The scope for research in practical fishery management

摘要

In this presentation the objectives for the Norwegian fishery policy are described, and practical management questions for which scientific contributions seems vital are outlined. Norwegian fisheries are managed so as to meet both the multi-faceted objectives of the Norwegian fishery policy and international commitments. In accordance with the former, fishery managers are to aim for a policy which, on the one hand ensures that marine resources give sustainable yields and on the other hand, supports the existing pattern of settlement along the coast, provides job security for the fishermen and increases the value-added in the fisheries sector. These objectives, stated in several White Papers to the Norwegian Parliament, reflect the conflicting interests forwarded by different groups in society. As managers, however, these are the objectives we are to fulfil, and in doing so, we rely on several different measures, often categorised as input regulations, output regulations and technical regulations. In addition, several international Declarations and Agreements i.e. (the Rio declaration, the UN Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the North Sea Conference) all point out that fisheries should be managed in accordance with the precautionary approach. The scope for research in practical fishery management will mainly be defined by the management problem at hand. The solutions to some management problems are not hampered first and foremost by lack of knowledge, but by conflicting interests among various user groups. There are, however, at least two regulatory issues where scientific contributions seem to be most needed. These are the choice of exploitation rate (management strategy) and the choice of exploitation pattern (selectivity). To conduct good management of the various fish stocks, management strategies are needed which identify limit and target reference points. In addition, managers need means of evaluating these limit reference points. In this work, scientific contributions in the fields of ecology, biology, economics and statistics are vital. Furthermore, there is a need for scientific contributions in order to harvest the fish stocks with the most desirable exploitation pattern.