Research on utilization conflicts of fishery resources and catch allocation methods in the Bohai Sea, China

Abstract

Developing equitable quota allocation schemes can contribute to achieving long-term ecological and economic sustainability of a nation’s fishery resources. Taking the Bohai Sea as a case study, we explored the biological reasons for fishery conflicts using survey data from the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, and further developed a multi-criteria allocation approach from biological, social and economic aspects and investigated eight allocation scenarios based on the national fishery statistical data. Results showed that fishery conflicts in the Bohai Sea were mainly caused by large annual variations in fish abundance, some high abundance areas occurring near jurisdictional boundaries, and biologically limited fisheries which had become overfished. Allocation approaches with multiple weighted criteria were more stable and acceptable compared with those solely based on one aspect. Percentage shares in Liaoning Province, Hebei Province, Shandong Province, and Tianjin Municipality were 30.2 %, 21.0 %, 47.6 %, and 1.2 % respectively based on the application of an entropy method. Instead of base allocation schemes which rely solely on biological factors such as historical catch records, these results highlight the importance of incorporating socioeconomic factors into decisions about catch quota allocation.

Introduction

Marine capture fisheries are not only an important source of food in China, but also contribute to the national economy and society by creating employment and adding economic value (Kumar, 2014; McClanahan et al., 2015). China is geographically located in Eastern Asia, bordering the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea. The Bohai Sea is a semi-enclosed shallow sea, and it is an important spawning, nursery and feeding ground for many fish species targeted in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea (Jin, 2004; 2014). However, fisheries resources in the Bohai Sea have greatly decreased since the 1960s mainly due to overfishing and environmental pollution (Gao et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2018). The dominant species have changed from traditional high-value fishes to small-sized species of low value (Shan et al., 2016).

Beyond the widespread depletion of marine fisheries resources, conflicts over access and allocation is a growing security concern (Hilborn, 2007; Spijkers et al., 2018; Zhang, 2018). Fisheries resources in China are much like the commons: access is restricted, but licensed fishermen can exploit these resources relatively freely (Yu and Yu, 2008; Shen and Heino, 2014). The scarcity of fishery resources leads to increased competition, which in turn leads to fishery conflicts. In the Bohai Sea, geographic proximity and intense competition for the limited fisheries resources among fishing provinces have often caused conflicts, resulting in human casualties and destruction of fishing vessels.

Fisheries management in China mainly relies on technical measures (e.g. closed areas and seasons, minimum mesh size regulation) and a range of input control measures (e.g. licensing system) (Shen and Heino, 2014). However, the Chinese government has now been paying greater attention to controlling the volume of marine catches in recent years (Cao et al., 2017; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 2017). Well-designed and implemented catch shares could help to prevent overfishing, promote stability and ecological stewardship (Gutiérrez et al., 2011). Furthermore, it would help to avoid the race for fish phenomenon (Birkenbach et al., 2017), which may contribute to reduce the fishery conflicts. Allocation is an essential part of a volume control policy, and equitable allocation is a key issue in actual performance of catch share programs. Developing a reasonable allocation scheme is one way to combat the tragedy of the commons (Metzner et al., 2010). However, issues surrounding the allocation of shared fisheries resources are some of the most challenging in fisheries management (Bailey et al., 2013; Crowe et al., 2013).

Currently, there are four main methods used to allocate catch shares including: (i) auctions, (ii) equal allocation, (iii) catch history, and (iv) vessel- or gear-based rules (Lynham, 2014). Nevertheless, most methods used to allocate catch shares are based solely on catch information, while socio-economic factors do not appear to influence allocation to any major extent (Metzner et al., 2010). One of the drawbacks associated with solely using catch information to allocate catch shares is that this explicitly ignores human drivers of fishing behavior and does nothing to illustrate tradeoffs in policy options (Bailey et al., 2013).

Developing fair and impartial allocation schemes can make a practical contribution to more sustainable and cooperative use of fisheries resources (Cox, 2009; Metzner et al., 2010). However, to date, few studies have explored potential catch share allocation schemes in China. This analysis is the first systematic attempt to explore the quota allocation options for fisheries in the Bohai Sea. It begins with an examination of the distribution and annual variation of fisheries resources in the Bohai Sea. Beyond allocating catch shares solely on the basis of historical catch records, this study further combines historical catch with socio-economic factors in allocation schemes and discusses some of the possible outcomes from catch shares allocation scenarios. The aim of this paper is to provide a reference tool for policymakers and academics involved in future fisheries management of the Bohai Sea.