A knowledge base for management of the capital-intensive fishery for small pelagic fish off South Africa

Transcription

1 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): Printed in South Africa All rights reserved Copyright NISC Pty Ltd AFRICAN JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE ISSN X A knowledge base for management of the capital-intensive fishery for small pelagic fish off South Africa TP Fairweather 1 *, M Hara 2, CD van der Lingen 1, J Raakjær 3, LJ Shannon 1, GG Louw 1, P Degnbol 3 and RJM Crawford 1 1 Marine and Coastal Management, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Private Bag X2, Rogge Bay 8012, South Africa 2 Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), School of Government, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa 3 Institute for Fisheries Management and Coastal Community Development (IFM), The North Sea Centre, 9850 Hirtshals, Denmark * Corresponding author, tracey@deat.gov.za As a contribution to South Africa s move towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, this study explores the existence of common perceptions about South Africa s pelagic fishery between resource users and scientists. It represents a collaborative research effort of social and natural scientists. A brief overview is given of the southern Benguela upwelling ecosystem and small pelagic fish resources, the fishery, and management of the fishery. Stakeholder knowledge and views were determined by conducting open-ended qualitative local knowledge interviews. Candidate indicators to address five major issues raised in the interviews were selected: length-at-50% maturity, total mortality, exploitation rate, proportion of bycatch, mean length of catch, and centre of gravity of catches. Each indicator is analysed and its usefulness in the management of South African small pelagic fisheries is discussed. The indicator approach is shown to be a useful tool to manage South African small pelagic fisheries, and can be made compatible with existing management approaches. The foundation of a good adaptive fisheries management system is a data collection system which enables multi-disciplinary analysis and provides a basis on which decisions can be made. Keywords: anchovy, ecosystem approach, formal knowledge, industrial fishery, informal knowledge, management, pelagic, sardine, South Africa Introduction Background This study is the South African contribution to the research project: Knowledge in Fisheries Management (KNOW- FISH), funded by the European Union through the INCO- DEV programme (Wilson et al. 2005). The objective of the research project was to identify common ground between users perceptions and research-based knowledge relevant to fisheries management. The project addressed the need to develop new types of knowledge that are appropriate for dealing with the complexity of marine ecosystems and that build upon procedures already accepted by management institutions in developing countries, and that are both scientifically valid and widely acceptable to users (Degnbol and Jarre 2004, Degnbol 2005). According to Degnbol (2005), extensive studies have been made on local ecological knowledge, but few have addressed the issue of its integration into co-management institutions with research-based knowledge. The challenge of the project is to investigate whether and how science and user-knowledge could be blended into a holistic and consistent knowledge base both maintaining research-based validity and reflecting features that correspond to stakeholder knowledge. The ecosystem and small pelagic fish resources The southern Benguela upwelling ecosystem off the west and south-west coasts of South Africa (Figure 1) is characterised by high productivity and is highly dynamic (Shannon 1985, Shillington 1998), as is typical of eastern-boundary upwelling systems. It contains large populations of small pelagic fish species that support a purse-seine fishery, which catches predominately sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus. These small schooling pelagic fish occur in the upper ocean layers principally over the continental shelf of South Africa (Barange et al. 1999), and their distribution extends along almost the entire coastline. Population sizes of small short-lived pelagic fish like anchovy and sardine are highly variable with long-term changes in their relative catch abundance (Schwartzlose et al. 1999). Studies in other upwelling systems indicate that anchovy and sardine have alternated in relative abundance in the absence of fishing over decadal and centennial timescales (Baumgartner et al. 1996). Such changes in abundance are linked to long-term changes in environmental conditions that favour one species over the other (Lehodey et al. in press). These small pelagic fish respond rapidly to changes in ocean forcing, because they feed on plankton and have a brief lifespan. Observed variability in abundance arises

2 646 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford S NAMIBIA 28 Orange River AFRICA 30 Hondeklip Bay SOUTH AFRICA South Africa 32 ATLANTIC OCEAN St Helena Bay Lambert s Bay Cape Columbine Saldanha Bay Benguela Current Cape Town Port Elizabeth Mossel Bay Gansbaai Cape St Blaize Cape Point Cape Infanta False Bay Cape Agulhas Cape Hangklip Danger Point 200m 100m Agulhas Current Algoa Bay Cape Recife INDIAN OCEAN E Figure 1: Map of the west and south coasts of South Africa showing the location of places mentioned in the text, the continental shelf and the Agulhas and Benguela currents. The West Coast is defined as extending from Cape Point northwards, the South Coast from Cape Point to Port Elizabeth, and the East Coast from Port Elizabeth eastwards from high recruitment variability (juvenile fish recruit to the adult population). However, overfishing has also played a significant and often dominant role in the collapse of stocks of small pelagic fish (Beverton 1990, Schwartzlose et al. 1999). Small pelagic fish are of critical ecological importance in the southern Benguela and other upwelling systems, occupying a mid-trophic level niche (Jarre-Teichmann et al. 1998) that regulates the transfer of energy from lower to higher trophic levels (the wasp-waist hypothesis; Cury et al. 2000). They are thus both important predators of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and important prey of a variety of higher trophic predators including fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Fluctuations in small pelagic fish population sizes in the southern Benguela will therefore have significant ecosystem effects. South Africa is striving to meet the 2010 target date agreed upon at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (held in Johannesburg in 2002) for application of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) management. This followed the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, to which South Africa is signatory, and the Food and Agriculture Organization guidelines for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (FAO 2003). The small pelagic fishery is the first for which South Africa has begun to explore the feasibility of an EAF. The approach taken is to use existing management objectives, but extend the knowledge base to include ecological, economic and social objectives. An additional consideration is that modelling an ecosystem incorporating predator populations and predator-prey relationships is expensive because costs escalate as complexity increases (Degnbol 2002). Although this issue is not dealt with in the present research, it ought to be included in any decision on appropriate ecosystems management approaches. Indicators, as investigated here, are suggested to provide a more cost-effective basis for management decisions (Degnbol and Jarre 2004 and references therein).

3 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): The fishery In addition to sardine and anchovy, which together account for 60 90% of landings, South Africa s pelagic fishery also targets round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi, and lands juvenile horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus capensis, chub mackerel Scomber japonicus and lanternfish Lampanyctodes hectoris as bycatch. Purse-seine fishing off South Africa started in the 1930s and was commercialised in 1943 to meet war-time demand for canned sardine (Crawford 1981). The industry expanded swiftly and peak landings of around tons (primarily sardine) were made in the early 1960s, after which the sardine stock collapsed (Figure 2a). Following the collapse, the fishery changed to smaller-mesh nets to target anchovy, which then became the primary target species and has since dominated catches (De Oliveira 2002), although landings of sardine have increased since the mid-1990s (Figure 2a). Anchovy are caught inshore, principally in St Helena Bay, whereas sardine are caught farther offshore and over a greater geographical area (Figure 2b). The bulk of the anchovy catch comprises juvenile fish ( recruits ) of about 6 months old, which school together with juvenile sardine, resulting in juvenile sardine bycatch in anchovy-directed fishing operations. Therefore, the catches of the two species cannot be maximised simultaneously, because large catches of anchovy will result in a high bycatch of juvenile sardine, to the detriment of future growth of the sardine population (De Oliveira 2002). Management procedures (see below) have been designed to accommodate this behavioural interaction. The pelagic sector currently supports around 100 purseseine vessels, eight fishmeal plants, six canning factories and over 40 bait-packing facilities, which in turn employ more than people: full-time workers, seasonal workers, 700 fishers, and indirect jobs (Sauer et al. 2003). The majority of factories and fishing bases are on the West Coast mainly in Saldanha Bay and St Helena Bay, which has been the traditional fishing ground for small pelagics, with a few on the South Coast around Port Elizabeth (Figure 1). The value of landings made by South Africa s pelagic fishery in 1999 (total landings of tons) was of the order of R542 million (Spencer-Jones 2003). The pelagic fishery has undergone substantial structural changes in the past decade. Since 1994 the government has allowed a large number of new right-holders, most of them Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) into the fishery. Whereas the sector was previously dominated by five large companies, by 2002 there were 113 right-holders. Of these, 73% were HDI-owned companies, which were allocated 75% of the pelagic total allowable catch (TAC) (DEAT 2002). Although the pelagic fishery is perceived to have been transformed, in reality the fishery remains under control of a small number of companies, perhaps with a change in ownership structure compared to a pre-1994 situation (Raakjær Nielsen and Hara 2006). 1 1 Marine Policy Vol. 30(1) provides a thorough analysis of the South African fisheries transformation process Management of the fishery and management institutions The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) is responsible for promoting the sustainable development and conservation of South Africa s natural resources. As one of DEAT s branches, Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) is tasked with ensuring the sustainable utilisation of marine and coastal resources, as well as maintaining marine ecosystem integrity and quality. According to policy, every fishery sector must have a Scientific Working Group and a Management Working Group. In the pelagic sector, MCM and other stakeholders interact in two formal bodies: the Pelagic Scientific Working Group (PSWG) and the Pelagic Resource Management Working Group (PRMWG). The PSWG is a scientific forum of scientists from MCM and universities who have expertise and relevant knowledge of pelagic fish. Industry representatives and conservationists are invited as observers to PSWG meetings. The PSWG is tasked with determining the scientific basis for appropriate management measures and providing informed scientific advice as a basis for decision-making in the management of the pelagic fishery. Tasks of the PSWG include the development of Operational Management Procedures (OMPs; see below), the making of recommendations regarding pelagic TAC levels (note that only the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has the legal authority to set the TACs), and the directing and setting of pelagic research priorities. OMPs are essentially a set of rules that are pre-agreed upon by scientists, industry stakeholders, managers and decision-makers and their advisers, which specify data sources and translate those data for the regulation and management of fisheries. South Africa s pelagic fishery has been managed by OMPs since 1991, and the current OMP sets separate TACs for anchovy and sardine, and a total allowable bycatch (TAB) for juvenile sardine caught with anchovy. Candidate OMPs are developed and tested via computer simulation, and selection of an OMP is based on its ability to (a) maximise catches in the long-term without exposing resources to undue risk of depletion and (b) avoid excessive inter-annual variation in TACs. The current OMP for the pelagic fishery (known as OMP-04) uses research survey-derived estimates of anchovy and sardine biomass as indices of abundance, the age structure and mass-atage of the population (from surveys and commercial catch samples), and estimates of natural and fishing mortality (also from surveys and commercial catch samples). Two surveys are conducted annually to estimate pelagic fish biomass, each of which covers a substantial portion of South Africa s continental shelf. The first is a winter survey conducted in May, which estimates the biomass of anchovy and sardine recruits (i.e. juveniles) and the second is a summer survey conducted in November, which estimates the biomass of anchovy and sardine spawners (i.e. adults). TACs are only set for anchovy and sardine, and precautionary upper catch levels (PUCL) are set for juvenile horse mackerel and round herring. An initial anchovy TAC is set at the beginning of the year, derived from a constant proportion formula that uses estimates of adult biomass obtained from the spawner biomass survey conducted in November of the preceding year, and assumes that forthcoming anchovy recruitment will be the median of observed

4 648 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford (a) Anchovy Sardine CATCH (thousands of tons) (b) SOUTH AFRICA AFRICA Lambert s Bay St Helena Bay Saldanha Bay Hout Bay Mossel Bay Port Elizabeth Gansbaai # tons <40000 tons <2500 tons Anchovy <250 tons Sardine Figure 2: (a) Annual landings of anchovy and sardine made by South Africa s pelagic fishery over the period and (b) ArcGIS map showing anchovy and sardine catches by area (10 X 10 block) over the period Circle size is proportional to average catch size, and landing harbours are indicated (courtesy of L Drapeau, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement [IRD], France)

5 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): values. To counter possible poor recruitment, a scale-down factor of approximately 0.7 is applied to the derived value. Following the May survey, during which anchovy recruitment strength is estimated acoustically, a final anchovy TAC is set, depending on recruitment strength. If recruitment is higher than median, the TAC is increased; if recruitment is median or lower, the TAC remains unchanged. A sardine bycatch allowance associated with both the initial and final anchovy TACs is also set. Additionally, an extra anchovy TAC and associated sardine bycatch allowance are set for the subseason, the later part of the fishing season (usually September December), when the incidence of mixed schools of anchovy and juvenile sardine is reduced. The subseason is intended to target clean anchovy (i.e. with a minimal bycatch of juvenile sardine) and hence address the concern that anchovy TACs set during the normal season under-utilise the anchovy resource. The sardine TAC is set at the beginning of the year based on the biomass of sardine spawners estimated during the November survey, and is not revised during the year. Management of the sardine fishery has been conservative in order to rebuild the sardine stock from its low level observed during the 1970s and early 1980s (De Oliveira 2002). The PRMWG is an advisory group chaired by the Chief Director of Resource Management. Its main function is to liaise with industry regarding management and development of the pelagic fishery, as well as to discuss operational issues pertinent to the fishery. From an ecological point of view, the management of the fishery for small pelagics in the southern Benguela has been successful, particularly when compared with the resource in the northern Benguela off Namibia where the sardine stock that had supported catches of over one million tons collapsed in the mid-1970s and has not recovered since. This collapse was attributed primarily to overfishing (Griffiths et al. 2004), although Boyer et al. (2001) concluded that unfavourable environmental conditions rather than fishing pressure prevented a recovery of the northern Benguela sardine stock during the early 1990s. Whereas annual catches of small pelagics in the northern Benguela have exhibited a 70-fold variation over the past 50 years, those in the southern Benguela have remained stable with only a fivefold variation, albeit with an alternation in species dominance (van der Lingen et al. 2006b). The objective of minimising interannual variability in TACs, which is explicit in recent OMPs, aims at maintaining stability in pelagic landings and is a strong socioeconomic consideration. In addition, when moving towards ecosystem management, it is important to focus on the institutional implications, i.e. costs, capacity, and management responsibilities. Material and Methods Stakeholder knowledge and views As a starting point, open-ended qualitative interviews were conducted with fishers and natural scientists involved with the pelagic resource. These interviews were used to generate a map of the catches and a timeline of changes in catch locality, and included a general discussion in order to get ideas for possible indicators. Initially 20 in-depth interviews, covering a broad range of stakeholders (natural scientists, fishery managers, conservationists, fishing company managers), were conducted, and all interviews were transcribed. The transcription of these initial interviews formed the basis for undertaking consensus analysis (Romney et al. 1986) and Q-sort analysis (Brown 1986). In all, 33 consensus statements and 20 Q-sort statements were selected. For the consensus interviews, the stakeholders (58 skippers, nine crew members and two managing directors) were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the selected statements (Appendix 1). The statements were divided into seven categories: biology, interactions, abundance, environment, distribution, behaviour and fishing. Consensus was found among the stakeholders for five out of seven categories. There was strong consensus on biology and distribution statements, but no consensus on behaviour and interactions statements (Figure 3). The stakeholders interviewed represented 61 different vessels: 16 steel, 28 wood and 17 fibreglass, which had average lengths of 32m, 22m and 17m respectively. Steel vessels are generally larger, have freezer facilities and target large sardine for canning, whereas the other vessels target anchovy. Q-sort interviews using 20 statements (Appendix 2) were held with 45 different stakeholders in the following categories: established industry (12), new entrant with own vessel (14), new entrants involved in joint venture arrangements (6), paper-quota holders (2), management (4), research (4) and conservationists (3), which included the major racial groups in South Africa. Each stakeholder was asked to select one statement, with which he/she agreed or disagreed the most, and to place each card at the extremes of the pyramid (e.g. Statements 18 and 6 respectively in Figure 4), then select the next two statements (e.g. Statements 16 and 9 in Figure 4) until all the cards were sorted. Once each stakeholder had sorted the statements, an explanation of why he/she had chosen the statements with which he/she agreed most and disagreed most was noted. The exercise is designed to create a normal distribution curve (Figure 4). Analysis of the group as a whole showed that some statements turned out to be equally important, which is reflected in Table 1. DEGREE OF CONSENSUS (%) Biology Interactions Consensus No consensus Abundance Environment Distribution Behaviour Fishing Figure 3: Results of consensus interviews held with South African stakeholders in the fishery for small pelagic fish. The stakeholders were 58 skippers, nine crew members and two managing directors

6 650 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford Additionally, specific focus was given to understand the functioning of the Pelagic Scientific Working Group (PSWG). Therefore, the social scientists for the project attended some of the PSWG meetings as observers. As a follow-up to the observations made at PSWG meetings, the Q-sort analysis and the biological results, 11 key-informant interviews were conducted. This provided an opportunity to ensure that there had been no misunderstandings in the initial interview process and also to question certain issues further. Five themes considered critical were identified: (1) the impact of population size and the environment on the reproduction of small pelagics; (2) the impact of fishing mortality on pelagic resources at high and low biomass scenarios; (3) the impact of sardine bycatch in the anchovy-directed fishery; (4) changes in size composition and geographical distribution of sardine and anchovy; and (5) ecosystem impacts of anchovy and sardine fishing. These themes provided the basis for the identification of biological indicators, which could be used to assess consensus between the experience-based knowledge of stakeholders on the one hand and the research-based knowledge of the scientists on the other. Biological knowledge The methods for developing the candidate indicators were sourced from the literature. Definition of the candidate indicators, the method used and the results are discussed in full by Fairweather et al. (2006). A synopsis of pertinent results is given for each of the five themes. Results Figure 4: Example of a Q-sort completed by a stakeholder. The numbers in the boxes represent a statement (listed in Appendix 2) and a score is calculated relative to the value given in the bottom row below the line The impact of population size and the environment on the reproduction of small pelagic resources Stakeholder knowledge and views Traditionally, small pelagic fishing has been undertaken along the West Coast, particularly for anchovy but also for sardine. However, in recent years ( ), sardinedirected fishing operations have focused mainly on the South-West and South coasts, and fishing has even extended along the East Coast (Figure 1). There is a general strong belief among industry stakeholders and skippers that environmental factors such as water temperature, wind (south-easterly), currents and upwelling have important influences on changes in fish distribution and hence fishing activity. In general, these factors in turn are perceived by stakeholders to be very important in relation to recruitment of small pelagic resources. Industry (factory managers, skippers and business executives) believe that high biomass levels (e.g. during the period ) for both anchovy and sardine cause intense competition for food, whereas competition for food is reduced at low densities, as specifically noted by some skippers. The thinking among industry respondents is that there is a density-space problem, and this has caused the small pelagic resources to move away from traditional fishing grounds. Their hypothesis is that the small pelagic fish prefer the West Coast environment, but when the biomass level increases a relatively smaller proportion of fish can be sustained in this area. Skippers were of the opinion that continuous fishing throughout the year along the West Coast could also contribute to fish moving eastwards. Some skippers, in particular those operating wooden and fibreglass vessels, felt that the huge steel vessels are responsible for the eastward movement of sardine. The combination of problems related to food, competition and density-dependence is believed to lead to potentially lower growth rates of anchovy and sardine because it affects their fertility (egg production) and larval food availability. Views on what has caused these environmental changes are ambiguous, but El Niño and climate change/ global warming were frequently mentioned as factors that not only impact on the productivity of the small pelagic resources and the subsequent fishing possibilities, but also influence the distribution of the resource. More specifically, industry representatives suggested that during summer, water temperatures often remain high for an extended period, arising from limited upwelling, which ultimately leads to starvation of recruits. Some stakeholders mentioned that the current conditions of very high small pelagic biomass levels in South African waters are similar to those that were encountered in Namibia and Peru before both pelagic fisheries collapsed. Stakeholders argued that, with high biomass levels, the fish sizes are becoming smaller and that this has influenced reproduction. For reasons that cannot be explained by stakeholders, a year-class in 2002 was believed to be missing from the sardine population. It was mentioned that the sardine disappeared for a period 20 years ago. Other stakeholders were more of the opinion that what is currently observed is not a new pattern, but a phenomenon that sometimes occurs. Biological knowledge The length at which 50% of the fish are sexually mature (L 50 ) was chosen as an index of the reproductive status of pelagic resources. Fairweather et al. (2006) calculated sardine maturity between 1953 and 2005, and their results indicate that L 50 is reduced during periods of low biomass; this

7 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): Table 1: Q-sort results Categories No. Agreed the most Agreed second-most Disagreed the most Disagreed second-most Established 12 industry New entrant with 14 own vessel New entrant 6 involved in jointventure arrangement Paper-quota holder 2 Management 4 Research 4 Transformation in the pelagic fishery should not lead to excess fishing and processing capacity External advisors providing assistance to new quota applicants have used their position to obtain de facto rights in the pelagic fishery Vertical integration (control of fishing, processing and marketing) is hindering transformation Most stakeholders have difficulty in understanding how the OMP works External advisors providing assistance to new quota applicants have used their position to obtain de facto rights in the pelagic fishery Most stakeholders have difficulty in understanding how the OMP works Recent historical information is needed to manage pelagic fisheries due to the inability to predict changes in recruitment and natural mortality Small pelagic fish show large interannual variability in population size and distribution The OMP should only use biological and environmental inputs OMP-02 has resulted in increased TACs for pelagic stocks compared to previous management procedures The dumping of sardine will lead to collapse of the sardine stock Scientists should seek advice from skippers regarding bycatch and discarding practices Recent historical information is needed to manage pelagic fisheries due to the inability to predict changes in recruitment and natural mortality The minimum landing size of sardine from directed sardine catches should be <16.5cm Scientists should seek advice from skippers regarding bycatch and discarding practices Pelagic fish landings are not always identified and recorded properly Transformation in the pelagic fishery should not lead to excess fishing and processing capacity Marine birds and mammals should be left enough food even if it means reducing the TACs for pelagic species Predators that feed primarily on pelagic fish can be used as indices of pelagic fish abundance Small pelagic fish show large interannual variability in population size and distribution Transformation in the pelagic fishery should not lead to excess fishing and processing capacity Vertical integration (control of fishing, processing and marketing) is hindering transformation The minimum landing size of sardine from directed sardine catches should be <16.5cm Continued fishing on sardine throughout the year affects their behaviour and distribution Marine birds and mammals should be left enough food even if it means reducing the TACs for pelagic species Problems regarding bycatch should be self-regulated by industry Problems regarding bycatch should be self-regulated by industry Problems regarding bycatch should be self-regulated by industry Marine birds and mammals should be left enough food even if it means reducing the TACs for pelagic species Marine birds and mammals should be left enough food even if it means reducing the TACs for pelagic species Pedators that feed primarily on pelagic fish can be used as indices of pelagic fish abundance The OMP should only use biological and environmental inputs Vertical integration (control of fishing, processing and marketing) is hindering transformation The use of anchovy nets should be forbidden east of Cape Point Continued fishing on sardine throughout the year affects their behaviour and distribution Vertical integration (control of fishing, processing and marketing) is hindering transformation Allowing right-holders to select their own preferred sardine:anchovy ratio may have a negative impact on the South African economy (e.g. need for import fish meal for poultry feed) Vertical integration (control of fishing, processing and marketing) is hindering transformation Adult sardine is over-harvested in the spawning season Continued fishing on sardine throughout the year affects their behaviour and distribution

8 652 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford Table 1 (cont.) Categories No. Agreed the most Agreed second-most Disagreed the most Disagreed second-most Environmental 3 organisation Seabirds and mammals should be left enough food, even if it means reducing the TACs for pelagic species OMP = Operational Management Procedure Predators that feed primarily on pelagic fish can be used as indices of pelagic fish abundance Recent historical information is needed to manage pelagic fisheries due to the inability to predict changes in recruitment and natural mortality Transformation in the pelagic fishery should not lead to excess fishing and processing capacity Problems regarding bycatch should be self-regulated by industry The use of anchovy nets should be forbidden east of Cape Point Adult sardine is over-harvested in the spawning season could not be done for anchovy owing to a paucity of data. Armstrong et al. (1989) suggested that sardine reproductive plasticity could be caused by a combination of factors: density-dependence, enhanced natural selection, and the consequences of changing age-structure within lengthclasses with extensive overlap of length-at-age distributions. Van der Lingen et al. (2006a) investigated the case for density-dependence. Summary Stakeholders noted that the size of mature sardine is declining and they relate this to high abundances and limited food availability, which is consistent with the scientific conclusion that length-at-50% maturity indicator (L 50 ) is positively related to stock size as the population increases, the size at which the fish mature increases. In terms of interpretation disparity, stakeholders view high biomass levels as precursors for pelagic fisheries collapses and note that such collapses have occurred in the Peruvian and Namibian pelagic fisheries. In contrast, science argues that the South African fishery is different, because management of small pelagics is conservative and heavy fishing on a declining stock is actively avoided using the OMP. The impact of fishing mortality on pelagic resources at high and low biomass scenarios Stakeholder knowledge and views There is a general perception among industry stakeholders that fishing mortality has a minor influence on the reproduction of small pelagics at high biomass, whereas environmental and natural factors are considered to be more important. Nevertheless, industry stakeholders and conservationists had a neutral attitude to the statement: TACs should not be conservative when pelagic stocks reach high biomass levels. This contrasts noticeably with the opinion of natural scientists and managers who disagreed most strongly with this statement. Several of the new entrants were reluctant to receive increased TACs, even with high biomasses, because they worried that this would lead to price collapse and render the pelagic fisheries unprofitable. Although this is not related to the impact of fishing mortality, it clearly indicates that fisheries management is not only about resource management, but also about market considerations. There was a general consensus across stakeholders that the impact of fishing mortality is more critical at low biomass levels, particularly for sardine. On the other hand, stakeholder general experience is that low biomass levels for anchovy can still lead to good anchovy recruitment, and therefore stakeholders do not consider the effect of fishing mortality at low biomass levels critical for anchovy recruitment. Specifically, the industry stakeholders view is that, even when anchovy biomass is low, the TAC should rather reflect recruitment conditions in the previous year, and if there is strong recruitment then the TAC should be higher. For sardine, the biomass level is considered more important, because they are longer-lived than anchovy and the conditions for sardine recruitment need to be considered over at least two years. Generally, it was felt that the biomass levels of sardine are now too high and another approach needs to be taken in setting the TAC. For industry stakeholders, it is important to have as much stability as possible, even if it means a lower TAC over a longer time perspective, because a stable TAC allows mid- to long-term planning for fishing and processing capacity. However, it is important to balance fishing mortality with recruitment success and biomass levels. According to industry stakeholders, the collapse of sardine in Namibian waters was as a result of continued high fishing mortality when recruitment was low and biomass levels were declining. Biological knowledge Fairweather et al. (2006) discuss using total mortality and exploitation rate to maintain sustainable use of the South African pelagic fishery. Those authors found a significant negative correlation between sardine biomass and total mortality. Sardine exploitation rate (E S ) generally fell well below the target reference point and sardine spawner biomass has increased since 1984, implying that E S could be an effective performance indicator. This indicator reflects that the sardine fishery has been managed successfully although conservatively. It was not possible to calculate anchovy total mortality and exploitation rate (Fairweather et al. 2006). Summary The fishing industries view is that fishing mortality and its influence on the biomass level is important for sardine, but not for anchovy. Scientists conclude that the low sardine E s values since the mid-1980s (below 0.4) reflects the successful

9 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): management of the fishery. Industry and scientists have reached consensus about sardine; however, industry believes that anchovy are less vulnerable to fishing mortality. The fishing industry consistently maintains that the impact of fishing is critical at a low sardine biomass, in terms of future recruitment, whereas low biomass levels of anchovy may still lead to good recruitment. Industry generally does not believe that fishing mortality has a large influence on small pelagic fish at high biomass levels, but rather that environmental factors have greater influence. Scientists and managers agree that environmental effects are significant; however, the risk owing to further increases in fishing mortality is substantial, given the recent rapid decline in the 2005 biomass of both species, particularly sardine. The impact of sardine bycatch in the anchovy-directed fishery Stakeholder knowledge and views Skippers know that anchovy and sardine shoal together as juveniles during the first half of the year and begin to separate and form mono-specific shoals in winter. Therefore, a bycatch of juvenile sardine is inevitable in anchovy-directed fishing. Bycatch of juvenile sardine has existed for many years and composed around 10% of the catches in anchovy-directed fishing. However, skippers feel that the occurrence of juvenile sardine schooling with anchovy and large sardine has increased in recent years, particularly in certain areas during certain times of the year. Industry stakeholders feel that, with the present management constraints on sardine bycatch for the anchovy fishery, it has become impossible to catch the full anchovy TAC, owing to the mixing problem. Industry, especially skippers, are aware that catching juvenile sardine will have a negative impact on the adult sardine spawning biomass. Nevertheless, industry does not consider this to be a problem, and not least in situations where the sardine biomass is very high. The catch of juvenile sardine as bycatch in the anchovy fishery is considered minor compared with size of the sardine biomass and TAC. It was felt that the high fish biomass and thus high TACs gave rise to fishing practices that lead to landing of sardine for fishmeal that should be landed for human consumption (i.e. landing directed sardine catch as bycatch). Generally, it is the opinion of industry that the bycatch regulations should, to a larger degree, take the recruitment conditions of both anchovy and sardine into account on an annual basis. If anchovy recruitment is high and sardine recruitment is low and horse mackerel is not appearing in the catches, bycatch is not a problem. However, they believe that, if the situation reverses, then the bycatch regulations would cause severe problems for the industry and make anchovy fishing difficult. Industry stakeholders felt that, owing to the large variation in biomass, it would be better to have a flexible bycatch limit rather than the fixed 10% limit, and that this would be balanced with natural conditions. Biological knowledge Fairweather et al. (2006) found that the ratio (R) of sardine (S) bycatch (B) in anchovy-directed (A) fishing is highly positively correlated to the abundance of sardine relative to the abundance of anchovy (R S B A ), similar to the findings of Cury et al. (2000). As discussed in the Introduction, the OMP used to set the TAC includes a bycatch allowance for juvenile sardine caught in anchovy-directed fishing. The implications of over-fishing juvenile sardine are obvious; if fewer juveniles survive, then there will eventually be fewer adults, which could negatively affect the reproductive capacity of the sardine stock. R S B A could be used as a descriptive indicator, but using it as a performance indicator will require a target reference point, which can only be determined from a long time-series that includes a decrease in abundance (Fairweather et al. 2006). Summary During the time when juvenile anchovy and sardine shoal together (when they are the same size), bycatch of juvenile sardine is inevitable in the anchovy fishery. Stakeholders complain that the limits placed on sardine bycatch in the anchovy fishery prevent them from filling their anchovy TAC, and they feel it important that recruitment conditions for anchovy and sardine should be taken into account when setting bycatch limits. They agree that catching juvenile sardines is detrimental to the sardine stock, but believe that these effects are negligible when sardine biomass is high. The R x B i indicator has shown that, if sardine biomass increases relative to anchovy biomass, the proportion of sardine caught in anchovy-directed fishing increases. In essence, this indicator is a proxy for the relative abundance of each species. However, target or limit reference points need to be developed if such indicators are to be used for species abundance. A possible confounding factor to R x B i is fleet behaviour, which may account for some of the decrease in R S B A since 1999 (Fairweather et al. 2006). With the implementation of OMP-04, the bycatch limit is determined on a sliding sigmoidal curve, which is related to sardine biomass, to a maximum of 20% of the anchovy catch, in order to balance the interest of keeping the fishery open and protecting juvenile sardine. The 10% discussed by the industry stakeholders reflects interviews made prior to the implementation of OMP-04, which has subsequently had minor revisions to adapt to finalisation of long-term rights. Changes in size composition and geographical distribution of sardine and anchovy Stakeholder knowledge and views Some skippers and managers suggest that the smaller size of sardine caught in recent years could be owing to several reasons, for example, as a result of stunted growth because of inadequate food arising from too many fish and too little food. Further, in years with high TACs, there is pressure on the fleet to catch their quota and the sardine fishery will be less selective in terms of finding schools of larger-sized fish, because quantity is more important than quality. Conversely, a low TAC allows the fishers to optimise the value of the quota by targeting larger-sized fish. According to industry, this factor needs to be taken into account when comparisons are made between years.

10 654 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford Many fishers on the West Coast believe that there are two species of sardine; one small with a round swollen belly (called boeppens ) and the other the bigger species that has traditionally been caught and used for canning. These fishers are of the opinion that the small sardine species only reach a certain size and should be caught otherwise they will be lost to the fishery. However, other industry stakeholders have an alternate explanation, that sardine mature at a smaller size on the East Coast relative to the West Coast, because there is less food on the East Coast. They are of the opinion that the availability of food that induces sardine to breed on the East Coast also causes early maturity of the fish when they remain in this area, compared with those that migrate back to mature on the West Coast. This is contradictory to the explanation given above. Of primary concern to most skippers was the reduced availability of pelagic fish in recent years, despite the high TAC allocations. It would appear that, although the biomass is at record high levels, it is not available to the fishery on the West Coast, particularly in the vicinity of Cape Columbine where it has historically been caught and where processing facilities have developed. Most of the adult sardine have been found between Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth where they have been caught in recent years, which has serious implications for the industry, because of the increase in transportation costs to get the fish from the landing place to the processing plants on the West Coast. Industry stakeholders have several explanations for the change in geographical availability of the pelagic resource: (a) changing weather patterns, e.g. the same effects that caused historical walk-outs of the West Coast rock lobster Jasus lalandii (red tide); (b) the change in water temperature that is believed to have caused sardine to move from Namibian waters into Angolan waters; or (c) because there is an El Niño effect on the West Coast or as a result of the general climatic changes worldwide. Another explanation suggested by several fishers is that, because fishing has been carried out throughout the year in recent years on account of the high TAC, the fish are seeking respite in other areas where they can breed without disturbance. The view of these fishers is that a closed season needs to be reintroduced. Some skippers indicated that the large quotas allocated to right-holders in recent years have necessitated highgrading and therefore escalated dumping at sea. It was suggested that the smell of rotting dumped fish forces fish to swim away. Industry managers and executives agreed with the statement that continued fishing on sardine throughout the year affects their behaviour and distribution. There is a fear among industry executives that the change in size and geographical distribution might be a signal that something is wrong, and that the stock might collapse as was the case in Namibia, even though the biomass levels have been high in recent years. Biological knowledge Fairweather et al. (2006) estimated mean length in the commercial catch (L _ ) for landed anchovy and sardine, assessed changes in the size composition of these stocks and discussed the use of size-based indicators. The authors conclude that L _ is unlikely to be a successful indicator for either fishery in isolation. However, if used in combination with other indicators, L _ could provide insight into the extent and success of the fishery, information that could be useful for management. Fairweather et al. (2006) assessed changes in the geographical location of catches over time, by calculating the centroids of commercial catches of anchovy, sardine bycatch and directed sardine. A centroid is the mean point (latitude, longitude) weighted by catch size. The anchovy (and associated sardine bycatch) fishery has low spatial variability, the bulk of catches being made off the West Coast. In contrast, sardine-directed fishing has shown substantial spatial variability, and catch centroids have shown a consistent, successive and significant eastward progression over the period Summary There is consensus between stakeholders (industry and managers) who believe that a change in size and geographical distribution of pelagic fish is a signal that stocks might collapse. Size-based indicators have been widely proposed by scientists as useful measures of the ecosystem effects of environmental changes or the impacts of fishing, because larger fish are usually targeted first. Sardine L _ is more variable than that of anchovy owing to the larger size range and more plastic life-history strategy of sardine. However, in isolation L _ did not show much promise as a useful indicator for anchovy or even sardine in the South African pelagic fishery. The influence of environmental changes (e.g. seasonal changes in water temperature) on fish distribution and therefore fishing patterns is recognised by stakeholders and scientists. The majority of small pelagic fish catches are taken close inshore between Lambert s Bay and Gansbaai. However, fishers noted that in recent years ( ), sardine-directed fishing operations have moved eastwards, an observation supported by annual catch centroids for sardine. Variability in fishing strategy relative to TAC size has two major implications: management of bycatch and dumping is clearly an issue, and size-based and geographic indicators may be confounded by changes in fishing behaviour related to size of the TACs and market demand. Recent low demand for canned sardine has resulted in the industry having to target large high-quality fish in order to maximise profit on the canned product (A Badenhorst, South African Pelagic Fishery Association, pers. comm.) despite the high TAC. Impacts of anchovy and sardine fishing on the ecosystem Stakeholder knowledge and views Stakeholders agree that environmental factors have a large influence on pelagic fish distribution and hence fishing activities (discussed above). Water temperature is viewed as an extremely important factor for the fishery. When conditions are calm (winds reduced), the water warms and pelagic fish move away, only returning once favourable

11 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): cooler water temperatures again prevail, which is usually after several days of south-easterly winds. Another view is that the small pelagic fish follow an annual circular movement pattern, migrating down the West Coast and then south-eastwards out to sea and returning to the West Coast again. However, this movement is believed to be determined by environmental factors and distributions of other resources within the ecosystem. Environmental factors are believed to be important for recruitment of small pelagics. For example, during summer, water temperature often remains high for extended periods, which indicates no upwelling and thus leads to the starvation of recruits. Industry also expressed the view that predator (mammals and birds) movements are strongly influenced by the movement of small pelagic fish. Skippers reported that seabirds preying on small pelagic fish facilitated fishing by assisting them in locating shoals. According to some skippers, there are currently too many pelagic fish for the ecosystem to support; there is not enough food for these pelagic fish and too much food for predators such as seals and birds, explaining why the record numbers of seals have become a nuisance to their daily operations. Skippers had no consensus regarding correlations between pelagic fish population size and snoek Thyrsites atun, an important predator. It was the general consensus that good care should be taken of the ecosystem. Industry fully accepted the need for a precautionary management approach. But the stakeholders were divided on the statement that: marine birds and mammals should be left enough food, even if it means reducing the TAC for pelagic species. Here, the industry was moderately negative, whereas conservationists strongly supported this statement. Biological knowledge Off South Africa, seabirds have been shown to be tightly coupled to small pelagic fish population dynamics. Several of these seabirds are of conservation concern and increasing importance for a growing ecotourism industry. Changes in population parameters of African penguins Spheniscus demersus, Cape cormorants Phalacrocorax capensis and swift terns Sterna bergii bergii have been related to anchovy and sardine fluctuations (Best et al. 1997). Chicks fledged by African penguins, and the proportion of adult Cape cormorants and swift terns that attempted to breed, were found to be significantly related to anchovy abundance (Crawford and Dyer 1995). In addition, changes in abundances and spatial shifts of pelagic fish stocks also impact their predators. For example, since the 1980s, recruitment of first-time breeders to some African penguin colonies (e.g. Dyer Island off the east coast of South Africa) has declined, whereas increasing numbers of penguins established themselves at breeding colonies such as Robben Island (Crawford 1998, van der Lingen et al. 2006b). However, breeding numbers of Algoa Bay (Bird Island) have decreased since 2003 despite the eastward shift of sardine. The breeding penguins are constrained to foraging within 20 40km of the island (Hockey et al. 2005). It is hypothesised that fish shoals on which they prey are being disturbed by an increased number of vessels operating in Algoa Bay (Fairweather et al. 2006). By virtue of their large stock sizes and their intermediate position within the foodweb, small pelagic fish play a pivotal role, impacting on both their prey (zooplankton) and their predators (Cury et al. 2000, 2003, Shannon et al. 2000). The abundance of small pelagic fish is known to be environmentally driven (e.g. Bakun 1996) as well as fisheriesdriven (Francis and Hare 1994). Therefore, both environmental and fishing effects can propagate up and down the foodweb via small pelagic fish stocks. At lower trophic levels, zooplankton community size structure has been related to the abundance of anchovy and sardine which feed on different-sized copepods (Louw et al. 1998, van der Lingen 2002); through top-down control by small pelagics (Verheye and Richardson 1998, Verheye et al. 1998). Conversely, environmental conditions (e.g. upwelling intensity) may affect zooplankton size and abundance, with such effects propagating upwards to their small pelagic fish predators (Verheye 2000). Therefore, regime shifts in pelagic fish species abundance (e.g. Schwartzelose et al. 1999) or simply variability in pelagic fish stocks, may have important implications for the ecosystem as a whole, particularly if the change in the dominance of small pelagic fish species is concomitant with a change in the trophic functioning (feeding interactions) of the ecosystem (Cury and Shannon 2004, Cury et al. 2005). Decadal-scale species alternations/regime shifts have been observed in many ecosystems worldwide, particularly upwelling ecosystems (Lluch-Belda et al. 1989). Such decadal fluctuations have important management implications because they may alter the structure and functioning of the ecosystem and its response to fishing (Rothschild and Shannon 2004). Fishing may not only be a cause of species alternation, but it may also be a source of additional variability (over and above natural variability) and may hasten stock collapses or slow down stock recoveries (Beverton 1990). Environmental changes related to regime shifts in pelagic fish stocks are not yet taken into account in fishery management (Shannon et al. 2006), whereas a means of detecting and predicting such changes and incorporating this information into fishery management advice would obviously be highly desirable. Summary This section highlights the value of indicators that will help to detect, identify (or possibly even predict) changes in the abundance of small pelagic fish and the effects that these fluctuations have on other components of the ecosystem. There is general consensus between stakeholders and scientists that changes in the spatial distribution and abundance of small pelagic fish is strongly related to environmental fluctuations or changes, as well as to fishing pressure. The discrepancy with regard to management of pelagic fisheries to allow sufficient food for predators clearly reveals the different fisheries management objectives and the different perspectives on the impacts of fishing held by industry and scientists. It is notable that the seal population has remained relatively constant since the 1980s despite the contention of the industry stakeholders of increased competitive interaction (WH Oosthuizen, MCM, pers.

