Decline of demersal coastal fisheries resources in three developing Asian countries

Stobutzki, Ilona; Silvestre, G.; Talib, Anita; Krongprom, A.; Supongpan, Mala; Khemakorn, Pakjuta; Armada, Nygiel B.; Garcés, Len R.

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2006.02.004

Cited by 85 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(17 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The analyses indicate that catch rates, and hence resource biomass, have declined to an average of 22% of original ('baseline') biomass levels prior to development of trawl fisheries in the areas studied (see Abu Talib et al, 2003;Barut et al, 2003;Kongprom et al, 2003;Khan et al, 2003;Stobutzki et al, 2006). Some areas now have less than 4% of their original biomass (Table 3).…”

Section: Data Contents and Illustrative Examples Of The Analysis Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

A regional database management system—the fisheries resource information system and tools (FiRST): Its design, utility and future directions

et al. 2006

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

South and Southeast Asian countries have undertaken demersal trawl surveys to measure the fisheries potential of their waters throughout the 20th century. However, ensuring full use of, and easy access to the resulting data is a challenge in developing countries. The "Fisheries Resource Information System and Tools" (FiRST) was developed through a regional collaborative effort across eight South and Southeast Asian counties to meet these needs. FiRST is a data management system for scientific trawl survey data and includes data summary and visualization tools, an analytical routine to estimate biomass, and data import/export modules. The FiRST software has also facilitated the establishment of a regional database, 'TrawlBase', which contains more than 20,000 hauls or stations from scientific trawl surveys in 10 countries conducted between 1926 and 1995. The regional database is an important regional resource for coastal fisheries management complementing national fisheries catch statistics.This article describes the refined version of FiRST (version 2004) and provides examples on how the database ('TrawlBase') has been used to date for analyses aimed at establishing historic resource baselines and examining the status of coastal fishery resources. The results show a severe decline of resource biomass to an average of 22% of pre-exploitation levels, with cases as low <4%. These results clearly demonstrate the strong impact of fishing on coastal resource biomass and diversity.

show abstract

Section: Data Contents and Illustrative Examples Of The Analysis Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

A regional database management system—the fisheries resource information system and tools (FiRST): Its design, utility and future directions

et al. 2006

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is clear from the consistent declines reported by all fishers and across triangulated questions that all fishers perceived a decline. Declining catch rates revealed by interviews are similar for other marine resources in Danajon Bank and other fishery declines in the Philippines (Stobutzki et al, 2006). Fishers' concerns over dwindling seahorse CPUE catalyzed the establishment of a community-managed no-fishing zone in the hopes of recovering seahorses and other target species (Pajaro et al, 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

How does the accuracy of fisher knowledge affect seahorse conservation status?

O'Donnell

Pajaro

Vincent

2010

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite a growing interest in incorporating fisher knowledge into quantitative conservation assessments, there remain practical impediments to its use. In particular, there is some debate about the accuracy of fisher knowledge. In this study, we report an attempt to quantify assumptions about how accurately fishers report past events (retrospective bias). Then we examine how the assumption we make about retrospective bias affects the characterization of changes in the fishery and extinction risk. We link fisher interviews and fisher logbooks to establish a catch rate (catch per unit of effort) trend for the history of a data-poor, small-scale seahorse fishery in the Philippines. We find that fishers perceive historic declines in fishing rate that are not apparent in more recent logbook trends, and the extent of the decline (and therefore extinction risk) hinges on assumptions we make about the accuracy of fisher recall. Scenarios that ignore retrospective bias result in the most severe declines and the most worrying extinction risk classifications. Furthermore, the historic baseline set by interviews suggests that relying on recent decades of data alone may underestimate extinction risk for our study species, and others that have been historically exploited. Attempting to link interviews with logbooks also illustrates differences between fisher-derived datasets: retrospective interviews may exaggerate early fishing rates and capture less variability than logbooks. In addition to being the first seahorse fishery reconstruction, our work contributes to the emerging interest in how fisher knowledge can guide conservation assessment. Future studies that incorporate fisher knowledge into quantitative assessments require (1) clearly stated assumptions about fisher knowledge bias; (2) clear criteria to compare fisher knowledge collected with different methods; (3) evaluation of the impact of assumptions on assessments.

show abstract

“…these trends, a prevailing lack of effective fisheries management means that overfishing remains a persistent societal and ecological concern in the SCS (Stobutzki et al 2006a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is at stake? Status and threats to South China Sea marine fisheries

Teh

Witter

Cheung

et al. 2016

Ambio

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Governance of South China Sea (SCS) fisheries remains weak despite acknowledgement of their widespread overexploitation for the past few decades. This review incorporates unreported fish catches to provide an improved baseline of the current status and societal contribution of SCS marine fisheries, so that the socio-economic and ecological consequences of continued fisheries unsustainability may be understood. Potential fisheries contribution to food and livelihoods include 11-17 million t in fisheries catch and USD 12-22 9 10 9 in fisheries landed value annually in the 2000s, and close to 3 million jobs. However, overfishing has resulted in biodiversity and habitat loss, and altered ecosystem trophic structures to a 'fished down' state. The present situation reiterates the urgency for fisheries policies that simultaneously address multiple political, social, economic, and biological dimensions at regional, national, and local scales. Importantly, improved cooperation between SCS nations, particularly in overcoming territorial disputes, is essential for effective regional fisheries governance.

show abstract

Decline of demersal coastal fisheries resources in three developing Asian countries

Cited by 85 publications

References 17 publications

A regional database management system—the fisheries resource information system and tools (FiRST): Its design, utility and future directions

A regional database management system—the fisheries resource information system and tools (FiRST): Its design, utility and future directions

How does the accuracy of fisher knowledge affect seahorse conservation status?

What is at stake? Status and threats to South China Sea marine fisheries

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About