Short-term choice behaviour in a mixed fishery: investigating métier selection in the Danish gillnet fishery

Abstract

Andersen, B. S., Ulrich, C., Eigaard, O. R., and Christensen, A-S. 2012. Short-term choice behaviour in a mixed fishery: investigating métier selection in the Danish gillnet fishery. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 131–143. The study presents a short-term effort allocation modelling approach based on a discrete choice random utility model combined with a survey questionnaire to examine the selection of métiers (a combination of fishing area and target species) in the Danish North Sea gillnet fishery. Key decision variables were identified from the survey questionnaire, and relevant proxies for the decision function were identified based on available landings and effort information. Additional variables from the survey questionnaire were further used to validate and verify the outcome of the choice model. Commercial fishers in a mixed fishery make use of a number of decision variables used previously in the literature, but also a number of decision parameters rarely explicitly accounted for, such as price, weather, and management regulation. The seasonal availability of individual target species and within-year changes in monthly catch ration were the main explanatory drivers, but gillnetters were also responsive to information on the whole fishery, fish prices, and distance travelled to fishing grounds. Heterogeneous responses were evident from geographic differences in home harbour, which underpins the need to understand alternative fishing strategies among individual gillnetters better.

DISPLACE: a dynamic, individual-based model for spatial fishing planning and effort displacement — integrating underlying fish population models

“…The fleet-based approaches make aggregated groups of similar activities to account for the heterogeneity of the fishing practices and profitability . Effort allocation models for the commercial fishery such as statistical random utility models (RUMs) are usually used on top of this approach and also perform at the aggregated fleet scale (e.g., Andersen et al 2012). RUMs can provide some probabilistic choices of fishing location and accordingly a realistic division of the overall fishing effort that accounts for local resource depletion.…”

Characterizing the complexity of the fleet dynamics for an effective fisheries management: The case of the Cíes Islands (NW Spain)

“…The local knowledge on the spatial-temporal migration dynamics of target species, the temporal variations in recent catches, the weather, the personal preferences of the skipper, the fish prices, the fishing regulations, and the gears they are allowed to use from their licence are some of the influential aspects in the selection of fishing strategy, and ultimately in the temporal pattern of the fishing activities (Andersen et al 2012). Thus, we have observed that strategies targeting sardine (Ce_1 and Xe_1) are mainly used in late spring and early summer, when the sardines approach the coast (Villasante 2010).…”

Testing the effect of soak time on catch damage in a coastal gillnetter and the consequences on processed fish quality

“…The gillnet fleet is of importance in Denmark and is gaining interest as an alternative practice towards improved environmental sustainability with regard to energy use and ecosystem effects (Andersen, Ulrich, Eigaard, & Christensen, 2012;Suuronen et al, 2012). The coastal vessels provide the opportunity of daily fresh fish supply, but maintaining profitable is challenging, and calls for solutions to help improve catch production.…”