12 656 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford comm. 2006). An ecosystem approach to fisheries will attempt to reach compromises and balance socio-economic and ecological objectives to achieve sustainable utilisation of marine resources (Shannon et al. 2006). Discussion A common knowledge base? This study collated concerns and issues related to the South African pelagic fisheries expressed by a variety of stakeholders (natural scientists, fishery managers, conservationists, fishing company managers and skippers). It identified five areas of concern for stakeholders and developed indicators relevant to these concerns. In four of the five areas, stakeholder perceptions and the indicators converged. This convergence can be attributed to the longstanding working relationship between the management authority and right-holders, which has been founded on good communication, over the 70-year history of the fishery. However, the recent transformation process has included many new right-holders who may not have such a history; lack of communication with managers may account for much of the divergence in opinions. That all stakeholders, except for conservationists, strongly supported the statement: Most stakeholders have difficulties in understanding how the OMP works, points to a legitimacy problem, whereby the management approach has become alien to stakeholders. In addition to the problems encountered in the transformation of the pelagic fishing industry (Raakjær Nielsen and Hara 2006), the capacity to operate the OMP is largely external to MCM. However, there was relatively strong support for the statement: Recent historical information is needed to manage small pelagic fisheries due to the inability to predict changes in recruitment and natural mortality. Interestingly, this statement had less support among right-holders than other stakeholders, but it does indicate an understanding of the stock assessment model that underpins the OMP. Can management be improved? Given the present condition of the small pelagic fish resources in South African waters, it is difficult to dispute the effectiveness of the application of the OMP approach. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether the high biomass levels are a result of the management approach or because of favourable environmental factors. However, it is difficult to argue against the former, particularly for sardine, given that conservative management of this species, with the aim of rebuilding the stock, was implemented in 1984 (De Oliveira 2002). The exceptional anchovy recruitment in 2000, and resultant biomass increase thereafter, has been plausibly linked to unusual environmental factors (Roy et al. 2001). The present management approach for small pelagic fish in South Africa is a combination of prediction and adaptation; prediction being the assumption of median anchovy recruitment used in the setting of the initial anchovy TAC, and adaptation being the adjustment of that initial TAC to the final TAC following the estimate of recruitment strength. Industry stakeholders appear to prefer a more strategic approach to management than the present OMP approach, and advocated using the OMP as a tool to formulate what-if scenarios and using such knowledge in the decision-making process. The development of what-if scenarios to examine possible ecosystem change, such as regime-shifts and/or species alternations, and the associated effects on commercially exploited resources, has been discussed and the way forward has been outlined (Jarre et al. 2006). Management of the anchovy fishery could be improved if accurate predictions of anchovy recruitment were available early in the year. Simulations have suggested that a correct prediction made by March would theoretically increase average annual anchovy catches by 16% (Cochrane and Starfield 1992), and indeed an expert system is available that predicts anchovy recruitment semi-quantitatively by February (Miller and Field 2002). However, and despite substantial research effort, successful fully numerical prediction of anchovy recruitment strength is yet to be realised (Moloney et al. 2004). The incorporation of indicators into South African pelagic fisheries management requires careful consideration. Recognising that several indicators may be tracking or detecting the same changes, there is a need to assess which indicators are redundant. In doing so, the cost of estimating the various indicators and the ease of translation of each indicator into a practical management measure should also be carefully considered. We propose that a rigorous procedure to score ecosystem indicators be adopted, drawing from the selection criteria proposed by Rice and Rochet (2005) and Degnbol and Jarre (2004). Once an appropriate suite of indicators has been agreed upon for the South African pelagic fishery, effort should be put into updating these indicators on an annual basis to inform decisionmakers of the current status, possible threats and sustainability of the fishery within the larger ecosystem. The goal would be to devise ways in which the selected suite of indicators (or a subset within the suite) could be incorporated into the pelagic OMP so that ecosystem considerations could be incorporated practically into management of the pelagic fishery. An initial contribution from this study to improving management is that the indicator length-at-50% maturity (L 50 ) is tightly coupled to sardine biomass. Currently, L 50 is assumed to be an invariable value in the stock assessment model, but incorporation of a maturity ogive appropriate to the current population size should improve the realism of the assessment model and therefore management. The development of the L 50 index highlighted the erroneous assumption made in the assessment model. The indicator approach is a useful tool to manage fisheries, and is likely to be compatible with the management institutions in developing countries. However, this requires that management is adaptive rather than being based largely on stock assessment outputs made by quantitative models that may contain invalid assumptions. The use of indicators will make it possible to add robust and less costly tools for the management of the South African small pelagic fishery, which will further strengthen the current traditional

