| 1. |
- Byrne, Conor, et al.
(author)
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Species-level quota concentration in the Icelandic harvesting sector
- 2020
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In: Marine Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-597X .- 1872-9460. ; 121
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The introduction of Iceland's current ITQ system in 1991 has been followed by significant consolidation of the harvesting sector. This paper quantifies the rate of consolidation by measuring the concentration of quota holdings at company and vessel level for eight commercially important demersal and pelagic species over the period 1991-2017, using concentration ratios and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index. These metrics are complemented by calculation of the Instability Index, which is a measure of competitive rivalry. The results indicate a significant increase in concentration across all species at both company and vessel level, although company consolidation appeared to accelerate relative to fleet consolidation during the early 2000 ' s when the Icelandic financial sector was privatised and then slowed in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008. The Instability Index fell for all species, indicating a general decline in competitive rivalry. Concentration varies greatly by species, and is lowest for cod and haddock which are caught extensively by small and medium-sized vessels and highest in the pelagic sector, reaching levels associated with market power. Finally, there is evidence that regulatory limits on individual company quota holdings may be starting to hamper further consolidation and any associated efficiency gains.
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| 2. |
- Byrne, Conor, et al.
(author)
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The Transitional Gains Trap in Grandfathered Individual Transferable Quota Fisheries
- 2024
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In: Ecological Economics. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 215
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Trade in freely granted individual rights has been speculated to gradually reduce the political feasibility of reallocation, as the initial recipients who enjoy windfall profits are replaced by rights holders who purchased their rights and would unfairly become loss-making if the rights were subsequently reallocated. This hypothesis, sometimes referred to as a Transitional Gains Trap, may be relevant when evaluating alternative methods of allocating rights. This paper presents a potential indicator for investigating the Transitional Gains Trap in grandfathered individual transferable quota fisheries, based on the cumulative amount invested in quota after allowing for offsetting windfall profits, relative to the total value of all quota. The indicator ranges between 0% and 100%, with higher values indicating more net investment and a greater threat of a Transitional Gains Trap. Illustrative calculations for Iceland's ITQ system, introduced in 1991, yield a value of 29% by 2016, suggesting that the Transitional Gains Trap is not a major constraint, although the results vary by species and are sensitive to assumptions. Finally, the indicator is shown to decrease over time under certain conditions, implying that the potential relevance of the Transitional Gains Trap is context-specific.
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| 3. |
- Byrne, Conor, et al.
(author)
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The Transitional Gains Trap in grandfathered ITQ systems
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Trade in grandfathered fishing quota has been argued to inevitably lead to a Transitional Gains Trap whereby revocation of quota initially gifted becomes politically impossible as the original beneficiaries are eventually succeeded by harvesters who have paid for their quota and would become loss-making in the event of revocation. This paper proposes a quantitative measure of the trap which reflects not only the potential loss faced by individual harvesters due to revocation of purchased quota but also the offsetting effect on these harvesters of accumulated profits due to the initial grandfathered allocations and subsequent investment in quota. Illustrative calculations for Iceland´s ITQ system suggest that the extent of the trap varied considerably by species but remained below 60% under a range of assumptions. Finally, it is shown that the proposed measure may decrease over time, suggesting that the trap may not necessarily be a long-term political barrier to reform.
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| 4. |
- Elsler, Laura G., 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Global trade network patterns are coupled to fisheries sustainability
- 2023
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In: PNAS Nexus. - 2752-6542. ; 2:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The rapid development of seafood trade networks alongside the decline in biomass of many marine populations raises important questions about the role of global trade in fisheries sustainability. Mounting empirical and theoretical evidence shows the importance of trade development on commercially exploited species. However, there is limited understanding of how the development of trade networks, such as differences in connectivity and duration, affects fisheries sustainability. In a global analysis of over 400,000 bilateral trade flows and stock status estimates for 876 exploited fish and marine invertebrates from 223 territories, we reveal patterns between seafood trade network indicators and fisheries sustainability using a dynamic panel regression analysis. We found that fragmented networks with strong connectivity within a group of countries and weaker links between those groups (modularity) are associated with higher relative biomass. From 1995 to 2015, modularity fluctuated, and the number of trade connections (degree) increased. Unlike previous studies, we found no relationship between the number or duration of trade connections and fisheries sustainability. Our results highlight the need to jointly investigate fisheries and trade. Improved coordination and partnerships between fisheries authorities and trade organizations present opportunities to foster more sustainable fisheries.
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| 5. |
- Elsler, Laura G., et al.
