Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 16822

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pierre Failler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Economics and Finance Group, Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DE, UK
Interests: blue economics; energy economics; sustainable development; blue energies; renewable energy resource
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ben Drakeford

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DE, UK
Interests: blue governance; blue economics; fisheries’ economics and management; sustainable development and management of natural resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Negar Akbari

E-Mail
Guest Editor

Centre for Operational Research and Logistics (CORL), School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, Lion Gate Building, Lion Terrace, Portsmouth PO1 3HF, UK
Interests: sustainable development and management of natural resources

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine fisheries are an important part of the ecosystem with a significant economic and social role globally and are an important contributor to food security, livelihoods and employment, export earnings, and economic growth. However, the state of marine fishery resources based on the long-term monitoring of assessed marine fish stocks shows a continued decline. The proportion of fish stocks that are within biologically sustainable levels decreased from 90% in 1974 to 65.8% in 2017, showing that the future of such fisheries is under threat of overexploitation (FAO, 2020). The problem is exacerbated when unsuccessful management and policy measures lead to poor economic performance of the sector in some regions (Nieminen, et al., 2016). Most traditional bioeconomic models which seek to improve economics efficiency of fisheries focus on single species, open access, and long-term dynamics of fisheries incorporating simplified biological growth functions of the species concerned. However, the majority of fisheries are multispecies, face some form of restricted access, and have short-term dynamics (Birkenbach, et al., 2020).

The traditional bioeconomic models for fisheries also fail to consider the role of market-based instruments or mechanisms in management decisions and the fundamental drivers that lead to long-term economic transition of the sector. Fisheries as part of the broader ecosystem are affected by the ecological variations in the marine ecosystem, and socioeconomic shifts (Vosooghi, 2019). Such variations which could be either human-induced or engendered exogenously influence the dynamic of fisheries, and integrated modeling would help in developing policies to improve the sustainability of this resource. Therefore, a different approach in favor of management practices that recognize the fisheries as complex socioeconomic–ecological systems with multiple stakeholders is needed to view this sector as part of the wider ecosystem and capture the interrelations between fisheries and economy as a whole (Soomai, 2017). These considerations demonstrate a need to convene fisheries economic modelers and analysts to exchange, distribute, and discuss new ideas and developments in modeling in line with new fishery policies.

The primary objective of the proposed Special Issue is the publication of papers concerning the application of integrated modeling involving economic, social, and ecological aspects in marine fisheries and detailed analysis in order to improve sustainable management strategies for fisheries.

Areas of particular interest include evaluation and development of policy instruments for fisheries, cost–benefit and cost effectiveness analysis, fisheries policy impact analysis, and modeling and simulation. This Special Issue complements and extends the existing topics on fisheries economics and management by focusing on ecological and socioeconomic modeling aspects in fisheries management.

This Special Issue is drawn from the authors’ findings from several international research projects and research activities which are intended to develop an integrated assessment method of the societal cost for best fishing practices and efficient public policies for sustainable fisheries. The work is based on the premise that worldwide fisheries policy is changing its emphasis from aquatic resource utilization toward multiple new areas (including ensuring the sustainability of aquatic resources, restructuring the fisheries industry, and the role which the sector can play in poverty reduction across developing societies).

Specifically, the objectives of this Special Issue include:

To demonstrate advances in integrated modeling for fisheries management;
To strengthen the science–policy interface for improved decision making;
To provide a forum for interested participants to exchange and discuss new thinking in fisheries economic modelling;
To report case studies for a number of (developing) fishery regions which have applied these methods and to explore policy relevance;
To enable multidisciplinary researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers to reach a consensus on the needs, directions and areas of tool development and policy analysis;
To inspire further research in this particular direction that broadens and deepens the area of integrated modelling for fisheries policy;
To assist in the dissemination of the research results to academics, analysts, stakeholders, and policymakers.

Birkenbach, A. M., Cojocaru, A. L., Guttormsen, A. G. & Smith, M. D., 2020. Seasonal Harvest Patterns in Multispecies Fisheries. Environmental and Resource Economics, Volume 75, pp. 631–655.

FAO, 2020. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020.Sustainability in action, Rome: s.n.

Nieminen, E., Kronbak, L. G. & Lindroos, M., 2016. International Agreements in the Multispecies Baltic Sea Fisheries. Environmental and Resource Economics, Volume 65, pp. 109–134.

Soomai, S. S., 2017. The science-policy interface in fisheries management: Insights about the influence of organizational structure and culture on information pathways. Marine Policy, Volume 81, pp. 53–63.

Vosooghi, S., 2019. Panic-Based Overfishing in Transboundary Fisheries. Environmental and Resource Economics, Volume 73, pp. 1287–1313.

