FERU.org » Projects

The Nereus Program

ngaio — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:11:34 +0000

Nereus is a cooperation between The Nippon Foundation and The University of British Columbia, that develops scientific capability for predictions of how the future seafood production may be. The program builds on international networking of scientists to communicate and bring about change to how we exploit the oceans in order for our children and grandchildren to enjoy seafood and experience a healthy ocean.

Visit the Nereus Program website.

Watch a video about the Nereus Program to learn more.

Economic Contribution to Ecosystem-Based Management in the Birds Head Seascape, Papua, Indonesia

Andrew Dyck — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:46:49 +0000

Investigators

Megan Bailey (Doctoral Student)
Ussif Rashid Sumaila

Collaborators

Conservation International
Fisheries Ecosystems Restoration Research group at UBC

Research Project Description

Objective:
Raja Ampat, in Eastern Indonesia, boasts the highest coral reef biodiversity in the world, and is therefore an important area not only for fishing and tourism, but also for conservation. In an effort to understand this ecosystem, development of an ecosystem based management (EBM) framework was initiated by Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund. The economic component of this project was our particular focus. Specifically, our objective was to look at the economics of unregulated and illegal fishing in Raja Ampat. An unregulated anchovy fishery and the illegal use of dynamite and explosives in the region were studied.

Fishermen unloading their catch. Photo by Megan Bailey

Method

To study an unregulated fishery, we conducted interviews with anchovy fishermen twice, once in the spring (dry season) and fall (wet season) of 2006. Information from these interviews was used to estimate the catch, income and profitability of the fishery. To study an illegal fishery, a principal-agent analysis was conducted. Principal-agent analysis is a type of game theory that is applicable when there is specific ownership over a resource. In the case of small scale fisheries in Raja Ampat, the village chief is the informal legal owner of coastal resources.

Results

The catch and profitability of the unregulated anchovy fishery proved to be quiet substantial (see Marine Policy paper linked below). In the principal-agent analysis, we identified a disincentive structure that would essentially discourage the use of these illegal fishing gears. This structure was based on the probability of detecting illegal fishing, and the penalty applied to apprehended fishers. Results from this study can be found in chapter three of the Research Report (16(1)) linked below.

Funding sources

Conservation International
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Project Duration

January 2006 – January 2007

Project Publications
Bailey, M., C. Rotinsulu, and U.R. Sumaila. 2008. The migrant anchovy fishery in Kabui Bay, Raja Ampat, Indonesia: Catch, profitability and income distribution. Marine Policy 32: 483-488

Bailey, M, and T.J. Pitcher. 2008. Ecological and economic analyses of marine ecosystems in the Bird’s Head Seascape, Papua, Indonesia: II. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 16(1): 186 pp

Pitcher, T.J., C.A. Ainsworth, and M. Bailey. 2007. Ecological and economic analyses of marine ecosystems in the Bird’s Head Seascape, Papua, Indonesia: I. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 15(5): 184 pp.

Last Updated: November 2008.

Economic Assessment for B.C. Salmon Aquaculture

Andrew Dyck — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 16:40:02 +0000

Investigators

Yajie Liu (PhD project)
Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Supervisor)

Research Project Description

Background

Although salmon aquaculture provides many socio-economic benefits to the producers and society as a whole, it is one of the most controversial aquaculture practices because it potentially creates serious environmental impacts, such as disease spreading, consumption of fish meal and fish oil, interbreeding, and pollution. Among them, disease transfer, particularly of sea lice associated with salmon aquaculture, has been a topic of hot debate because it not only causes economic losses to aquaculture producers, but may also pose a significant threat to wild fisheries because most diseases. are contagious. While these environmental impacts are widely acknowledged, economic consequences of these impacts are poorly documented and assessed. Salmon aquaculture is a commercial industry, and many factors (internal and external) can affect the productivity and profitability of aquaculture operations. Therefore, a broad economic examination of salmon aquaculture operation is needed in order to make salmon aquaculture a socially acceptable, economically profitable and environmentally friendly sector.

