Reassessing the Value of U.S. Coast Guard At-Sea Fishery Enforcement

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is responsible for enforcing federal fisheries laws at sea. The USCG routinely reports high compliance rates and uses them as evidence that its program is successful at deterring fisheries violations. Research presented in this article indicates that high USCG-reported compliance rates vastly overestimate the actual rates and enforcement success because USCG at-sea inspections fail to detect many actual violations. Using high USCG-observed compliance rates as an indicator of successful enforcement is misleading, adversely influencing voluntary compliance with fishing regulations, and prevents fishery managers from recognizing illegal fishing as a significant problem and creating strategies for addressing it.     

Canada and Regional Fisheries Organizations: Implementing the UN Fish Stocks Agreement

Canada is a strong supporter of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement. Whether Canada's support is matched by its actions in strengthening regional fisheries organizations and arrangements dealing with straddling and highly migratory fish stocks is thus worthy of investigation. This contribution examines Canadian activities within regional fisheries organizations with particular reference to implementation of the precautionary and ecosystem approaches and the issue of enforcement of conservation and management measures. Although Canadian actions appear generally to be furthering implementation of the Agreement, comprehensive integration of words and deeds remains to be achieved.     

Fishy Business: The High Seas Boarding and Inspection Regime in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) was created in 2004 to more effectively conserve and manage the region's tuna fishery. One of the Commission's principal enforcement tools is the high seas boarding and inspection regime, which authorizes each member state to board and inspect fishing vessels engaged in a regulated fishery to verify compliance with the Commission's conservation and management measures. This article examines the structure of the WCPFC's high seas boarding and inspection regime and analyzes its effectiveness in furthering the Commission's conservations and management mandate.     

A probabilistic model that determines the social ecological system (SES) attributes that lead to successful discard management

The social ecological system (SES) framework is used to investigate the success of discard management, by gathering knowledge from worldwide examples of discard management applications. The literature search confirmed that most efforts aiming to reduce discards were implemented under top-down management schemes. For about half of the case studies where management tools were applied, a reduction of discards was achieved. To determine the attributes that influence the discard management success, a probabilistic classifier model (Naive Bayes Classifier) was used. This revealed that commonly used interventions to reduce discards can be ineffective unless advice is given in alternative forms that have societal acceptance. The role of social cohesion and stakeholder enforcement mechanisms is underlined and increases the odds of meeting successfully the recommendations for achieving sustainable fisheries. A successful combination of attributes that can lead to the minimization of discards requires robust social capital along with top-down measures. Overall, the classification algorithm proves the usefulness of the SES framework to describe the fishery response to managerial efforts that aim to reduce discarding. Establishment of links between fishing communities and scientists are the key for enhancing stakeholder engagement, increasing compliance and minimizing discards.

     

Measuring and explaining noncompliance in federally managed fisheries

Abstract

This article focuses on measuring and explaining noncompliance in federally managed U.S. fisheries. Novel measurement techniques are used to characterize the extent and patterns of noncompliance in the northeast groundfish fishery. According to the authors’ estimates, noncompliance increased substantially in 1986 and remained high through 1988 in the groundfish fishery. On Georges Bank during 1987, a quarter to a half of all groundfish vessels were identified as frequent violators, committing closed area violations on about one‐third of their trips and using illegal mesh on nearly all trips. Illegal earnings by a typical frequent violator operating in the groundfish fishery on Georges Bank amounted to $225,000 per year in 1987.

A theory of compliance in fisheries is developed and applied to explain the trends and patterns of noncompliance in the northeast groundfish fishery. Biological and economic forces are shown to be dominant causes of the recent deterioration in compliance. Other contributing factors include weak sanctions and insufficient enforcement resources. The article concludes with a prognosis for the fishery and recommendations for improving compliance.     

"May I Buy a Pack of Marlboros,Please?" A Systematic Review of Evidence to Improve the Validity and Impact of Youth Undercover Buy Inspections

Most smokers become addicted to tobacco products before they are legally able to purchase these products. We systematically reviewed the literature on protocols to assess underage purchase and their ecological validity. We conducted a systematic search in May 2015 in PubMed and PsycINFO. We independently screened records for inclusion. We conducted a narrative review and examined implications of two types of legal authority for protocols that govern underage buy enforcement in the United States: criminal (state-level laws prohibiting sales to youth) and administrative (federal regulations prohibiting sales to youth). Ten studies experimentally assessed underage buy protocols and 44 studies assessed the association between youth characteristics and tobacco sales. Protocols that mimicked real-world youth behaviors were consistently associated with substantially greater likelihood of a sale to a youth. Many of the tested protocols appear to be designed for compliance with criminal law rather than administrative enforcement in ways that limited ecological validity. This may be due to concerns about entrapment. For administrative enforcement in particular, entrapment may be less of an issue than commonly thought. Commonly used underage buy protocols poorly represent the reality of youths'' access to tobacco from retailers. Compliance check programs should allow youth to present themselves naturally and attempt to match the community’s demographic makeup.     