13 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): stock assessment approach. Nevertheless, the foundation of an adaptive fisheries management system is a good data collection system that enables multi-disciplinary analysis and provides assessments to support of management institutions. However, relying solely on such single-species indicators is cautioned against, because the direct, indirect and often unexpected effects of interactions between different resources and their fisheries are not explicitly taken into account, and catch data do not necessarily reflect trends in the community/ecosystem (van der Lingen et al. 2006b). Stakeholders views clearly indicate that fisheries management is not only about resource management, but also that market adaptations play an important role in shaping the fishery. This study focused on biological indicators. The development of socio-economic indicators requires further work. A major task for ensuring successful ecosystem management in the fishery for small pelagics in South Africa is to establish a process for reconciliation of multiple objectives. Conflicting objectives and those not articulated by the stakeholders interviewed in this study, in particular HDIs; strongly call for broader stakeholder participation in the management process. A start towards addressing this issue and taking the process forward has been made under the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Programme s EAF Feasibility Study, launched in 2004 (Shannon et al. 2006). In order to move towards more adaptive approaches to management, stakeholders need to agree on some key indicators. As demonstrated in this study, it is possible to provide such indicators to manage the fisheries for small pelagic fish in South Africa based on multiple sources of knowledge. 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ICES Journal of Marine Science 55: Verheye HM, Richardson AJ, Hutchings L, Marska G, Gianakouras D (1998) Long-term trends in the abundance and community structure of coastal zooplankton in the southern Benguela system, In: Pillar SC, Moloney CL, Payne AIL, Shillington FA (eds) Benguela Dynamics: Impacts of Variability on Shelf-Sea Environments and their Living Resources. South African Journal of Marine Science 19: Wilson DC, Raakjær J, Degnbol P (2006) Local ecological knowledge and practical fisheries management in the tropics: A policy brief. Marine Policy 30(6): Manuscript received February 2006; accepted June 2006

15 African Journal of Marine Science 2006, 28(3&4): Appendix 1: Consensus statements presented to stakeholders Basic biology 1. Individual anchovies only spawn once a year 2. Sardine spawn all around the coast 3. Eggs of anchovy and sardine are transported from the Agulhas Bank to the West Coast by water currents 4. Anchovy oil yields decrease at high anchovy population levels 5. Sardine can be classified into two types based on their stomach strengths (burst belly) Abundance 6. The abundance of anchovy is the highest it has ever been 7. The abundance of sardine has not changed over the last five years 8. Anchovy and sardine stocks peak at the same time 9. The recent increase in the South African sardine population has been due to movement of fish from Namibian waters 10. The current decrease in snoek catches indicates that the pelagic resources are not healthy Distribution 11. Sardine have shifted from the South Coast to the West Coast in recent years 12. Sardine in 2001 and 2002 were difficult to locate and catch 13. Birds are useful for detecting shoals of fish 14. The KwaZulu-Natal sardine run has a negative impact on the sardine stock on the South Coast Interactions 15. Large anchovy and large sardine school together 16. The large anchovy biomass off the West Coast since 2000 caused sardine to move to the South Coast Environmental effects 17. If there is no movement of bottom water to the surface, then there will be no food for pelagic fish 18. There are currently too many pelagic fish for the ecosystem to support 19. Dumped fish are eaten by seals and birds which causes numbers of these predators to increase 20. Seals are a greater nuisance in purse-seine nets when pelagic fish are scarce than when fish are plentiful 21. Sardine east of Mossel Bay are in a much better condition than those sardine west of Mossel Bay 22. An abnormal south-easterly wind during summer seasons favours the sardine and anchovy populations along the West Coast 23. The sea temperatures have increased over the last few years Fishing 24. Dumping of pelagic fish has increased in recent years 25. Continued fishing at current levels will result in the collapse of the sardine stock 26. There are too many boats chasing too little fish 27. Only a sardine net (mesh size: 32mm) should be used during certain times of the year so that small sardine are not caught 28. A steel grid built into the purse-seine net should be used to reduce bycatch of small sardine and anchovy 29. Fish that are released through the lowering of the headline will survive 30. High levels of juvenile sardine taken in anchovy-directed fishery as a bycatch will cause a collapse of the sardine stock Behaviour 31. Continuous fishing throughout the year off the West Coast has resulted in sardine moving to the South Coast 32. The incidence of small sardine schooling together with large sardine has decreased in recent years 33. Scarce fish forms more densely packed shoals Appendix 2: Q-sort statements presented to stakeholders Bycatch 1. The minimum landing size of sardine from directed sardine catches should be lower than 16.5cm 2. Pelagic fish landings are not always identified and recorded properly 3. The use of anchovy nets should be forbidden east of Cape Point 4. The dumping of sardine will lead to collapse of the sardine stock 5. Scientists should seek advice from skippers regarding bycatch and discarding practices 6. Problems regarding bycatch should be self-regulated by industry Ecosystem and sustainability 7. TACs should not be conservative when pelagic stocks reach high biomass levels 8. Adult sardine are over-harvested in the spawning season 9. Continued fishing on sardine throughout the year affects their behaviour and distribution

16 660 Fairweather, Hara, van der Lingen, Raakjær, Shannon, Louw, Degnbol and Crawford Appendix 2: (cont.) 10. Marine birds and mammals should be left enough food even if it means reducing the TACs for pelagic species 11. Predators that feed primarily on pelagic fish can be used as indices of pelagic fish abundance 12. Small pelagic fish show large interannual variability in population size and distribution OMP 13. Allowing right-holders to select their own preferred sardine: anchovy ratio may have a negative impact on the South African economy (e.g. need for import fishmeal for poultry feed) 14. Recent historical information is needed to manage pelagic fisheries due to the inability to predict changes in recruitment and natural mortality 15. The OMP should only use biological and environmental inputs 16. Most stakeholders have difficulty in understanding how the OMP works 17. OMP-02 has resulted in increased TACs for pelagic stocks compared to previous management procedures Transformation 18. Transformation in the pelagic fishery should not lead to excess fishing and processing capacity 19. External advisors providing assistance to new quota applicants have used their position to obtain de facto rights in the pelagic fishery 20. Vertical integration (control of fishing, processing and marketing) is hindering transformation TAC = Total allowance catch OMP = Operational Management Procedure