Research Objectives

The general objective of this research is to examine the profitability of salmon aquaculture operations by highlighting the economic impacts of disease problems on aquaculture producers and wild salmon fisheries. Salmon aquaculture in British Columbia (BC) will be used as a case study, and sea lice will be used as a representative disease. The specific objectives are:

To examine the profitability of salmon aquaculture operation under “normal” conditions;
To estimate the economic costs of disease to salmon farmers;
To examine if disease has economic impacts on wild salmon fisheries; if it does, then examine what the economic impacts will be;
To explore the profitability of salmon aquaculture operation when economic impacts of disease are internalized.

Analytical Framework

This proposed research uses empirical applications of production economics and bio-economic theories. Basic and extended financial analyses will be developed and serve as basic frameworks for estimating the profitability of salmon aquaculture operation, and bioeconomic models will be developed and applied to capture the costs of disease problems. This proposed research is divided into six chapters, including: 1) introduction; 2) profitability of salmon aquaculture based on basic financial analysis; 3) estimating the costs of disease to aquaculture producers; 4) estimating the costs of disease to wild salmon fisheries; 5) extended profitability of salmon aquaculture when the costs of disease are integrated into aquaculture production decision-making; and 6) policy implications and concluding remarks.

Policy Implications

Salmon aquaculture in BC is a new science, and the research and development related to problems brought about by salmon aquaculture are still in the early stage. Some policies or regulations in BC are made based on the experiences or science developed in other jurisdictions. It is expected that the results generated from this study should provide some insights to policy makers and aquaculture producers in the investment of disease control and management. Meanwhile, this study should also give a new vision of salmon aquaculture to the general public from an economic perspective.

Project Duration

Four years (expected to be done by 2006 or early 2007).

Funding Sources:

The World Wildlife Fund;
The Economic and Regulatory Affairs Directorate of Environment Canada,through an Applied Environmental Economics and Policy Research Scholarship;
The Networks of Centres of Excellence through pinto abalone breeding project.

Last Updated: Feburary 2006.

Economics of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Stocks

Andrew Dyck — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 16:37:23 +0000

Investigators

Dale Marsden (PhD project)
Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Supervisor)

Research Project Description

Background

Sockeye salmon have been key to British Columbia’s livelihood and culture for millennia. Many sockeye stocks show large cycles in abundance from year to year, but the causes of these cycles are not clear. As a result, Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks have historically been managed under the hypothesis of “cyclic dominance”, i.e., maintaining the cyclic behaviour of the stocks. Biological studies and changes in management have revealed that the potential yield of off-peak cycle lines could be much higher than was previously thought.

Major Research Questions

How much better could the management of Fraser River sockeye have been, in terms of several different objectives, given what we now know about stock-recruitment dynamics?
Given uncertainty about the underlying biology of the system, what are the likely economic implications of different management approaches that might be implemented?

Analytical Framework

To address the first question I will conduct a retrospective analysis of management performance. I will use stock-recruitment data as the basis of the biological dynamics, and use prices, fishing costs and fishing capacity considerations to incorporate economics. We will then use a non-linear numerical optimization routine to “find” a fishery that maximizes a variety of objective functions that incorporate economic and social considerations.

I will use a Bayesian decision analysis framework to address the second question. The analysis will incorporate past estimates of stock-recruitment parameters and model structure. The outcomes under different management approaches will then be simulated and the associated costs and benefits calculated. This method allows trade-offs to be examined while taking uncertainty explicitly into account.

Project Duration

Two years (started December 2005).

Funding Sources

Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

University Graduate Fellowship , University of British Columbia

The Economic and Regulatory Affairs Directorate of Environment Canada, through an Applied Environmental Economics and Policy Research Scholarship

PhD Tuition Award, University of British Columbia Green Graduate Scholarship, Green College, University of British ColumbiaLast Updated: February 2006.