(author)
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Global trade network patterns coupled to marine fisheries sustainability
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Other publication (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Increases in the speed and scale of seafood trade in the global trade network along with the simultaneous decline of many marine fisheries globally raises serious concerns about the sustainability of such trade development. The continuity, number and grouping of trade connections has changed: seafood trade in the Anthropocene is short-lived and globally connected. In this new reality, (i) the formation of new trade connections can outpace that of regulatory action in fisheries and (ii) the state of a fishery can depend on its trade-related connectivity to other fisheries. Despite mounting empirical and theoretical evidence of the importance of trade networks in natural resource management, indicators of network speed and scale are rarely used to understand fisheries sustainability. Here, we assess whether the speed and scale of the seafood trade network is indicative of fishery status. Our data consolidates post-1995 global, bilateral trade data including >400,000 bilateral trade flows and stock status estimates for 746 stocks from 222 countries and is analyzed with both static and dynamic panel analysis methods. We find that low levels of grouping in the network correlates with low fishery status and despite increasing numbers of trade connections grouping has declined. Contrary to earlier findings, we demonstrate that long-term trade connections correlate with low fishery status. These results highlight the importance of the way trade develops i.e. in the continuity and grouping of trade connections as key indicators of fisheries sustainability. Thus, policies aimed at improving fisheries sustainability cannot focus on regulating local fisheries alone. For one, trade agreements could target the formation of new multilateral trade alliances. Parallel efforts of international trade organizations, national trade and fisheries ministries need to create incentives that long-term trade connections enable sustainable fisheries use.
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| 6. |
- Elsler, Laura G., et al.
(author)
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Protecting ocean carbon through biodiversity and climate governance
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global policy goals for halting biodiversity loss and climate change depend on each other to be successful. Marine biodiversity and climate change are intertwined through foodwebs that cycle and transport carbon and contribute to carbon sequestration. Yet, biodiversity conservation and fisheries management seldom explicitly include ocean carbon transport and sequestration. In order to effectively manage and govern human activities that affect carbon cycling and sequestration, international biodiversity and climate agreements need to address both biodiversity and climate issues. International agreements that address issues for climate and biodiversity are best poised to facilitate the protection of ocean carbon with existing policies. The degree to which the main international biodiversity and climate agreements make reference to multiple issues has however not been documented. Here, we used a text mining analysis of over 2,700 binding and non-binding policy documents from ten global ocean-related agreements to identify keywords related to biodiversity, climate, and ocean carbon. While climate references were mostly siloed within climate agreements, biodiversity references were included in most agreements. Further, we found that six percent of policy documents (n=166) included ocean carbon keywords. In light of our results, we highlight opportunities to strengthen the protection of ocean carbon in upcoming negotiations of international agreements, and via area-based management, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment.
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| 7. |
- Oostdijk, Maartje, et al.
(author)
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Catch-quota matching allowances balance economic and ecological targets in a fishery managed by individual transferable quota
- 2020
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 117:40, s. 24771-24777
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fishers with individual catch quota, but limited control over the mix of species caught, depend on trade and catch-quota balancing al-lowances to fully utilize their quota without discarding. However, these allowances can theoretically lead to overfishing if total allowable catches (TACs) are consistently exceeded. This study investigates usage of balancing allowances by the Icelandic demersal fleet over 2001-2017, for over 1,900 vessels. When a vessel's demersal catch exceeds owned and leased quota for a given species, the gap can be bridged by borrowing quota from the subsequent fishing period or transforming unutilized quota in other species, restricted by limits. Conversely, excess quota can be saved or transformed into quota for species where there is a shortfall. We found evidence that balancing behavior is frequently similar across the fleet. Transformations are consistent with indicators of a general quota shortage and potential for arbitrage caused by differences in conversion ratios used for transformation and lease prices. Larger companies contribute more to these patterns. Nevertheless, TAC overages are generally modest especially in recent years-key reasons appear to be the tightening of vessel transformation limits and the central role of Atlantic cod, which is the main target species but cannot be persistently overfished due to a specific prohibition on positive transformations into the species. These results show how the tailored design of the Icelandic catch-quota balancing system has helped in balancing economic and ecological goals of management. We suggest policy changes that could further reduce ecological risks, e.g., prioritizing between-year transfers over transformations.