Prof. Dr. Pierre Failler
Dr. Ben Drakeford
Dr. Negar Akbari
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 2332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding EU Fisheries Management Dynamics by Engaging Stakeholders through Online Group Model-Building

by Erda Gercek, Monica Gambino and Loretta Malvarosa

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15862; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315862 - 29 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1611

Abstract

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has a challenging mandate to find the right policy mix to simultaneously achieve all three aspects of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. But development and implementation of an effective and sustainable fisheries management policy has been a challenge all over the world. The evidence of this failure is found in the continuous decline in fish stocks. Faced with the difficulty in fulfilling this mandate, the European Commission has increasingly been embracing fisheries stakeholders’ involvement. Stakeholder involvement in policy development and implementation is important because it tries to bring the relevant interested parties together, understanding and paying attention to what is important to each and every stakeholder, identifying the individual and common issues. This process in turn can foster connections, trust, confidence, and buy-in, and commitment for the implementation of the policy. This research describes a group model-building (GMB) approach using system dynamic methodology as a participatory model building tool, enabling stakeholders to become deeply involved in the identification and modelling of the complex issues faced by the EU fisheries. Given the geographical diversity of the stakeholders, GMB was applied online, both synchronously and asynchronously, providing participants time to carefully reflect on key variables, their relationships, and the behaviour of the overall system. The study demonstrated the need and relevance of an adequate engagement of the stakeholders, with online stakeholder consultation proving an effective method of engagement. Hence, the study is very relevant for both scientists and managers. The GMB process meant the final model evolved significantly from the initial one offered, which pointed to active involvement in and progressive learning from the modelling process itself, as the methodology argues. Two quantitative stock-flow models using actual numbers were built not only to aid the GMB process but to depict how all three aspects of sustainability could actually be met with the right set of policies that consider feedback loops and inherent trade-offs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 3485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A System Dynamics Approach for Improved Management of the Indian Mackerel Fishery in Peninsular Malaysia

by Illisriyani Ismail, Pierre Failler, Antaya March and Andy Thorpe

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14190; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114190 - 31 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1330

Abstract

This paper presents the results of applying the system dynamics model to the Indian mackerel fishery (IM) in Malaysia. The main objective of this paper is to explore a more holistic approach to modelling options for the difficult task of managing an open access fishery. To this end, a system dynamics model was used to provide a general framework that incorporates several interacting factors that influence the management of the fishery. Such a model, which combines both biological and economic data, is appropriate for fisheries management practise. In this case, three policy scenarios (in addition to a business-as-usual scenario) based on a reduction in the number of boats fishing are used to simulate the behaviour of the stock IM. The results show that the optimal CPUE level is achieved with a 25% reduction in the total number of boats. In this scenario, a biomass of 127,432 metric tonnes IM of adult fish is predicted in 2050, with a catch of 32,884 tonnes for 2698 boats. In comparison, the biomass of IM in 2016 is 112,384 tonnes with a catch of 32,454 tonnes for 4616 boats. Based on these results, we can determine for the first time the optimal level of fishing capacity to ensure the sustainability of the fishery at IM. Overall, this work introduces a new method for simulating Malaysian fisheries data and new modelling methods that are not widely used in the Malaysian fisheries modelling field. The model benefits from current management and data availability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 1710 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Adaptation Behaviour of Marine Fishermen towards Climate Change and Food Security: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Health Belief Model

by Mahfuza Begum, Muhammad Mehedi Masud, Lubna Alam, Mazlin Bin Mokhtar and Ahmad Aldrie Amir

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14001; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114001 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2395

Abstract

Key food production sectors, such as fisheries, are predicted to be severely impacted by climate change, which threatens food security. Owing to the direct influence of climate change on the lives and means of livelihood of marine fishing communities, effective adaptation methods are required to ensure the well-being of coastal communities. Thus, the goal of this study is to examine the various factors that impact the adaptation behaviour of marine fishermen towards climate change. To this end, data were collected from 312 Bangladeshi fishermen using survey questionnaires and subsequently analysed by employing partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Our findings reveal a significant and positive association between all components (perceived severity, perceived benefit and perceived barrier) of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and marine fishermen’s adaptation behaviour. However, the perceived susceptibility component of the HBM had no effect on the climate change adaption behaviour of marine fishermen. Likewise, the findings indicate that awareness influences attitude, which in turn impacts the adaption behaviour of marine fishermen. Furthermore, the study results establish the indirect mediating role of awareness and attitude with respect to the adaptation behaviour of marine fishers. The findings of this study can be adopted by policymakers to develop adaptation strategies to aid marine fishermen in adapting to climatic effects. Furthermore, the various responses of marine fishermen to climate change will also serve as a useful source of information for the government. In summary, the information generated from this research can serve as a practical basis to foster adaptation behaviour among marine fishers and advance adaptation policies at the national level, not only in Bangladesh but also for other coastal communities that are at risk as a result of climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 2586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stochastic Modelling to Assess External Environmental Drivers of Atlantic Chub Mackerel Population Dynamics

by Ghoufrane Derhy, Diego Macías, Khalid Elkalay, Karima Khalil and Margarita María Rincón

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9211; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159211 - 27 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1829