The Ecological and Socio-Economic Sustainability of the Reef Fisheries of Pulau Bangii, Sabah, Malaysia

Andrew Dyck — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 00:24:53 +0000

Investigators

Louise Teh (MSc project)
Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Supervisor)

Research Project Description

Background

The majority of the world’s shallow coral reefs are concentrated along the coastlines of developing nations. These biodiversity rich ecosystems harbour a wide range of fish and invertebrate species that are caught mostly by small-scale fishers using multiple gears. Coral reef fisheries provide a main source of food and income for these small-scale subsistence and artisanal fishers. However, in recent decades, burgeoning populations and poverty in the coastal zones of developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, have led to the overexploitation and degradation of many nearshore reef resources and habitats, putting these vulnerable ecosystems under serious threat. Yet, small-scale tropical reef fisheries are often marginalized from mainstream policy makers, leading to less than adequate management of these valuable fisheries. The continuation of this trend is likely to lead to depleted reef ecosystems, with dire socio-economic consequences for the communities who depend on them. As such, there is an immediate need to understand the local dynamics of small-scale reef fisheries. Filling in basic data gaps can enable assessments of the state of the studied fisheries, ultimately leading to the identification of management strategies which can ensure the long-term ecological and socio-economic sustainability of reef fisheries.

Objectives

This research focuses on the small-scale, artisanal reef fisheries of southern Banggi island in Sabah, Malaysia. It represents the first attempt of understanding both the ecological and socio-economic dynamics of the island’s reef fisheries. The goal of this research is to identify viable management strategies which will lead to the long term sustainability of the reef fisheries and associated socio-economic systems. Insights from this research can also be applied on a broader scale to other reef fisheries in the region, many of which share similar characteristics and problems as Banggi. The three objectives of this research are:

Characterize and describe the ecological, social, and economic aspects of south Banggi’s artisanal reef fisheries;
Assess the sustainability of south Banggi’s reef fisheries;
Explore the fishery effects of potential management strategies, and identify a feasible strategy, or strategies, that will contribute to the long-term ecological and socio-economic sustainability of Banggi’s reef fisheries.

Research Methods

Fishery and socio-economic data is collected by monitoring fish landings and interviewing local fishers during two field periods in 2004 and 2005. I then do ecosystem modelling using Ecopath with Ecosim (www.ecopath.org) to explore the ecosystem effects of different policy options. These results are then considered under the prevailing social and economic context to identify an appropriate management strategy for Banggi’s reef fisheries.

Main Findings

This study suggests that Banggi’s reef fisheries resources may still be relatively productive, but have declined significantly over time. They are likely to become depleted in the future if current rates of exploitation are maintained. Results from an ecosystem modelling exercise, considered within the context of Banggi’s socio-economic environment, indicate that: i) the establishment of a small, community-managed marine reserve within the current fishing grounds; and ii) the implementation of alternative livelihood programmes, will be the most suitable courses of action for sustainable management of Banggi’s reef fisheries.

This project was completed in January 2006

Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) Project LMR/CF/03/07

Andrew Dyck — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:19:51 +0000

Determination of optimal harvesting strategies for the hake trawl and longline fisheries in Namibia and South Africa

Funding Agency:

United Nations Office of Operations

Contractor (Principal Investigator):

Fisheries Economics Research Unit, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, (Ussif Rashid Sumaila)

Partner Institutions:

1. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, University of Namibia (UNAM), Windhoek (Kevin Stephanus)
2. Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), School of Government, University of Western Cape (Moenieba Isaacs)
3. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft Laboratory (Trevor Hutton)

Project period:

2 years (November 1, 2003 to October 31, 2005)

Project objectives

The specific objective of project LMR/CF/03/07 is to determine the optimal harvesting ratio between trawled and longlined hake in order to extract maximum socio-economic value from these resources, and at the same time ensure long-term sustainability of hake stocks in the BCLME.