Stock composition of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) encountered in marine and estuarine environments on the U.S. Atlantic Coast

Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is a large, anadromous fish native to the Atlantic Coast of North America. Although this species once supported important fisheries, centuries of exploitation and habitat degradation have resulted in dramatic declines, presumed extirpation in some rivers, and ultimately listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under the ESA, Atlantic sturgeon are listed as five separate Distinct Population Segments (DPSs), which form the basis for federal management. Despite state and federal protections Atlantic sturgeon still face significant threats to their recovery, including fisheries bycatch mortality, marine construction, dredging, dams, and vessel strikes. However, because subadult and adult Atlantic sturgeon migrate extensively across estuarine and marine environments and frequently form mixed-stock aggregations in non-natal habitats, it can be difficult to determine how these threats impact specific populations and DPSs. To better understand ontogenetic shifts in habitat use and stock-specific exposure to anthropogenic threats, we performed a mixed-stock analysis of 1704 Atlantic sturgeon encountered across the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Collections made north of Cape Cod, MA and south of Cape Hatteras, NC were dominated by individuals from regional stocks; however, we found extensive stock mixing in the mid-Atlantic region, particularly in coastal environments where individuals from all five DPSs were commonly observed. Subadults and adults that were encountered in offshore environments had moved, on average, 277 km from their natal source; however, 23% were sampled over 500 km from their natal river suggesting long-distance movements are relatively common in these age classes. Overall, our work highlights that Atlantic sturgeon populations are vulnerable to threats over vast areas and emphasizes the need for continued genetic monitoring to track recovery progress.

     

Eliminating driftnets from the North Pacific Ocean: U.S.—Japanese cooperation in the international North Pacific Fisheries Commission, 1953–1993

Japanese negotiators agreed to eliminate driftnet fishing for salmon in the North Pacific Ocean by the end of 1992. The Japanese high seas fishing fleet for salmon had been an economically valuable yet environmentally destructive operation for four decades. The Japanese government progressively phased out lucrative Japanese salmon fishing operations in the North Pacific, apparently capitulating to U.S. pressure. No U.S. enforcement with punitive sanctions proved necessary, however. Specific characteristics of the international market created the possibility of an environmentally benign international agreement. International integration of the market for fisheries products was made possible by the high market value of salmon in the United States and in Japan. In the 1970s, foreign direct investment from vertically integrated, Tokyo‐based fishing firms into canning and processing operations in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest facilitated U.S. Japanese agreement. The high existence (nonuse) value of marine mammals in the United States was also an important factor.     

Red snapper management in the Gulf of Mexico: science- or faith-based?

The most controversial fishery in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) is for northern red snapper Lutjanus campechanus, which collapsed in the late 1980s when stock biomass became too low to be fished commercially in the eastern Gulf. Red snapper management began in 1989; the stock is now showing signs of recovery. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has been slow to sufficiently reduce catches of the directed fisheries to rebuild the stock in a timely fashion, although compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) required substantial cuts in the harvest of red snapper beginning in 2007. In our opinion, this could have been avoided if conservative management practices had been adopted earlier. We believe that ‘faith-based fisheries’ arguments have been used to defer effective management of red snapper in the Gulf, which in turn has strained the relationship between science, management, and stakeholders there. We provide a simple empirical argument and alternate interpretations of a recently published perspective on the historical fishery of red snapper in the Gulf to conclude that the preponderance of evidence used in the agency stock assessment process, and the simple arguments made here, do not support the perspective that the red snapper stock has increased in size sufficiently to defer compliance with the MSRA.     

