| Stages | Responsibility - country participation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A. Evaluation of fisheries | ||
| A.1 Data gathering | National | Regional organization possible; however current practice is to give this responsibility to the countries and to provide them, when necessary, with technical support or regional fishery organization. |
| A.2 Compilation and redistribution of data of regional interest | Regional (all coastal countries, eventually with the non-coastal countries operating in the region; regional harmoniza- tion for purpose of compatibility) | Different arrangements to be foreseen, depending on the regions, with regard to parti- cipation of non-coastal count- ries. The latter may, as in the past, report the statistics directly to the regional organization, which will then transmit to the coastal count- ries those statistics concern- ing them, or report to the coastal countries in whose EEZ they operate, who will then transmit to the regional organization. The formula to be selected will partly depend on the capacities of the coastal countries to process the data. |
| A.3 Study of distribution and migration patterns | Sub-regional (all coastal countries directly involved) or regional, with or without the partici- pation of non-coastal countries that may have accumulated data and expertise on the matter | Joint analysis by the coastal countries directly involved with this type of information has become essential under the new regime in order to develop a mutual understanding of the data that are available on this subject (as has always been the case for the assess- ment of international stocks; A.4); such common understand- ing was of little importance under the old regime, when each country could fish for its quota anywhere within the area open to the distribution of international stocks. Participation may be limited to research workers from only the single countries concerned with a given stock (sub- regional participation) or open to research workers from all countries in a region (regional participation), if the count- ries are sensitive to the similarities of the resources or are faced with a shortage of expertise. The participa- tion of research workers from non-coastal countries will depend on the information they have accumulated and the acti- vity of their fleets in the region, as well as the scienti- fic capabilities of the coastal countries; in regions where these are still modest the participation of foreign research workers in the region is more likely. |
| A.4 Stock assessment (current state of fishing and foresee- able consequences of different levels of fishing) | Sub-regional or regional (see above) | The same remarks as for A.3 (similar, parallel function) |
| A.5 Strategies for the development and management of fisheries (technical aspects) | Regional, with or without participation of non-coastal fish- ing countries | Supplementary stage to integrate the social, economic and bio- logical aspects of development and management of fisheries in the region and to compare the various options and their implications as regards develop- ment and management. The similarity of problems would suggest a regional research. |
| A.6 Orientation of fisheries research | Regional or world- wide | As noted above, the participa- tion of research workers of countries foreign to the region and its extent will depend, among other things, on the expertise available locally. Likewise the major research problems of the fisheries in the region may be discussed at the regional or, possibly, at the world level. |
| B. Negotiations of sharing agreementsa (shared stocks) | This stage could be handled with or by other administra- tions (particularly the foreign affairs branch), since matters concerning distribution of national wealth are neither directly nor exclusively the responsibility of fishery administrations. | |
| B.1 Fishing strategy (harmoniza- objecttion of objectives and search for a common fishing rate) | Sub-regional (res- tricted to those countries having the stock in question) | The harmonization of ives will be easier to achieve between those countries that have similar levels of economic development and whose fisheries are characterized by similar prospects and difficulties (e.g., the countries of the Northern zone of CECAF). Such research work will be difficult when the opposite holds true. In the latter case, objectives for fisheries development and management are liable to diverge fundamentally from one country to another; e.g., the objectives of Mexico and the USA concerning the development of their anchovy stock, Section 4.2.1. |
| B.2 Distribution of the resource (as a percentage of the total, expressed either in catch capacity or in fishing effort) | Sub-regional | Probably only those countries who are the owners of each stock will participate in these negotiations, which may or may not be held within the frame- work of the regional organiza- tion. |
| C. Formulation of national fishing plans | See FAO, 1979. | |
| C.1 Establishment of national objectives for development of national fishing resources | National | |
| C.2 Distribution of national fishery resources among the various national fisheries (including possible participa- tion of foreign fleets) | National | |
| D. Exploitation | ||
| D.1 Eventual signature of recipro- agreecal fishing agreements, author- izing the fleets to operate throughout the zones within the jurisdiction of the different countries involved, between countries sharing the same resource | Sub-regional and ad hoc (among countries sharing the same resources) | Justification of such ments will depend on the advantages, particularly in increased yields and in the full utilization of catch capacities, expected from the assignment, to the various national fleets of countries who are co-owners of the stock, of the right to fish over a wider area of the stock's dis- tribution. |
| E. Follow-up, implementation and monitoring | ||
| E.1 Follow-up on the state of fisheries | National, sub-regional and/or regional | The working groups organized under items A.2 and A.4 above could again supply the best mechanism to reveal distortions and omissions in the reporting of data. |
| E.2 Monitoring systems (coast guards, aeroplanes) | Purely national or with the possibility of sub-regional or regional cooperation | The solution adopted will depend on the size of the task involved (e.g., monitoring of tuna fishing) and the possibi- lities for raising efficiency and reducing costs via coopera- tion (exchanges of information) and the pooling of logistic resources. |
| E.3 Follow-up of implementation of regulations | National sub-regional (among co-owning countries of the same stocks) | A good system for sharing information on the way each country applies the regulations is essential in order to get the fishermen of the different countries to agree to mutually acceptable restraints; agree- ments on the exchange of personnel to check on the quality of the inspection plans in the various ports, the pos- sibility of establishing joint inspection programmes at sea on the fishing vessels; the advantage of reciprocal fish- ing agreements for mutual observation of the fishing fleets. |
| E.4 Legal action | Purely national |
N.B. Gulland's work (1981) also contains consideration on the need for cooperation in evaluation and management of fisheries.
For a more detailed treatment of matters under stage B - Negotiation of sharing agreements and C - Formulation of national fishing plans - readers can refer to the report of the Conference on Management of Stocks in the Statistical Division Sahara and Cape Verde, Dakar (Senegal), June 1979 (FAO/CECAF, 1979). Likewise, for questions of follow-up, control and monitoring (stage E), see the report of the FAO Consultation which was held on this subject in Rome from 27 to 30 April 1981 (FAO, Norway Cooperative Programme, 1981).
PAPERS ON PRACTICES OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
Burke, W.T., 1982 Fisheries regulations under extended jurisdiction and international law. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (223):23 p.
Troadec, J-P., 1983 Introduction to fisheries management: advantages, difficulties and mechanisms. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (224):57 p. (French version printed, Spanish version in preparation)
Mackenzie, W.C., 1983 An introduction to the economics of fisheries management. FAO Fish. Tech.Pap., (226): 31 p.
Christy, F.T.Jr., 1982 Territorial use rights in marine fisheries: definitions and conditions. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (227):10 p. (French and Spanish versions in preparation)
Panayotou, T., 1982 Management concepts for small-scale fisheries: economic and social aspects. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (228): 53 p. (French and Spanish versions in preparation)