Context

Hake resources are major commercial fish species that straddle geopolitical boundaries of mainly Namibia and South Africa, and to a lesser extent Angola. They are harvested largely through the use of bottom trawlers, and to a lesser degree longliners. A number of features of these two vessel groups are important to note as they will have strong implications for the study. These are (i) longliners tend to catch large adult female hakes as opposed to trawlers, which take medium to small sizes of hake; (ii) longliners are able to fish in untrawlable areas; (iii) longliners are labour-intensive at sea and produce a higher-value product, while the trawl industry is more labour-intensive on land, and (iv) the trawl fleet in Namibia, unlike that in South Africa, is not homogenous – it is usually split into freezer and wetfish trawers. These features will be taken into account in determining the optimal sustainable harvesting ratios for hake stocks in the BCLME.

Methodology

The method will consist of (i) data and database work, (ii) biological/stock assessment modelling, (iii) social analysis and socioeconomic modelling, and (iv) economic assessment and bioeconomic modelling. All of these will be tied together in a general interdisciplinary framework that brings together ecological, economic and social perspectives, data and modelling techniques to address the objectives of the call for proposal.

The U.S. Marine Ecosystem Valuation Project (US MVP)

Andrew Dyck — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 16:42:43 +0000

Principal Investigator

Ussif Rashid Sumaila

Co-Investigators

Jackie Alder
Gaku Ishimura

Collaborators

Sea Around Us Project
Edge Research (Lisa Dropkin) USA
SeaWeb (Nancy Baron), USA

Research Project Description

Objective

The primary goal of this project is to provide an estimate of the value of US marine ecosystems. The project will generate scientific information to assist society in evaluating the ecological, economic and social tradeoffs, and consequences under different marine ecosystem policy scenarios.

Method

A true valuation of marine ecosystems will have to include the following values: (i) direct use value; (ii) indirect use value; (iii) option value; (iv) bequest value; and (vi) existence value. In practice (direct) use values tend to be all that is incorporated into economic analysis. Also, values to future generations are not usually explicitly taken into account. This project will apply existing approaches and develop new ones to capture all these values for US marine ecosystems.

Expected Results

A key output is a report containing the findings of the project, which will be published both as an Oceana Technical Report and a UBC Fisheries Centre Research Report. Material in the report will be distilled into papers for submission to the primary literature.
Provide facts and figures on the web for policymakers and other interest groups.
Make presentations at international conferences and workshops.
Make contributions to international resource management efforts such as the Millennium Assessment.

Project Duration

January – December, 2004

Funding Source

OCEANA, USA

Ecological and Economic Impact Assessment of Sablefish Aquaculture in British Columbia

Andrew Dyck — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 19:00:59 +0000

Principal Investigators

Ussif Rashid Sumaila
John Volpe (University of Alberta)

Co-Investigator

Yajie Liu

Collaborators

Canadian Sablefish Association

Research Project Description

Objective
To explore the potential costs and benefits of introducing sablefish farming in BC.

A. Ecological Issues:

Profile and characterization of disease / parasite issues and likelihood for wild-farm-wild transfers
Potential impacts of escapees on wild stock genetic structure
Foreign ecological footprint of sablefish aquaculture in terms of reliance on fishmeal
Local ecological footprint of sablefish aquaculture in terms of organic / inorganic wastes, therapeutants
with particular reference to site locations and life-history specific impacts
Future stability of wild stocks and commercial harvest
Ecological lessons from salmon aquaculture in B.C.

B. Economic Issues:

Evaluating, in economic terms the potential ecological effects of aquaculture (disease, escapes, and fishmeal)
Addressing the supply, demand and price effects of sablefish farming
Analyzing the potential economic impacts of fish price declines on fishers due to sablefish aquaculture
Contrasting the net social benefit of aquaculture to the private profits to private fish farmers
Taking into account the income distributional effects of sablefish farming
Economic lessons from salmon aquaculture in B.C.

