The Spot Prawn Fishery The Spot Prawn Fishery - Basel Action ...

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INTRODUCTION The spot prawn fishery spans diverse habitats and ecosystems. The scientific, management, and cultural systems that have evolved with it are equally diverse. The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report seeks to accurately reflect the ecology and management of this complex fishery. This information allows identification of aspects of the fishery that uphold the precautionary principles of Ecosystem Health and Ecological Economics, aspects that undermine these tenets and warn of unsustainability, and aspects that require further investigation. Why the Spot Prawn? Pressure on marine ecosystems grows each year as seafood becomes a greater part of the American diet. Although there is increasing awareness of the various threats that undermine the viability of marine ecosystems, existing laws and regulations have largely failed to secure sustainable fisheries or to protect the intimate connection between the economy and the ecosystem evident in marinedependent communities. The record of fisheries management in the 20th century is dismal. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 11 of the world’s 15 most important fishing areas and 60% of commercially significant fish species are in decline (FAO 1997, McGinn, A.P. 1998). According to an FAO press release, 25% of the world’s marine fishery stocks, including many individual species of fish, are being overfished (Associated Press 2001). Recently, the United States Department of Commerce reported that the number of US fish species in jeopardy continues to rise, and reached a record 107 species in 2000 (Marine Fish Conservation Network 2001). Commemorating the United Nations’ Year of the Ocean (1998), more than 1,600 marine scientists, oceanographers, and fishery biologists from around the world issued a joint statement, entitled “Troubled Waters,” alerting the international community to the global marine crisis and the forces driving it. These included pollution, habitat degradation, and wasteful and destructive fishing practices (MCBI 1998). The problems facing the oceans are clear. As fishery after fishery collapses, it is imperative that we ask “Why?” and “What could have been done differently?” Marine sustainability requires true understanding of the factors that lead to the The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report destruction of marine species, and the ecosystems, economies, and cultures dependent on them. It requires evolution of existing management philosophies and paradigms. A broad knowledge of marine systems and a vision for sustainability are therefore at the crux of protecting our natural systems. The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report seeks to assemble this type of information for one marine species before it is too late. Shrimp Fisheries in Context Shrimp—harvested in the wild or produced via aquaculture—are generally characterized as among the most unsustainable of all global fisheries. Destructive fishing methods, vast quantities of bycatch, loss of mangroves, and coastal pollution are only a few of the serious environmental and social problems that have been associated with the wild harvest and aquaculture of shrimp. Yet shrimp is also one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative global and domestic seafood markets. Shrimp are one of the most valuable seafood products imported into the United States. In 2000, US shrimp imports were valued at US $3.8 billion. In 2001, imports are expected to reach 775–785 million pounds—a value of between US $3.5 and $3.8 billion (Department of Agriculture 2001). The National Marine Fisheries Service reports that nearly one billion pounds of shrimp were consumed in the US in 1998, and that consumption levels continue to rise (National Marine Fisheries Service 1999a). Unfortunately, the vast majority of shrimp consumers do not know that the unsustainable production and harvest of shrimp is devastating ecosystems and local communities. Moreover, they have no way of identifying or ordering sustainably produced shrimp in a restaurant or supermarket. There is a critical need to establish an ecologically certified, sustainable shrimp fishery that can be used to educate consumers, shift seafood demand to more ecologically sound products, and dramatically reduce demand for unsustainably produced seafood. The Spot Prawn Fishery The spot prawn fishery on the West Coast of North America, extending from Alaska to California, has great potential to be an exception to the ecological and social destruction that typifies many shrimp fisheries. This potential is a function of several factors: •the ecological sensitivity of spot prawns and 1
2 The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report their critical habitat has been recognized and reflected in most of the fishery’s management •the fishery is primarily a community-based fishery, with a great deal of fisher involvement in management •the high-value and expanding markets for spot prawn product lead to a greater “value” placed on the conservation and sustainability of the species •managers commonly recognize that constant refinement and improvement of the management system is a prerequisite for long-term sustainability APEX’s initial research indicates that the spot prawn fishery has the potential to: •be the first shrimp fishery managed according to the precautionary principles of Ecosystem Health and Ecological Economics •be the first shrimp fishery market-certified for its sustainability. •provide an example of a fishing technology that minimizes habitat destruction, reduces bycatch, and provides a high-quality, high-value product •play an important role in informing consumers about the true environmental and social costs of shrimp fisheries, thereby leading to a reduction in consumption of unsustainable seafood •serve as an example of sustainable fisheries management nationally and internationally An Overview of Project Goals and Strategies The Spot Prawn Project strategy focuses on influencing existing management systems, educating consumers and the public, and creating discerning markets for sustainable seafood. The Project seeks to create a new language of fisheries management —one that encompasses the principles of precautionary management, Ecological Economics, Ecosystem Health, proper temporal and geographic scale, just distribution, and transparent, democratic decision-making. Specifically, the principles of Ecological Economics and Ecosystem Health will be used to define marine sustainability and move the spot prawn fishery toward this standard. The Project aims to advance a sustainable and certifiable fishery from San Diego, California to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A tangible vision for evolving existing systems of fisheries management will be provided. We also expect the spot prawn fishery to become a sustainable model for other fisheries in the US and for shrimp fisheries worldwide. ECOLOGY OF THE SPOT PRAWN Life History and Geographic Range Pandalus platyceros is in the Crustacean Decapod Family Pandalidae and is commonly known as the spot prawn or spot shrimp. This Family contains medium to large shrimp that inhabit continental shelves and slopes worldwide. At least 18 species in two genera have been recognized, a portion of which support commercial fisheries (California Department of Fish & Game 1995). The Spot Prawn Photo Courtesy K.M. Kattilakoski, Fisheries and Oceans Canada The spot prawn is the largest of the pandalid shrimp, with a carapace length—measured from the posterior eye orbit to the posterior mid-dorsal margin of the carapace—of 61.1 millimeters (2.4 in.) (Butler 1980). Spot prawns are characterized by stout bodies that are light brown to orange in color and have white-paired spots behind the head and in front of the tail. The adult carapace is often distinguished by white stripes that run from the anterior to posterior (top to bottom) of the animal. The spot prawn’s geographic range extends from Southern California to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, around to the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait (Watson 1994). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the spot prawn’s range may in fact extend into Mexico, where a small fishery (±3 vessels) is reported to exist off the coast of Baja California (Nick Lowry, University of Washington School of Fisheries. Pers. comm., May 2001). None of the literature reviewed mentioned the possibility of the spot prawn’s range extending beyond the California border. The Status Report does not attempt to substantiate or disprove these observations, although this may be an important issue for scientists and managers to consider.
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