Balancing economic growth and ecosystem conservation in fisheries through sustainable harvesting techniques and habitat protection

Abstract

Fisheries around the world serve more than 3.3 billion as a major source of animal protein and about 10% of worldwide livelihood but almost 35% of the measured fish stocks are currently overexploited based on the Food and Agriculture Organization. This paper will discuss the role of sustainable methods of harvesting and habitat preservation strategies to balance economic development with sustainable conservation of the ecosystem in the long run. The issue that is discussed is the constant trade-off between maximization of revenues in the short-term and the decreasing biological productivity of marine ecosystem, which poses a threat to both the biodiversity and economic stability. The study has adopted a mixed methods design to combine bioeconomic modeling, catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and spatial habitat evaluation on three coastal fisheries over 10 years. Scenarios involved the comparison of traditional open access harvesting with regulated systems that involved catch quota systems, seasonal restrictions, selective gear technologies, and marine protected areas (MPA) of 20–30% of important habitats. Economic (net present value, employment rates) and ecological (spawning stock biomass, species diversity index) indices were compared. Findings suggest that application of science based catch limits led to a 28% drop in the rate of stock depletion and a 35% rise in spawning biomass after a period of five years. Varying gear usage reduced bycatch by 22% and MPAs increased adjacent fishery yields by 17% as a result of spill over effects. Regulated fisheries were found to have 14% higher long-term net present value than the open access models, even though it was initially reduced by 8% of the short-term profits. The results indicate that a combination of sustainable harvesting and habitat protection can be used to both improve ecological performance and financial payoffs. Policies that couple conservation incentives and market responses are critical to achieve fisheries productivity, biodiversity conservation and livelihoods of the coastal community in the context of increased global demand