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| 8. |
- Oostdijk, Maartje, 1988-
(author)
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Fisheries Management under Individual Transferable Quota : Outcomes for Ecology and Equity
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The management of marine resources pose a difficult commons problem as monitoring behavior is difficult and benefit flows from the resources are uncertain. Implementing individual transferable quota (ITQ) is a management regime in which quasi-property rights are assigned for an often mobile and uncertain environmental resource, fish or marine invertebrates. This thesis addresses sustainability impacts of ITQ’s as a fisheries management tool. The findings demonstrate that fisheries management regimes in which fisheries opportunities are allocated as quota and / or are allocated individually experience reduced overfishing compared to controls that do not have these attributes (Paper I), however the analysis found less support for transferability and no support for longer duration being associated to any change in the probability of overfishing. In addition, a longitudinal study showed that with an adaptive design ecological and economic goals could be balanced in an important mixed fishery in Iceland (Paper II), and based on such findings suggested that several policy changes could be implemented to modify the ecological risk of catch-quota balancing allowances. Additional longitudinal analyses allowed to conclude that rapid consolidation in an important small-boat fishing sector in Iceland, which may have had negative implications for local fishing communities (Paper III), and that on average since the introduction of ITQ’s total amount of quota traded stayed below around 60% for the main commercial species in the Icelandic ITQ system. Moreover, the results of Paper IV also show that in case of a credible announcement of quota revocation in the future there would be scope for policy reform. Finally, research is beginning to emerge that shows that marine species are unequally affected by climate change. In a final chapter the analyses show that under different scenarios of global change a re-shaping of the Icelandic foodweb is likely (Paper V). The re-shaping of the foodweb will be to the benefit of some resource users and to the loss of others. In general, the findings from all the analyses together demonstrate that there could be benefits to individual quota implementation for fisheries sustainability and that some of the hypothesized trade-offs could potentially be balanced, the thesis highlights ways forward in investigating the common pool problems in fisheries management.
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| 9. |
- Oostdijk, Maartje, et al.
(author)
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Governing Open Ocean and Fish Carbon : Perspectives and Opportunities
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Marine life plays a vital role in the ocean’s biological pump by sequestering and mediating fluxes of carbon to the deep sea and sea floor. The roles that fish and other marine vertebrates play in the biological pump are increasingly attracting scientific and policy attention. In this paper, we investigated the interest in and possibilities for the international governance of open ocean and fish carbon ecosystem services. We used semi-structured interviews with representatives from environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs), policy makers, and policy experts, along with an exploratory review of grey and peer-reviewed literature to: 1) trace the pathway of important milestones, key actors, and their strategies to influence governance of ocean carbon, and, 2) investigate which frameworks might be used to govern open ocean and fish carbon. Strategies of key actors to direct attention to open ocean and fish carbon included collaborating with scientists, organising side events at climate and biodiversity negotiations and seminars to engage policy makers, as well as educational campaigns directed to the public and policy makers about the co-benefits of open ocean and fish carbon. While we found a strong focus of ENGO activities related to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, we also found strong opposition against active governance of open ocean and fish carbon by key Intergovernmental actors in this forum. Opposition stems from a lack of scientific information on how long open ocean and fish carbon is stored, difficulties in attributing carbon flows with individual countries mitigation actions, and fewer perceived co-benefits (e.g. coastal protection in the case of coastal blue carbon) for coastal communities. More viable routes for the future governance of open ocean and fish carbon may lie in international fisheries management and in current negotiations of a treaty for biodiversity conservation in the high seas.
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| 10. |
- Oostdijk, Maartje, et al.
(author)
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Risk Assessment for Key Socio-Economic and Ecological Species in a Sub-Arctic Marine Ecosystem Under Combined Ocean Acidification and Warming
- 2022
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In: Ecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 25:5, s. 1117-1134
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Arctic may be particularly vulnerable to the consequences of both ocean acidification (OA) and global warming, given the faster pace of these processes in comparison with global average speeds. Here, we use the Atlantis ecosystem model to assess how the trophic network of marine fishes and invertebrates in the Icelandic waters is responding to the combined pressures of OA and warming. We develop an approach where we first identify species by their economic (catch value), social (number of participants in fisheries), or ecological (keystone species) importance. We then use literature-determined ranges of sensitivity to OA and warming for different species and functional groups in the Icelandic waters to parametrize model runs for different scenarios of warming and OA. We found divergent species responses to warming and acidification levels; (mainly) planktonic groups and forage fish benefited while (mainly) benthic groups and predatory fish decreased under warming and acidification scenarios. Assuming conservative harvest rates for the largest catch-value species, Atlantic cod, we see that the population is projected to remain stable under even the harshest acidification and warming scenario. Further, for the scenarios where the model projects reductions in biomass of Atlantic cod, other species in the ecosystem increase, likely due to a reduction in competition and predation. These results highlight the interdependencies of multiple global change drivers and their cascading effects on trophic organization, and the continued high abundance of an important species from a socio-economic perspective in the Icelandic fisheries.
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