Case Study on Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Risk-Based Fisheries Framework Applied to the Trawl Fishery of East Johor, Malaysia

Transcription

1 2009/FWG/WKSP/009 Case Study on Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Risk-Based Fisheries Framework Applied to the Trawl Fishery of East Johor, Malaysia Submitted by: Sea Resources Management Sdn Bhd (SRM) Workshop on Implementing Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries in the Context of the Broader Marine Environment Vancouver, Canada May 2009

2 Case Study on MSC Risk based Fisheries Framework Applied to the Trawl Fishery of East Johor, Malaysia Component of FWG 01/2009 Presentation By Sharif Zainal Aziz Sea Resources Management, Malaysia APEC Ecosystem based Workshop May 2009 Vancouver Project Overview East Johor trawl fishery case study Outline of the fisheries management context Description of macro trends and fisheries status MCS and Challenges Preliminary Findings The MSC Rapid Assessment Approach/Framework will be presented by Duncan Leadbitter

3 Client Intention APEC Fisheries Working Group A case study applying a risk based rapid assessment fisheries (MSC) framework to the East Johor trawl fishery to demonstrate how this tool can be used to promote ecosystem based fisheries management Team Sea Resources Management Malaysia MRAG Americas (Fishery Auditors) Project Specialist Advisor Project Began end of April 2009 Early May 2009 Initial fisheries description developed based upon desktop research, existing data and initial site visit interviews East Johor Fisheries Overview Description supplied to fisheries auditors (comments and further descriptive detail) Preliminary scoping assessment against MSC Principles and Criteria for sustainable fishing Preliminary PSA First Report Submitted to FWG 22 May 2009

4 Peninsular Malaysia East Johor Fishery Site East Johor Malaysia Three designated fish landing ports (operated by LKIM) Endau, Mersing and Sedili Other various private jetties and landing sites More than 200km coastline close maritime neighbours and shallow waters fishery Management Regime Two agencies responsible for management and development: Department of Fisheries (DOF), Malaysia & Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) DOF implements the Fisheries Act 1985 and subsidiary regulations DOF Functions: Formulate/implement Policy, research and evaluation of fisheries resources, provision of technical/infrastructural facilities, compilation/dissemination of fishery statistics, training, and licensing and enforcement of fisheries regulations (enforcement also by MMEA, Marine Police) Official position is to curb over fishing particularly in coastal zone (freeze on licenses except for C2 (recent suggestion to unfreeze licenses) LKIM established under the LKIM Act 1971 LKIM Functions: Originally instituted as developmental authority to spur commercialisation. Primary function to increase fish production, raise fishers income, provide and supervise credit schemes for new technology acquirement, & promote/facilitate fisheries organisations such as Fishermen's (sic) Associations. Manage fish landing ports.

5 Policy Context 2007 fisheries industry supported 99,600 fishers and increase over recent years 4,977 working on licensed vessels in Johor 1,311 of these employed on 264 trawlers Also an unknown number of traditional/part time fishers in near shore areas Fisheries contri to GDP fallen recent years; however sector important as a source of employment and protein Policy Regime Primary policy instruments: Third National Agricultural Policy (NAP3): NAP3 forecasts fish consumption to rise by 2010 to 60kg/person; however, fisheries sector unlikely to meet growing demand (therefore aquaculture focused upon to meet demand) NAP3 objectives: oenhance food security, oincrease productivity and competitiveness odeepen linkages with other sectors ocreate new sources of growth oconserve and utilise natural resources on a sustainable basis New Economic Policy (NEP) gives priority to agri sector

6 Policy Regime conti Fisheries subsidies/incentives implemented: Subsidised fuel for fishing vessels (quota per vessel based upon usage, size etc) Monthly allowance for registered fishers 10sen/kg incentive for first 1,000kg landed/month International obligations (binding and non binding) inter alia : The Bonn Convention (not ratified by Malaysia); Convention on Biological Diversity (ratified by Malaysia); LOSC (in particular Article 61) (ratified by Malaysia); FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing; Regional Plan of Action for Responsible Fishing; FAO International Plan of Action for the Management of Sharks (Malaysia has a NPOA Sharks published by DOF in 2006); FAO International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity; International Plan of Action on IUU Fishing; and MOU on ASEAN Sea Turtle Protection & Conservation (Malaysian NPOA Turtles Zonation and Vessel Licenses National Fisheries Licensing Policy (NFLP) Limited licenses and to reduce competition between trad and commercial fisheries (i.e. Zone A for traditional only) Primary F gears include traditional, purse seine and trawlers Majority of EJ trawlers are larger vessels (Class B, C, C2 264 in 2007) Small number of shrimp trawl licensed vessels in East Johor during the monsoon (less than 60) Zone A less than 5 nautical miles from shore, reserved solely for small scale fishers using traditional fishing gear and owneroperated vessels under 20 GRT. Zone B beyond 5 nautical miles, where owner operated commercial fishing vessels of less than 40 GRT using trawl nets and purse seine nets are allowed to operate. Zone C beyond 12 nautical miles, where commercial fishing vessels of 40 GRT to 69.9 GRT using trawl nets and purse seine nets are allowed to operate. Zone C2 beyond 30 nautical miles, where deep sea fishing vessels of 70 GRT and above are allowed to operate. 13 Marine Parks in close proximity to East Johor unfortunately fishing known to occur here Reported that Fishers are advised when enforcement likely to occur

