Fisheries performance in Africa: An analysis based on data from 14 countries

Asche, Frank; Garlock, Taryn; Akpalu, Wisdom; Amaechina, Ebele C.; Botta, Robert; Chukwuone, Nnaemeka; Hutchings, K; Lokina, Razack; Tibesigwa, Byela; Turpie, Jane

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104263

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…International organizations have a critical role in addressing the impact of DWFNs; including working with regional and sub-regional fisheries advisory bodies and partners such as the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Agreements to ensure that agreements are more equitable in protecting the socio-economic interests of coastal states. 5 Africa could learn a lesson from the Pacific Tuna Forum Fisheries Agency on how to form alliances to negotiate access as a bloc (e.g. through the African Union) to balance power over agreements with DWFNs, and place outcomes more equitably in the hands of the African citizens (See: [88,99]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the increasing quest to tap into the Blue Economy (BE) as Africa's frontier for development, states are paying closer attention to the sustainable use of their coastal and marine resources [69]. However, this attention is not so far halting or reversing the continued decline of the continent's fishery resources [5,72]. The decline in fish stocks and catches is framed as resulting from weaknesses in fisheries governance, primarily "illegal, unreported and unregulated" (IUU) fishing, which poses a threat to a sustainable ocean economy [98].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Survival of the Richest, not the Fittest: How attempts to improve governance impact African small-scale marine fisheries

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The sustainable use of fisheries resources is a priority of the African Union in developing the Blue Economy (BE). Growing global demand for seafood has attracted diverse actors to African waters, including Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFNs) fleets. Complex fisheries governance challenges, unsustainable rates of fishing and rising fisheries-related crimes have ensued. To reverse these impacts, some African states are deploying various fisheries governance mechanisms. Drawing on extensive expert experiences, the review of literature, fisheries databases, international and regional agency reports, NGO and government reports and case studies from West and East Africa, we demonstrate two critical findings. First, fisheries governance mechanisms in Africa act largely to constrain small-scale fisheries (SSF) while failing to contain the industrial fisheries sector, resulting in the marginalisation of the SSF. Secondly, despite a higher incidence of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in industrial fisheries than the SSF, fisheries governance mechanisms continue to advance the 'Survival of the Richest' -the industrial sector, to the detriment of the 'Fittest' -the SSF. The SSF supports millions of jobs and is better adapted to meet the continents' nutrition and socio-economic security. For the fisheries sector to contribute to the sustainable development of Africans, states must redirect governance towards regulating the industrial sector, emphasising equitable access for the SSF whilst prioritising ecological sustainability.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of the Richest, not the Fittest: How attempts to improve governance impact African small-scale marine fisheries

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The strategies used by both motorized and paddled fishers on Lake Victoria have driving factors that can mostly be attributed to the economic value of the Nile perch. Based on the fisheries' legal and policy framework, motorized vessels in the study fish legally (≥5 mesh size multifilament), while paddled vessels fish illegally (<5 mesh size, monofilament) [70]. Managing the lake's fishing effort, however, should offer a balanced view of not only eliminating illegal fishers but also managing the capacity of legal ones and what drives changes in the strategies employed by the two groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation Strategies to a Changing Resource Base: Case of the Gillnet Nile Perch Fishery on Lake Victoria in Uganda

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sustainable management of fisheries has proven to be a daunting exercise for Lake Victoria. Exploitation patterns in the fishery are driven by fishers who adopt different strategies as a response to changing economic, management, socio-economic, and resource conditions. Fisheries managers, however, seldom consider these changes in management policies. The aim of the study, therefore, was to evaluate the adaptation strategies of the Nile perch gillnet fishers on Lake Victoria in Uganda using 8-year catch and effort data collected in the period from 2005 to 2015. Trends of the selected effort and catch variables in the study period identified two adaptive fishing strategies by gillnet fishers on the lake. The first group, the paddled fishermen whose gillnet use varied in the first half of the study, diverted to harvesting juvenile Nile perch by using smaller, mesh sizes, monofilament nets and gillnets of less depth in the second half of the study. Motorized fishers, on the other hand, maintained their mesh size, using multifilament gillnets, however, they increased the depth of their nets in the second half of the study period to maintain their targeted fish size. Fishers on Lake Victoria adapted strategies to cope with their constraints and opportunities based on the Nile perch population structure and their economic needs. It is important for fishery managers to consider that the fishers are an integral part of the fisheries ecosystems, and considering their behavior in management decisions will aid in devising adaptive policies for sustainable resource use and sustainable livelihood development of the fishers’ communities.

show abstract

“…The FPIs were designed to facilitate standardized assessment that is quantitative, accurate and applicable under data‐rich and data‐poor circumstances. The FPIs have been used to compare fisheries systems at a global scale (Asche et al, 2018), for specific species complexes (McCluney et al, 2019), specific regions (Asche et al, 2021) and countries (Doria et al, 2021; Liu et al, 2021), and for specific projects (Chu et al, 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global insights on managing fishery systems for the three pillars of sustainability

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is growing recognition that fisheries should be managed for all three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental sustainability. Limited quantitative evidence exists on factors supporting social sustainability, much less factors that contribute to multiple dimensions of sustainability. To develop a broader understanding of the factors that influence the performance of fishery management systems in environmental, economic and social pillars, we examine 11 input factors conjectured to contribute to successful fisheries using a global dataset of 145 fisheries case studies.The analysis indicates that management approaches are cross-cutting and contribute to multiple dimensions of sustainability to varying extents. Importantly, factors exogenous to fisheries management can be as important as fisheries management, suggesting collaboration of fisheries institutions with other public and private institutions is important for sustainable fisheries development.

show abstract

Fisheries performance in Africa: An analysis based on data from 14 countries

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Survival of the Richest, not the Fittest: How attempts to improve governance impact African small-scale marine fisheries

Survival of the Richest, not the Fittest: How attempts to improve governance impact African small-scale marine fisheries

Adaptation Strategies to a Changing Resource Base: Case of the Gillnet Nile Perch Fishery on Lake Victoria in Uganda

Global insights on managing fishery systems for the three pillars of sustainability

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About