Special topic-Fisheries monitoring:Eyes in the ocean:Innovative and multidimensional solutions to monitor fisheries

Bowen Chng,Shu Su,Chongling Zhng,Yiping Ren,Xiujun Shn,Jke Kritzer,Yong Chen,*

aSchool of Marine Sciences,University of Maine,Orono,ME 04469,USA

bCollege of Fisheries,Ocean University of China,Qingdao,266033,China

cYellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute,Qingdao,266071,China

dEnvironment Defense Fund,Boston,MA,02108,USA

Keywords:

Fisheries

Monitoring program

Special issue

In the era of climate change,the visibility of environmental changes dictates public attention.Pictures of untamable bushfires,intense hurricanes,collapsing ice sheets are all gripping images that alarm us and urge us to take action.The ocean,however,gives us less such visuals;the changes that are taking place there are often abstract and hidden.However,the environmental challenges in the ocean are less visible but no less grave;they come from multiple sources:pollution,plastic waste,ocean surface warming,ocean acidification(IPCC,2019).But the most direct and age-old impact we exert on the ocean and its ecosystems is overfishing(FAO,2018).

Fisheries monitoring is the metaphorical“eyes in the ocean” that allows us to better visualize the ocean's changing conditions in response to fishing activities.An effective monitoring program produces critical observations of fisheries resources and fishing activities,enhancing our ability to manage,utilize,and conserve said assets.A typical fisheries monitoring program collects both fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data(Hilborn&Walter,1992).Together,these data reveal the impacts of fishing activities on both target and non-target fish populations.Furthermore,fisheries monitoring programs inform the development of management plans at both global and local spatial scales;they are the keys to achieving sustainable fisheries management in the Pacific as well as the Atlantic,in the Yellow Sea as well as the Gulf of Maine.

The global significance of fisheries monitoring mobilizes experts from different countries to come together and pool their expertise;the common language of science allows experiences and observations to be translated and shared.Synthesizing both the global and the local knowledge in fisheries monitoring became a prevailing theme at the“First International Symposium on Fisheries Monitoring and Management”(referred to as the “Qingdao Symposium”below),organized by an international coalition of fisheries management institutions including the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology,the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute,the Ocean University of China,and the University of Maine Marine Fisheries Partnership(MFP).A notable group of fisheries scientists,policymakers,and other experts congregated in Qingdao,China in late 2018 to open a discourse on fisheries monitoring.At the Qingdao Symposium,the common objective was simple:building that metaphorical eye in the ocean to better observe species abundance,ecosystem conditions,and ocean health.It was yet complex to realize,requiring technical,institutional,and governance solutions working side by side.

The Qingdao Symposium heralds continued exchange of ideas,experiences,knowledge,and expertise that spans all three management dimensions:technical,institutional,and governance.The symposium focused on ways to develop effective and cost-efficient fisheries monitoring programs across the globe;it foreshadowed future international research collaborations;it called for improved practice in fisheries management and governance;it promised more reliable scientific advice for China's sustainable fisheries and marine conservation policies reforms.Articles in this special issue of Aquaculture and Fisheriesseek to furthersupplement all aspects of these multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary solutions in even more depth.

This collection begins with a deep dive into optimizing technical solutions in fisheries monitoring.The first step is survey design:fisheries-independent surveys are key sources of data to gain insights intofish population dynamics.However,survey designs for multi-speciesfisheries have yet to receive adequate critical evaluations.Using data from a pilot survey in the North Yellow Sea,researchers evaluated multi-species fisheries survey design in three key categories:the sampling method,the estimation method,and the sample size(Zhang,Xu,et al.,2020).The study further investigated adaptive adjustments required for multispecies fisheries surveys limited by a small sample size(Zhang et al.,2020).Here,the researchers selected the most precise,accurate,and consistent schemes(as determined by their relative estimate error(REE)and relative bias(RB)values)for estimating abundance indices for all species in a multi-species fishery.While extensive research tries to refine existing tools,other studies seek to push the technical possibilities of fisheries monitoring.The eDNA method,an exciting innovation in fisheries monitoring,promises to reveal more than ever before possible the status of fish stocks and species distributions in oceans in an effective and cost-efficient way.

Oftentimes,technical solutions constitute parts of overarching institutional solutions to fisheries monitoring at both global and local scales.This is evident in the onboard observer program in China's distant water fisheries across the globe(Wang,Xu,Li,Tian,&Chen,2020).On-board observer programs aim to collect fisheries-dependent data on discards,landings,and other biological information.They are,however,costly endeavors when implemented in distant-water fisheries.To optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness,researchers sat out to evaluate and identify optimal sample sizes for such on-board observer programs in the future,and created a simulation framework in search of the sample-size-optima(Wang et al.,2020).This framework,although developed specifically for the on-board observer program in China's distant-water fisheries,can be modified to address many other comparable domestic and distant-water fisheries around the world.Sometimes,institutional solutions tackle similar challenges of efficiency at a smaller spatial scale.The sentinel survey program,developed for the northern Gulf of Maine,seeks to collect groundfish data at comparatively fine temporal and spatial scales(Henry,Carlucci,Rodrigue,Linner,&Chen,2020).The study area,bearing low-density of targetfish species,has historically been a low-priority area for extensive monitoring efforts.Henry et al.(2020)put forth an innovative framework to develop a sampling program in collaboration with local fishing industries to monitor the population dynamics of certain key groundfish species given these circumstances.Fine-scale data informs scientists the local dynamics of a fish population,which is especially important when the fish stock exhibits a complex stock structure(e.g.,meta-populations structure).Data collection at such a fine scale is a critical component of the institutional solutions for fisheries monitoring that directly inform the development of local management strategies.

Governance solutions also act to connect the local to the global.This novel component of fisheries monitoring assumes the important role of sharing technical knowledge and institutional experiences of fisheries monitoring across different countries and diverse management systems.Successful experiences in at-sea monitoring not only could strengthen the scientific foundation and unlock management options,but also has the potential to set in motion a positive feedback loop whereby thefishermen,confident in science and management,become more conservation-conscious;conversely,blame and mistrust amongst fisheries stakeholders lead to dysfunction in governance(Kritzer,2020).An anthology of fisheries monitoring case studies helps to convey governance experiences from one part of the world to another.In the US,strong cross-institutional and inter-agency coordination to solve transboundary challenges benefitted fisheries managers in achieving sustainability;these are governance solutions applicable in other countries as well(Boenish,Willardb,Kritzera,&Reardonc,2020).

Developing fisheries monitoring programs that combine technical,institutional,and governance solutions at both local and global scales will be key to achieving sustainable fisheries management.Throughfisheries monitoring,modern-day scientists are returning to the quintessential role for scientists since time immemorial:to observe nature and the changes that take place.However,in this unique historical moment-a moment defined by the confluence of the novel threat of climate change and the old threat of overfishing-the spirit of truthseeking is even more important.Scientists will require the aid of innovative technical tools,effective institutional arrangements,and expansive governance ambitions to build that metaphorical“eyes in the ocean”,as they sat out to do at the Qingdao Symposium and beyond.By presenting various technical,institutional,and governance solutions,ourSpecial Issuecollection hopes to bring the fisheries community a little closer to that objective.We hope to not only make the conditions of the ocean and the fisheries a little bit more transparent and understandable,but also to inspire effective,decisive,comprehensive,and science-based management actions.