7 East Johor Trawl Fishery Since trawl gear introduction in 1960s /1970s the primary objective has been to maximise landings ; however marks period of rapid increase ROE Shrimp Trawl license for Class A Vessels only (approx 80 90% of catch is finfish) Finfish trawlers are primarily bottom trawlers (non selective gear, i.e. stern, otter and twin otter trawlers etc) Licensing system does not employ quotas or TAC No known regulations net length/width cod end mesh size regulations, but implementation challenges exist East Johor trawlers fish in shallow water (usually not more metres within 30nm from coast) Operate in a range of habitats sandy, rocky, seagrass beds, reefs Technological advances last 2 3 years (rock hopper nets) now allow fishing in areas where previously effort was limited net damage (i.e. rocky substrate and coral reef) Year Macro trends Annual Fisheries Statistics an increase in licensed trawl gear; declined to 264 trawl licenses (other gear licenses increased) Number of trawl fishers (mainly local) constant, while fishers on all other gears increased Trawl landings account for majority of reported landings: Increased , then dropped to recent past levels (2008 data not available) Data on landings, licensed vessels/gear type, fishers complicated by unknown ROE where: vessels land catch at private jetties some landings reported but not verified Licensed Trawl Gears Licensed Other Gear Total Gear Fishers on Trawlers Fishers on all other Vessel Types Total Fishers Landings by Trawl Gear (MT) Landings from Traditional Gear Cumulative landings from all other Gear (MT) Total Landings (MT) ,082 1,361 1,353 2,912 4,265 60,767 3,730 6,918 71, ,054 1,363 1,435 2,902 4,337 61,479 3,114 7,095 71, ,281 1,436 2,787 4,223 64,546 3,277 9,766 77, ,241 1,465 2,709 4,174 65,150 4,025 8,181 77, ,244 1,405 2,981 4,386 59,779 3,476 6,933 70, ,400 1,677 1,548 3,665 5,213 57,709 3,094 7,091 67, ,123 1,398 1,400 3,582 4,982 72,711 3,862 13,519 90, ,318 1,582 1,311 3,666 4,977 59,506 3,242 12,058 74,806

8 A Species list Key species from trawl landings identified for a PSA: referred to retained species/no target species These species were then subjected to a PSA to determine risk: Atule mate (locally referred to as Pelata, a form of Yellow Tail Scad) appears to be commercially extinct. The role of trawler ROE in species decline unknown as the species ranked as a low risk species Other species also under pressure CPUE Data ROE data provided under following groups: fishing effort and landings by gear type and tonnage class and species, cumulative number of fishing units by gear type and state, fishing effort: number of trips by gear type and state, fishing effort: number of days by gear type and state, fishing effort: number of hauls by gear type and state. Examination of Annual Statistics demonstrated inconsistency in data 264 licensed trawl gear East Johor (all vessel classes A C2) Class A Class B Class B large Class C Class C2 small Number of days at sea by gear and tonnage 7,003 12,419 22,790 31,057 2,605 (from table 5.2 Annual Statistics) Number of hauls by gear and tonnage (from table 5.3 Annual Statistics) Average number of haul/day at sea by vessel tonnage 7,003 12,419 22,790 31,057 2,

9 Overview Management controls through: Legislation (Fisheries Act 1985 and regs) Effort control through licensing (National Fisheries Licensing Policy 1981) Fishing area control through zonation Control over duration/period for certain fisheries (shrimp) Control in ports and at sea Legislative controls challenged by uncertain maritime boundaries Multiple agencies empowered to conduct enforcement e.g. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA Act 2004); Royal Malaysian Navy; Royal Malaysian Customs; Royal Malaysian Police; and Department of Fisheries Challenges Fishing vessels are known to fish outside their zones Vessels are sometimes warned of impending enforcement patrols Vessels known to fish inside Marine Parks Unknown number of landings from unlicensed vessels and from landings at private jetties Surveillance assets are old, and technologies such as VMS have only been partly implemented Inter agency coordination complicated by multiple legislation, overlap in functions Unclear policy position, i.e. official DOF position is to continue freeze on issuance of vessel licenses for Zone A, B and C, while recent media report suggested unfreezing up to 16,000 licenses for these zone. (suggests scale of unlicensed vessels is significant)

10 The PSA analysis measures potential risk to species based upon the species life history and known distribution. Risk ranking for Atule mate the PSA was low. The species has become commercially extinct according to the Annual Fisheries Statistics. Other pressures on this species are likely to be further explored; The status of CPUE and ROE fisheries data does not appear to be consistent and therefore inaccurate; There is a significant level of unquantifiable landings at private jetties occurring in the East Johor Fishery, resulting in low reliability for published landings data; Application of the MSC Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fishing demonstrate that the East Johor trawl fishery priorities for improvement are largely ranked as high; Ecosystem, benthic habitat, fisheries interaction and other data is limited or unavailable leading to high prioritisation for action; and The level of knowledge amongst fisheries managers on EAF tools require enhancement Thank you