Abstract

The population dynamics of small and middle-sized pelagic fish are subject to considerable interannual and interdecadal fluctuations in response to fishing pressure and natural factors. However, the impact of environmental forcing on these stocks is not well documented. The Moroccan Atlantic coast is characterized by high environmental variability due to the upwelling phenomenon, resulting in a significant abundance and variation in the catches of small and middle-sized pelagic species. Therefore, understanding the evolution of stock abundance and its relationship with different oceanographic conditions is a key issue for fisheries management. However, because of the limited availability of independent-fishery data along the Moroccan Atlantic coast, there is a lack of knowledge about the population dynamics. The main objective of this study is to test the correlation between the environment conditions and the stock fluctuations trends estimated by a stock assessment model that does not need biological information on growth, reproduction, and length or age structure as input. To achieve this objective, the fishery dynamics are analyzed with a stochastic surplus production model able to assimilate data from surveys and landings for a biomass trend estimation. Then, in a second step, the model outputs are correlated with different environmental (physical and biogeochemical) variables in order to assess the influence of different environmental drivers on population dynamics. This two-step procedure is applied for chub mackerel along the Moroccan coast, where all these available datasets have not been used together before. The analysis performed showed that larger biomass estimates are linked with periods of lower salinity, higher chlorophyll, higher net primary production, higher nutrients, and lower subsurface oxygen, i.e., with an enhanced strength of the upwelling. In particular, acute anomalies of these environmental variables are observed in the southern part presumably corresponding to the wintering area of the species in the region. The results indicate that this is a powerful procedure, although with important limitations, to deepen our understanding of the spatiotemporal relationships between the population and the environment in this area. Moreover, once these relationships have been identified, they could be used to generate a mathematical relationship to simulate future population trends in diverse environmental scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 2810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Inter-Temporal Computable General Equilibrium Model for Fisheries

by Haoran Pan, Pierre Failler, Qianyi Du, Christos Floros, Loretta Malvarosa, Emmanuel Chassot and Vincenzo Placenti

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6444; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116444 - 25 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1666

Abstract

Computable general equilibrium models have been a popular tool for policy analysis in recent decades, but rarely applied for fisheries policy and management. This paper presents an inter-temporal computable general equilibrium model with fisheries details. While the model in a full-scale and disaggregate way describes the structure and dynamics of a regional fisheries economy, it further specifies the heterogeneous bottom-up fish producers, such as harvesters, aquaculture and fish-processing firms, and links fisheries with the top–down non-fisheries economic sectors. In addition, the model can be externally linked with fish biological models to consider interactions between economic and biological systems. The model is designed to provide a comprehensive tool for analysis of new fisheries policy in general and to study five European fishery regions in particular. The empirics in the paper evaluate the impact of several important management and policy instruments on the Salerno economy and on recovery of endangered species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainability Assessment of the Societal Costs of Fishing Activities in a Deliberative Perspective

by Jean-Marc Douguet, Pierre Failler and Gianluca Ferraro

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6191; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106191 - 19 May 2022

Viewed by 1361

Abstract

Assessing the social cost of fisheries is generally seen as a matter of how to monetize the components of fisheries. This paper presents an assessment of the societal cost of fishing activities, seen as a social process that is expected to contribute to the better management of aquatic resources, affecting sustainable development in coastal areas around the world. The originality of this article lies in considering the sustainability assessment from a deliberative perspective. It aims at defining the types of guiding concepts, frameworks, and information sets that might be appropriate for decision support, as we enlarge our scope of concern from fisheries to the ecosystems of eco-regions in the long term. In defining the societal cost of fisheries, through interviews, the objective is, first of all, to identify the social effects (positive and negative) of fishing métiers. By comparing fishing activities in a multi-criteria and multi-actor analysis, this evaluation is intended as a means for the actors to express in different ways (scientific indicators, institutional objectives, etc.) their judgment regarding the sustainability of the fishing profession. This analysis is the basis for defining the methods of monetizing these effects in different eco-regions (West African coastal upwelling and the deltas of Southeast Asia). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 3120 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Impact of Fisheries on the Economy: A Systematic Review on the Application of General Equilibrium and Input–Output Methods

by Negar Akbari, Pierre Failler, Haoran Pan, Benjamin Drakeford and Andy Forse

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 6089; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076089 - 31 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5216

Abstract

In this paper, a systematic literature review on the impact of fisheries on the economy and the application of the computable general equilibrium (CGE) and input–output (IO) methods for assessing this impact is conducted. The importance of fisheries as a food source, the over exploitation of this resource, and, consequently, the impact of fisheries on the economy are the motivations behind this study. By reviewing the applications of two of the most common economic modelling tools, we aim to shine light on the state of the art and how the impact of fisheries on the economy has been addressed in the literature. In this analysis, three main themes of socio-economic, ecological, and environmental have been identified, and the application of these methods in each theme has been considered. The results show that while IO methods continue to be applied in the literature, the CGE method has experienced increased application recently, and future applications are anticipated due to its enhanced capabilities in comparison with IO models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Integrated Modelling for Sustainable Fisheries Management

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Published Papers (7 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI