Welcome to the Fishery Management Assessment Project and thanks for participating in our survey

The Fishery Management Assessment Project is part of an initiative to assess the effectiveness of conservation strategies worldwide (visit www.fmap.ca for a copy of the first report on the effectiveness of coral reef Marine Protected Areas). The Fishery Management Assessment Project seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of fishery management in countries worldwide and quantify the extent of limitations for achieving sustainable and ecosystem-friendly fisheries.

Data are being gathered through a survey designed to assess the effectiveness of national marine fisheries in general and not for specific fisheries; therefore, our survey should be answered in general terms and can be completed by anyone with moderate understanding of his/her country fisheries. These results will be part of a report that will be publicly available. The survey contains 22 multiple-choice questions and a space at the end of the questionnaire if you like to provide any feedback. After you have completed the survey click the "Submit" button. Leave in blank the questions for which you do not know the answers. Even if you know the answers for only few of the questions please do not hesitate to submit; others may provide the remaining answers. Please suggest other people to fill out the survey; duplicate reports allow us to quantify the error associated with our results. If you have questions please contact me at [email protected]

Once again thank you very much for your participation in our survey,

Camilo Mora, Ph.D.
Dalhousie University
[email protected]



Contact information

We ask your contact information for internal validation of the data but all your responses will be completely confidential

* Name:
 

  Institution, if applicable:
 

* Your e-mail address:
 

  Your expertise of the local fisheries comes from (choose more than one if needed):
 
Academic research Governmental research
Fishery management Fishing
Policy making Consulting
NGO work Trade
 
Other, please specify

* Country of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for which you will complete the survey:
 


Questionnaire

Note: All questions apply to only marine fisheries

Coverage of the fishing regulations

1. How many species, with or without economic value (e.g. by-catch and discards), may be caught as result of commercial fishing in this EEZ? An approximated number is fine. As reference, we provide the number of species per country with fishery statistics in FAO. Please be aware that that number may be underestimated because by-catch and discard species may not be included and because some species are grouped as "mixed fishes".
 

  Species in FAO database:
 

  Of the species harvested commercially, how many are regulated (e.g. through fishing quotas, restricting fishing effort, etc)? An approximated number is fine
 


Quality of the fishing regulations (only for commercial fishing)

2. What percentage of the regulated species uses the following data as source of information to generate their regulations:
 
  Percentage of the species regulated
  0% <25% <50% <75% <100%
Landings
By-catch and discards
Mortality as landings plus by-catch and discards
Population size
Recruitment
Age structure
Fish movement
Environmental variables
Ecosystem linkages (e.g. ecological interactions, food-web links, trophic cascades)
What percentage of the regulated species includes all the above data in their regulations?

3. Are regulations updated and changed periodically?
 
There are no regulations
Regulations are never changed (fixed)
Regulations are changed only under symptoms of collapse
For few species assessment of regulations is carried out every year (e.g. through stock assessments)
For most species assessment of regulations is carried out every year

4. What are the skills and training in fishery science of personnel carrying out the assessment of the fisheries [e.g. education level (e.g. Ph.D. Masters, etc), participation in training courses, access to relevant literature, participation in congresses]?
 
There is no scientific personnel
Scientific personnel exist but there are no efforts for their capacitation
Scientific personnel exist and there are some efforts for their capacitation
Most staff is very knowledgeable and up-to-dated in fishery science

5. Are there viable precautionary measures to restrict fishing (e.g. reducing effort, closing areas, temporary closing of the fishery) if there are reasonable doubts about the impacts of a regulation or if unforeseen excess fishing occurs?
 
No plan exist
Plans exist for at least some species but are slow to implement
Plans exist for at least some species and are quick to implement
Plans exist for at least some species and are quickly implemented, monitored and adjusted


Enforcement and compliance

6. How is funding and equipment of the fishing authority (i.e. a body or institution in charge of monitoring, patrolling and enforcing regulations)?
 