Using a tier classification system to evaluate the quality of bycatch estimates from fisheries

Bycatch continues to be a challenge to sustainable fisheries management (The term “bycatch” in this paper covers discards and does not include retained incidental catch). Bycatch estimates can inform stock status determinations by improving understanding of fishing mortality, and help managers monitor the effectiveness of regulations. Assessments of the quality of bycatch estimation programs and procedures are necessary to evaluate the precision and limitations of their results over time. NOAA Fisheries experts used a “Tier Classification System” (TCS) to compare the quality of fish bycatch data and estimation methods for U.S. commercial fisheries in 2005 and 2015. The TCS included criteria related to data adequacy and analytical approaches. A comparison of U.S. fishery tier scores demonstrated that most fisheries were classified into higher tiers in 2015 compared to 2005 due to factors including improved sampling design. In addition, this comparison identified region-specific trends (e.g., mostly improvements occurred for Alaska fisheries with more mixed results for Greater Atlantic fisheries). The improvements in bycatch data quality and estimation methods in the United States are a result of financial investments in observer programs by NOAA Fisheries and industry partners, as well as effective conservation measures implemented by regional fishery management councils and NOAA Fisheries. The TCS was also used to assess bycatch data and estimation methods in all of Australia’s fishery jurisdictions for the decade 2010–19, illustrating the international applicability of the method. Overall, Australian state fisheries scored lower than federally managed fisheries in both the United States and Australia, reflecting the fact that the latter fisheries tend to be larger (and more valuable) than those in state jurisdictions, with a larger investment in observer programs. A comparison of tier scores and estimates of discards by fishery may provide a useful input for decision-making processes regarding allocation of resources to improve bycatch monitoring.

     

Monitoring programs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: inventory,development and use of a large monitoring database to map fish and invertebrate spatial distributions

Since the onset of fisheries science, monitoring programs have been implemented to support stock assessments and fisheries management. Here, we take inventory of the monitoring programs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) surveying fish and invertebrates and conduct a gap analysis of these programs. We also compile a large monitoring database encompassing much of the monitoring data collected in the U.S. GOM using random sampling schemes and employ this database to fit statistical models to then map the spatial distributions of 61 fish and invertebrate functional groups, species and life stages of the U.S. GOM. Finally, we provide recommendations for improving current monitoring programs and designing new programs, and guidance for more comprehensive use and sharing of monitoring data, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the inputs provided to stock assessments and ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) projects in the U.S. GOM. Our inventory revealed that 73 fisheries-independent and fisheries-dependent programs have been conducted in the U.S. GOM, most of which (85%) are still active. One distinctive feature of monitoring programs of the U.S. GOM is that they include many fisheries-independent surveys conducted almost year-round, contrasting with most other marine regions. A major sampling recommendation is the development of a coordinated strategy for collecting diet information by existing U.S. GOM monitoring programs for advancing EBFM.     

Progress and problems in U.S. marine fisheries rebuilding plans

The United States is somewhat unique among major fishing nations in mandating the rebuilding of overfished stocks within a specified period of time, a requirement first enacted in 1996. This study is based primarily on a review of trends in the 2000–2010 period in fishing mortality and biomass levels of stocks in rebuilding programs, supplemented by recent U.S. and international scientific literature. The major objectives of this study are, first, to assess progress achieved to date in these rebuilding plans, and, second, to identify the most significant obstacles to successful rebuilding. Sufficient data exists to monitor trends in fishing mortality and biomass levels number for just 35 stocks, out of a total 59 stocks that are currently rebuilding or have recently completed the rebuilding process. Most stocks in rebuilding plans are finfish, and the majority of are managed in relatively few fishery management plans governing fisheries in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and northwest Pacific portions of the U.S. 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Therefore, the findings of this report are tentative and do not necessarily reflect broader trends in U.S. federally managed fisheries. This report shows substantial progress in about two-thirds of the 35 rebuilding stocks included in this report. Progress is defined in two ways: either the rebuilding plan has reduced fishing mortality to an acceptably low level, or it has brought about stock recovery to a mandated target. Most significantly, the assessment of rebuilding plan case studies indicates that reductions in fishing mortality, especially when implemented early in the programs and maintained as long as necessary, lead to significant increases in stock abundance in roughly four of five stocks. At the same time, the case studies also show that, in about one-third of the rebuilding plans, recovery measures have not yet produced the desired outcomes. The two most common problems are failure to adequately control fishing mortality and low resilience (high susceptibility to fishing pressure) of certain categories of overfished stocks.     

The summer flounder chronicles III: struggling with success, 2011–2016

The summer flounder or fluke, Paralichthys dentatus, supports the most important commercial and recreational flatfish fisheries of the U.S. Atlantic coast. The stock and fisheries range from Massachusetts to North Carolina. The assessment and management of the summer flounder has been contentious since 1989, when a joint Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission/Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Fishery Management Plan was implemented. Two previous papers recounted how fishing mortality on the summer flounder stock had decreased by 2010 to its lowest level in over 30 years, with stock biomass at its highest since the stock assessments began in the 1960s. Since 2010, the most important issues and controversies for summer flounder have included: (a) debate over the nature and causes of the observed changes in the spatial distribution of summer flounder and potential impacts for science and management, (b) the re-emergence of retrospective error in the assessment modeling results affecting the evaluation of stock status and the reliability of catch forecasts, (c) scientific and political debate over the necessity of including sex structure in the summer flounder assessment, and (d) the ongoing changes in the ‘tools’ used for catch regulation and allocation that attempt to effectively control fishing mortality while accounting for changes in spatial distribution. This work chronicles how summer flounder serves as a case study of the increasing ‘politicalization’ of fishery science and management, as the actions for summer flounder taken in response to the media commentary and ensuing political pressure have influenced U.S. national fisheries science, management strategy, and law.     

The law of the sea and the U.S. exclusive economic zone: Perspectives on marine transportation and fisheries

Abstract

It has been argued that the issuance of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Proclamation could lead to difficulties in the management of our coastal resources. This paper will examine the consequences of a U.S. EEZ for fisheries and marine transportation. For each sector consideration will be given to the inconsistencies which exist between the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the U.S. Proclamation, and existing U.S. legislation. The problems and opportunities presented by these inconsistencies are discussed. The authors conclude that, while some modifications of U.S. policy may be required, wide‐ranging changes are neither likely nor needed.     

Performance of iSharkFin in the identification of wet dorsal fins from priority shark species

The past decade has seen a considerable rise in international concern regarding the conservation status of sharks and rays. The demand for highly prized shark commodities continues to fuel the international trade and gives fisheries incentive to use these resources, which have a low intrinsic capability to recover. Recognising the urgency for regulation, many countries voted to include more shark and ray species in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, the identification of fins in fisheries landings before they enter international trade is a major limitation for CITES compliance. This study reports the current performance of the iSharkFin system, a machine learning technology which aims to allow users to identify the species of a wet shark dorsal fin from its image. Photographs of 1147 wet dorsal fins from 39 shark species, collected in 12 countries, were used to train the algorithm over a four-year period. As new cohorts of images were used to test the performance of the learning algorithm, the accuracy of species assignments of known specimens was variable but did increase, reaching 85.3% and 59.1% at genus and species level respectively. The accuracy in predicting CITES-listed sharks versus unlisted sharks was 94.0% based on the 39 species currently represented in the baseline. Our results suggest that if supplied with high data inputs for specific fisheries assemblages and accompanied by user training, iSharkFin has promise for site-specific development as a rapid field identification tool in fisheries monitoring, and as a screening tool alongside traditional field morphology to detect potential CITES specimens for fisheries compliance and enforcement.     

Shark bycatch and depredation in the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishery

The non-target bycatch of sharks in pelagic longline (PLL) fisheries represents a potential source of compromise to shark populations worldwide. Moreover, shark bycatch and depredation (damage inflicted on gear, bait, and catch) complicates management of sharks and other species, and can undermine the operations and financial interests of the pelagic longline industry. Thus, deducing means to reduce shark interactions is in the best interest of multiple stakeholder groups. Prior to doing so, however, the extent, cause and effect of these interactions must be better understood. In this review we address or conduct the following in relation to the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean PLL fishery: (1) U.S. management governing shark interactions in the Atlantic; (2) the primary species encountered and historical shark catch data associated with PLL fishing in the Atlantic; (3) a historical comparison of area-specific shark species catch records between the two primary sources of shark catch data in this fishery; (4) the conditions and dynamics that dictate shark interactions in this fishery, and potential means to reduce these interactions, and; (5) a synthesis of the estimated impacts of this fishery on shark populations relative to other fisheries in the Atlantic. As has been found in other PLL fisheries, the blue shark (Prionace glauca) is clearly the shark species most commonly encountered in this fishery in the Atlantic, and receives the majority of attention in this review. U.S. management areas with high relative shark species diversities had a greater divergence in historical shark species percent-compositions between data sources (Pelagic Observer Program versus mandatory pelagic Logbook databases); this complicates the ability to conclude which species are most impacted by PLL fishing in those areas. The current fishing effort by the U.S. PLL fleet is small compared to that of PLL fishing targeting sharks in the Atlantic by non-U.S. fleets, and therefore poses a comparatively lower threat to the stability of Atlantic shark populations. However, incidental shark encounters are inevitable in U.S. Atlantic PLL fishing operations. Thus, it is in the best interest of all stakeholders in the Atlantic to better understand the extent and conditions governing these interactions, and to explore methods to reduce both their occurrence and those aspects leading to higher rates of incidental shark mortality.     

