators, Indian fishermen, and sport anglers. The objective of this study was to advance methodology from statistical decision analysis which would assist fishery managers in Oregon who must make particularly difficult choices with respect to allocation and production of coho salmon while recognizing uncertainties in the environment, incomplete state of knowledge, and the conflicting needs and desires of different interest groups. The method chosen given multiple objectives and uncertainty is multiattribute utility analysis. The approach consists, of two main components: (1) a computer model which simulates the life cycle of hatchery and stream spawning coho salmon given environmental variation, different hatchery juvenile release levels and harvest rates; and (2) an objective function which relates the different outcomes from alternative release levels and harvest rates to an assessment of the degree to which individual objectives are met. The approach was used to evaluate and rank the expected outcomes from twelve proposed policies under different hypothesized ocean environments. Analysis of the results suggest that (1) the most effective policy is achieved with a relatively low harvest rate and high smolt release level; (2) selection of a particular harvest rate is the most important decision variable; and (3) a large smolt release level can be maintained unless such releases adversely decreases the ocean survival of stream spawning coho. Because the coho fishery is a mixed stock fishery consisting of hatchery and wild stocks, the results suggest that too high a harvest rate will lead to depletion of wild stocks, considered important because of their potential contribution to production and diverse genetic traits and characteristics. Conversely, too low a harvest rate will lead to excessive escapement of coho and thus reduce the total catch. As is illustrated, formulating the coho decision problem in a multiattribute utility analysis framework is useful in two ways. First, by quantifying the objectives of the decision maker, consistent results from following alternative policies can be determined. These results provide a basis for comparison and serve as a guide for decision making involving uncertainty. Second, the approach is useful in isolating major objectives and conflicts, value judgments, trade-offs, and needed empirical evidence. / Graduation date: 1982

The impact of climate on fisheries resources has become a focal point for fisheries research. The objective of this thesis is to describe different aspects of the impact of teleconnections on marine ecosystems within the Mediterranean. Chapter I describes interactions between teleconnection patterns and oceanic variability in the Mediterranean. Atmospheric variability over the Atlantic and Eurasian sector forces oceanic circulation in the western Mediterranean, by altering the route of Atlantic storm tracks. The Indian monsoons are found to be related to gyre and upwelling formations in the eastern Mediterranean. Important links between the Mediterranean Oscillation and hemispheric circulation are also discussed. Chapter II studies the impact of atmospheric and oceanic forcing on the spatiotemporal distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration in the Mediterranean. A number of teleconnection indices with an important role in determining chlorophyll-a concentration are identified, especially for coastal areas, upwellings and gyres. Chapter III has an exploratory nature, with common trends in the landings of 41 fish species from the eastern Mediterranean identified and compared to fishing effort or large-scale environmental drivers. Teleconnections over the Atlantic or El Nino-related teleconnections, filtered by local SST and wind variability, are highlighted as driving forces behind some of the observed common landing trends. Chapter IV focuses on the biological complex of two commercial species, anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus). The results suggest that the West African Summer Monsoon, the East Atlantic Jet and the Pacific North American teleconnection patterns have a consistent correlation with anchovy and sardine distribution and abundance. Relationships between oceanic circulation in the Mediterranean and atmospheric variability over the neighbouring oceanic and continental masses were described and linked to biological variability. Oceanic structures that interrupt the oligotrophic regime of the area are affected by teleconnection patterns and in turn they influence fisheries productivity. Interactions between teleconnection patterns and fisheries can explain a large proportion of the observed fluctuations in marine resources and synchronicity between species and locations. The processes modulating the effects of climatic forcing vary at fine spatiotemporal scales, the different characteristics and habitat requirements of the species and interactions between the species. Further research is essential in order to delineate these effects and improve the management of marine resources in the persistently over-exploited environment of the Mediterranean Sea.

No description available.

Between 1985 and 1995, government agencies and interest groups interacted in a recurring cycle of moratoria and reviews in attempts to resolve a wide variety of environmental, economic and social concerns about salmon farming while making policies to manage the development of the new industry in British Columbia. Using policy community theory, this thesis analyzes how the community members developed the salmon farming policy framework. Then, drawing on the recommendations that were already advanced by aquaculture planners from the early 1980s, the thesis evaluates the policy framework that exists today. Depending upon their power resources and their position within the policy community, the members of the community used different methods to influence the policy process. The members of the sub-government maintained the status quo by using methods such as restricting the access for interest groups to the policy process and limiting the flow of information to the attentive public. The members of the attentive public increased their power by forming coalitions and putting forward a common policy statement to the public and government. Maintaining the status quo became difficult when the New Democratic Party (NDP) government came to power. In revising provincial environmental policies , the NDP changed the relative influence of the government agencies in the sub government. These changes increased conflict among agencies which the government addressed by undertaking an environmental assessment and a public policy review. The B.C. salmon farming policy community is identified as a pressure pluralist community which emerges when jurisdictional responsibility is fragmented among a number of agencies and no mediating mechanism exists to bring together the members of the community. As a result , the community tends to make short term policy and functions without a long term strategy. The thesis concludes with six recommendations designed to increase the access and input of all those who want to participate in the policy process, to address the diversity of issues raised within the policy community, to insure social accountability when interest groups implement policy , and to fill the gaps in the existing policy framework.