There is not a fishing authority
There is a fishing authority but its funding and equipment is precarious
The funding and equipment of the fishing authority is partial
The funding and equipment of the fishing authority optimum

7. What is the frequency of patrolling fishing grounds and of catch inspections?
 
Non-existent
Patrols and inspections are infrequent and restricted to few areas
Patrols and inspections are frequent and restricted to few areas
Officers could be expected anywhere at anytime

8. Poaching (referred as illegal fishing and misreporting) is:
 
Non-existent
Occasional
Frequent
Very common

9. Penalties upon violators are:
 
Non-existent
Lenient
Tough but unlikely to deter
Stiff and likely to deter

10. Are corruption and bribery:
 
Non-existent
Occasional
Frequent
Very common


Policymaking

11. Is participation in decision-making of stakeholders, local communities and managers open and transparent?
 
No, decisions are made behind closed doors
Some or all parties are informed but not considered (i.e. they do not have a vote)
Some or all parties are consulted (i.e. they give their opinion) but are not considered
All parties are consulted and considered

12. Are there pressures, from any source (e.g. economical, political), to increase catches or to implement regulations that err on the side of risk rather than caution?
 
Never
Occasionally
Frequently
Very commonly

13. Is scientific advice followed in decision-making?
 
There are not scientists
There are scientists but their advice is never followed
There are scientists and their advice is occasionally followed
There are scientists and their advice is always followed


Other aspects

Overcapacity
14. Is the present fishing fleet quantified and regulated?
 
No
Quantified but not regulated
An optimum fleet size to prevent overfishing has been defined but it has not been implemented
An optimum fleet size to prevent overfishing has been defined and it is being implemented

15. Is the fleet being modernized (i.e. boats have been modified to catch more fish or to reduce operation costs)?
 
No
A small portion of the fleet may be doing so
About half of the fleet may be doing so
Nearly the entire fleet uses state of the art fishing technology

16. In general, overall catches have:
 
Increased for most species
Remained constant for most species
Reduced for most species

Fishing methods
17. How common are the following fishing methods:
 
  Non-existent Occasional Frequent Very common
(1) Mid-water trawls or purse seines
(2) Bottom or pelagic longlines
(3) Bottom trawls or dredges
(4) Bottom or mid-water gill nets
(5) Pots or traps
(6) Hook and line
(7) Spear or bow fishing
(8) Toxins or explosives

  If there are other methods commonly used in commercial fishing, please specify:
 


18. Are there efforts to implement gear modifications or new gears that minimize by-catch of existent fishing methods?
 
No
Very few of the available innovations have been implemented
Some of the available innovations have been implemented
Most of the available innovations have been implemented

Rebuilding
19. Are depleted stocks being rebuilt (e.g. by complete closure of the fishery, reducing catch effort, replenishing populations by hatcheries)?
 
No
Some attempts have been made for a few species but remain largely unsuccessful
Attempts have been successful but several stocks remain to be rebuilt
Almost all overexploited stocks have been or are in process of rebuilding

Subsidies
20. Are subsidies provided to support the fishery (subsidies refer to any aid of any source given to the fishery sector to facilitate its sustainability even if the sector is not economically profitable)?
 
No
Only minimally
Large subsidies
Almost completely reliant on subsidies

  Could you specify what sorts of subsidies are given to the fishery sector (e.g. hidden subsidies, tax cuts, loans, cheap operating costs, fuel subsidies, etc)?
 

Access to foreign fishing fleets
21. Are there existing agreements (with governments, companies or other) that allow fishing activities by foreign fleets?
 
No
Yes, but foreign fishing is small compared with that of the national fleet
Yes, and foreign fishing is equal to that of the national fleet
Yes, most or all commercial fishing is carried out by foreign fishing fleets

  If such agreements exist, with which country or countries such fishing agreements exist?
 

Recreational and Artisanal fishing
22. Recreational fishing in the area is:
 
Non-existent
Occasional
Frequent
A great deal

  If recreational fishing exists to any extent, which of the following apply to it:
 
  Yes No
Are recreational fishermen obligated to have a fishing license?
Are there regulations to the size of fish caught?
Are there regulations to the number of fish caught per boat or per bag?
Are there regulations to the number of fishermen that are permitted to fish?
Are there statistics being collected for this sort of fishing?

23. Artisanal fishing in the area is: (artisanal fishing is defined as the fishing carried out by fishermen from local communities usually using small boats and not very sophisticated fishing equipment. Fish caught is used for their own consumption or for sale in local markets as a small income source)
 
Non-existent
Occasional
Frequent
A great deal

  If artisanal fishing exists to any extent, which of the following apply to it:
 
  Yes No
Are there regulations to the size of fish caught?
Are there regulations to the number of fish caught per boat or per bag?
Are there regulations to the number of fishermen that are permitted to fish?
Are there statistics being collected for this sort of fishing?

  Please feel free to provide any comments and/or feedback:
 

  Do you want to be acknowledged in the report?
 
Yes
No, I want to remain anonymous