Rio Plus Ten: The Evolution of International Marine Fisheries Governance

The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held at Rio de Janeiro was a seminal event that addressed the interplay of economic development and human use of natural resources with the need for protection of the natural environment. The general principles embodied in the Rio Declaration and the provisions included in the comprehensive Agenda 21 expressed the expectations of the international community and set the stage for national and international policy and legal developments in a host of different areas, including the governance of the ocean's living resources. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 focused on the world's oceans and seas and crystallized growing world community concern with problems such as unregulated fishing, fishing vessel reflagging, overcapitalization of the fishing industry, inadequate fisheries enforcement, and insufficient cooperation among states. Further, the documentation of UNCED evidenced interest in new governance frameworks and concepts such as ecosystem-based management and precaution. In retrospect, it is clear that the ideas discussed at Rio have been important and have been implemented by a variety of governments and international organizations as they exercise their responsibilities for fisheries management. This article examines the principles and approaches suggested by UNCED as they relate to world fisheries and considers how they have been reflected in global fishery agreements such as the FAO Compliance Agreement and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, in the work of international fishery bodies such as the FAO Committee on Fisheries, and in the efforts of a number of regional fishery commissions. It also addresses the significance and ramifications of changes suggested by Agenda 21 for the future conduct and management of world marine fisheries.     

When Domestic Environmental Policy Meets International Trade Policy: Venezuela's Challenge to the U.S. Gasoline Rule

The role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the setting and enforcement of international and domestic environmental policy continues to evolve. This paper reviews the first case that focused clearly on environmental issues that involved WTO mediation: the case of Venezuela's challenge of the legality of United States restrictions on the importation of gasoline based on requirements to reduce health risks under the Clean Air Act. In this case, the WTO deemed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's policy as a barrier to free trade and this has important implications for future policies. We explore the underlying issues of the decision and its implications for future cases that focus on environmental risks.     

Young adult cancer incidence trends in Taiwan and the U.S. from 2002 to 2016

BackgroundPrevious studies have not examined young adult cancer incidence trends in Taiwan, or comprehensively compared these trends at two nations with different population genetics, environmental exposures, and health care. Therefore, we compared the incidence rates and trends of the most common young adult cancers diagnosed at 20–39 years of age in Taiwan and the U.S.MethodsIncidence rates from 2002 to 2016 were calculated from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Datasets and the U.S. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. For trend assessment, average annual percent change (AAPC) values were calculated from 15 years of data using Joinpoint Regression Program. We also obtained sex or age of diagnosis stratified estimates.ResultsThe age-standardized overall young adult cancer incidence rate significantly increased from 2002 to 2016 in both Taiwan (AAPC=1.1%, 95% CI: 0.8–1.5%) and the U.S. (AAPC=1.8%, 95% CI: 1.1–2.4%). Cancers with significantly decreasing trends in Taiwan included cancers of the nasopharynx, liver, and tongue, which were not among the most common young adult cancers in the U.S. Cancers with significantly increasing trends in both Taiwan and the U.S. included colorectal, thyroid, and female breast cancers. Lymphoma, ovarian cancer, and lung and bronchus cancer had significantly increasing trends in Taiwan but not in the U.S. Although cervical cancer had significantly decreasing trends in both nations among those 30–39 years of age, its trend was significantly increasing in Taiwan but decreasing in the U.S. among those 20–29 years of age.ConclusionThe types of common young adult cancers as well as their incidence rates and trends differed in Taiwan and the U.S. Future studies should further understand the etiological factors driving these trends.     

U.S. Federal Initiatives to Support Biomass Research and Development

This article provides a brief overview of federal initiatives in the United States to support biomass research, demonstration, and development. The interest in the biomass industry and U.S. federal efforts to spur development of, increased production of, and use of biopower, biofuels, and biobased products, collectively known as the "biomass industry", are discussed. A growing level of leadership from the executive branch of the federal government and support by the U.S. Congress are documented. Five important policy drivers that support this heightened emphasis on biomass for power, fuels, and products are identified and discussed. The current status of U.S. dependence on these renewable energy sources is briefly outlined. Federal biomass funding activity for the current fiscal year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy, two major federal participants in research, demonstration, and development for this industry, is briefly outlined. This funding commitment is placed into an overall context of total federal support for all research and development. Finally, the article suggests future market penetration targets for this industry, emphasizes the importance of infrastructure development necessary to support the industry's growth, and notes the payoff from such development for farmers, foresters, rural communities, and the environment.