Thesis (M. A.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998. / Bibliography: leaves 146-153.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate whether the Territorial Use-Rights in Fishing (TURFs) of Lake Titieaca, Peru, are effective in overcoming the common property problem of typical fisheries and therefore whether TURFs may prove valuable as part of a more formal management system. It has recently been argued that TURFs should be incorporated into small-scale fisheries management schemes since they should be effective in controlling fishing effort, in promoting a more equitable distribution of the benefits from fishing and in reducing administrative inefficiencies. To determine whether TURFs are in fact effective in controlling fishing effort, I examine Lake Titieaca fisheries in Peru. First, I demonstrate the widespread existence of Lake Titicaca's TURFs and their control over the entire shoreline, most of the littoral area and even part of the pelagic area. Second, I document how, in spite of TURFs' illegality, Lake Titieaca shore dwellers are able to combine legal and illegal means to enforce their traditional rights over their fishing areas. Third, by showing that the relative difference between the returns to labour from fishing with those from alternative activities ranges from 50 to more than 100%, I demonstrate that local fishermen capture substantial fishing rents. If one takes into account that most fishing activities are carried out when there is little else to do, this range increases to 90-180%. I thus conclude that Lake Titieaca fisheries have not reached their bioeconomic equilibrium yet and that the predictions of the common property theory do not apply to them. And fourth, I demonstrate that the origins of these rents can be traced to fishermen's membership in TURF-holding communities, their ability to restrict physical access to the shoreline, and the obligations associated with this membership. Among these obligations are the participation in communal projects and celebrations, the fulfillment of administrative or ceremonial responsibilities, and the undertaking of agricultural activities, all of which constrain the amount of household labour available for fishing. In the concluding section, I consider the potential role of TURFs in a formal management context. I show that, in the long term, even formally recognized TURFs would not be sufficient in themselves to prevent overfishing. I therefore propose that Lake Titieaca TURFs be incorporated into a broader, decentralized management strategy which would capitalize on their strengths and promote cooperation between members of shore communities, fisheries scientists and administrators. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The principal focus of this comparative-historical study is the fundamental differences in the perspectives of the Indian, commercial, and sportfishing user groups. A second focus is the differences in outlook of the professions involved in the management of the fisheries, and how their management paradigms have developed over time. Evidence is presented on the social history of the fisheries, including their regulatory history and the manager-user relationship. Using the rich material presented by the participants in the Pearse Commission as a primary source, the perspectives of user and manager are outlined. In particular, the views users expressed on the emotional policy issue of TURFs are defined. A comparison of these views clarifies the major interests within the fisheries. Observation of the interactions between the user groups and regulatory authorities, both during and after the Commission, reveals the ability of these interest groups to lobby very effectively within the Canadian democratic system. The major social conflicts within the fisheries that are representative of the importantly different perspectives are: culture conflict, sportfishing/commercial fishing conflict, political ideological conflict, and conflict between profession frames. The most serious conflict is between Indians and other resource users. Indians have sought legal recognition of existing aboriginal rights in fishing, involving increased allocations to Indian users; other users greatly fear displacement as the resources are reallocated. As independent "co-management" planning procedures are being carried on simultaneously between Indian bands and government, and between commercial and sport groups and government, the objectives of the two often conflict. The result is a management and allocation process that remains extremely volatile and subject to such intensive lobbying that rational planning is difficult. The fisheries management and planning process could benefit from the greater inclusion of the social sciences, a move which would help describe with greater accuracy the complex human components of the fisheries. Such an approach would also seek to develop the potential of mediation and negotiation as a means of integrating a number of rational, professional frameworks with user group perspectives, and would imply a continuance in the recent shift from centralist to intermediary planning. It is suggested that crucial management decisions relating to "endangered" stocks of salmon be delegated to councils of professional biologists, for in such cases it is important that lobbying processes not be allowed to compromise conservation principles. Also, economists should assume management roles that can better accommodate, in the processes of policy making, the heavy overlay of politically-important social policies inherent in the fisheries. To date, intense negotiation and bargaining processes, involving both user groups and the management professions, have been effectively conducted on both a public and private level. These processes have promoted ongoing social learning which has had a positive effect within the B.C. salmon fisheries (examples are the Pearse Commission, MAC, CFIC, PARK, and the Canada/U.S. Treaty). These types of processes appear to lend themselves to the establishment of lasting bio-anthropological contracts, and the subsequent realization of more rational salmon fisheries management. A planning process focused upon reducing social conflict, through the development of ongoing negotiation processes between the many participants in the fisheries, is considered the most likely to succeed. Not only will this better maintain the generally good record of biological sustainability of the B.C. salmon fisheries, but also it will gradually enable the full development of their considerable economic and social potential. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Between 1985 and 1995, government agencies and interest groups interacted in a recurring cycle of moratoria and reviews in attempts to resolve a wide variety of environmental, economic and social concerns about salmon farming while making policies to manage the development of the new industry in British Columbia. Using policy community theory, this thesis analyzes how the community members developed the salmon farming policy framework. Then, drawing on the recommendations that were already advanced by aquaculture planners from the early 1980s, the thesis evaluates the policy framework that exists today. Depending upon their power resources and their position within the policy community, the members of the community used different methods to influence the policy process. The members of the sub-government maintained the status quo by using methods such as restricting the access for interest groups to the policy process and limiting the flow of information to the attentive public. The members of the attentive public increased their power by forming coalitions and putting forward a common policy statement to the public and government. Maintaining the status quo became difficult when the New Democratic Party (NDP) government came to power. In revising provincial environmental policies , the NDP changed the relative influence of the government agencies in the sub government. These changes increased conflict among agencies which the government addressed by undertaking an environmental assessment and a public policy review. The B.C. salmon farming policy community is identified as a pressure pluralist community which emerges when jurisdictional responsibility is fragmented among a number of agencies and no mediating mechanism exists to bring together the members of the community. As a result , the community tends to make short term policy and functions without a long term strategy. The thesis concludes with six recommendations designed to increase the access and input of all those who want to participate in the policy process, to address the diversity of issues raised within the policy community, to insure social accountability when interest groups implement policy , and to fill the gaps in the existing policy framework. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management