66 / 2024-09-04 17:42:55

Comparative analysis of rights-based fisheries management: Enhancing global fisheries sustainability through use rights optimization

rights-based fisheries management; fisheries management optimization; co-management; economic conditions; fishery performance indicators

Session 61 - Advancing Blue Food Futures Towards Ocean Conservation and Global Resilience

Rights-based fisheries management (RBM) has gained global traction among fisheries managers for its potential to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives, offering a solid foundation for institutional reforms designed to counteract the global fisheries crisis. RBM is broadly categorized into effort RBM, also regarded as fisheries with access rights (AR); and catch RBM, also regarded as fisheries with harvest rights (HR). While the literature includes qualitative comparative analyses, case studies, and quantitative assessments of specific RBM approach, a comprehensive quantitative comparative analysis based on a unified metric is absent. Additionally, the relationship between RBM and complementary strategies requires further clarification. Utilizing the fishery performance indicators (FPIs) dataset, the study reveals that while both systems implement access rights, catch RBM systems provide a more robust framework, particularly in terms of transferability, security, flexibility, and exclusivity. Economic development plays a critical role in the effectiveness of RBM systems, with developed countries showing notably superior performance across most access right dimensions. The use rights performance of effort RBM is closely linked to the strength of command-and-control administrative frameworks, while catch RBM's success hinges on effective co-management arrangements. Tailored optimization strategies for effort RBM are to strengthen marine protected areas (MPAs), spatial management, total allowable catches (TACs), and data application, for catch RBM is to nurture leadership and social cohesion within fishing communities. The positive influence of economic conditions on the use rights performance of catch RBM suggesting that economically developed regions are more prone to implementing effective catch RBM systems. This has profound implications for less economically developed countries facing overfishing, such as China, Indonesia, and India, where economic constraints should be considered in the transition to catch RBM systems. Catch RBM systems, which integrate both harvest and access rights, exhibit a significant positive correlation between the two rights, suggesting a mutually supportive and reinforcing relationship. Hence, enhancement of access rights is fundamental for the successful evolution of fisheries management systems. Our results provide insights for the selection of policies aimed at fostering global fisheries sustainability.