Output

Ecological and economic impact assesstment of sablefish aquaculture in British Columbia (full report available here)

Project Duration

May to November, 2004

Funding Source

Canadian Sablefish Association

The Cost of Being Apprehended Fishing Illegally

Andrew Dyck — Thu, 13 May 2004 00:28:02 +0000

Principal Investigator

Ussif Rashid Sumaila

Co-Investigators

Jackie Alder
Heather Keith

Resource persons

Louisa Wood, Robyn Forrest, Jordan Beblow, Reg Watson, Tony Pitcher, Daniel Pauly, Daniela Kalikoski

Research Project Description

Background

The issue of IUU fishing has been receiving increasing attention among scholars, fisheries managers, governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Illegal, unregulated, unreported (IUU) fishing occurs not only in the high seas, but also within exclusive economic zones (EEZ) that are not ‘properly regulated’. IUU fishing leads to the non-achievement of management goals and unsustainable fisheries. The FAO has begun the implementation of an International Plan of Action (IPOA) where all states and regional fisheries organizations are introducing effective and transparent actions to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing and related activities (FAO 2003). A good understanding of the economics of IUU fishing is an important piece of knowledge required in order to design appropriate management measures.

Objective

To determine the costs and benefits, both social and monetary from a fishers’ perspective associated with IUU fishing.

Approach

We first develop and present a map of IUU incidences as reported in the Fisheries Centre’s Sea Around Us project IUU global database. Next, we develop a conceptual model for the analysis of the cost and benefit aspects of the risk inherent in IUU activities. The model outlines the possible drivers of risk and the costs associated with fraud, avoidance and apprehension as compared to potential benefits. This is then applied to particular incidences where IUU vessels have been caught to determine the net benefits of IUU fishing. We finally discuss three case studies using our conceptual framework.

Expected Results

Some preliminary findings of the study are (i) IUU fishing is widespread spatially but there are relatively fewer IUU activities in the northern hemisphere; (ii) current fine levels are not high enough to serve as deterrents to IUU fishing; (iii) even for a 1 in 5 chance of being apprehended, current fines need to be increased 24 times on average for incidences analyzed to serve as deterrents; (iv) from the case studies, we conclude that (a) it is possible to drive IUU fishing activities close to zero by increasing the cost of being apprehended significantly; (2) when the price of fish being targeted by IUU fishers is high, a much higher detection probability and fine level are required to stop the activity; and (3) when IUU fisher’s are poor, conventional deterrence models are not capable of explaining and providing solutions to the IUU problem.

Project Duration

October 2003-May 2004

Funding Source

The organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, France.

Global Database of Ex-Vessel Fish Prices

Andrew Dyck — Thu, 29 Apr 2004 19:00:01 +0000

Principal Investigator

Ussif Rashid Sumaila

Co-Investigators

Eny Buchary
Gakushi Ishimura
Yajie Liu
Dale Marsden
Louise Teh
And supported by many colleagues from around the world

Research Project Description

Background

Wholesale prices of fish and fisheries products are available from a number of sources. Surprisingly, however, very little data is available for ex-vessel prices, the price that a fisher when landing fish. This project aims to fill this void because this is the price that motivates fishers and therefore the most relevant for the analysis of sustainable fisheries.

Objectives

To compile a database of fish prices for all species from around the world, starting in 1950.

Approach

Data are gathered from a wide range of sources:

Official government statistics
Internet databases
Other government publications
Published literature

Expected Results

We aim to gather as representative a data set as possible, to cover the geographic, taxonomic and temporal range of fisheries from all over the world. We will then develop a method to estimate prices for those regions, species and years which are missing from our data set.

The resulting data set will be extremely valuable in a wide range of studies that investigate the forces that drive fishing behaviour.

Project Duration

Four years

Funding Source

The Pew Charitable Trusts, through the Sea Around Us Project.

Last updated 29 Apr 2004.