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1. A Symposium on Fisheries and Society was organized in conjunction with the Twenty- first Session of the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) in Budapest, Hungary from 1 to 3 June 2000. Mr M. Sipponen (Finland) convened the Symposium, which was chaired by Mr K. Pinter (Hungary). The Symposium was attended by 99 participants from 27 countries.

REVIEW OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND POLICY ISSUES

Issues

2. Inland fisheries management in most European and North American countries tends increasingly to emphasise recreation and conservation rather than the older function of food production. Many of the problems currently facing managers lie in the transition from commercial to recreational fishing. Recreational fishing is thought to have a greater socio-economic benefit to society, through increased rent and through the development of tourism.

3. The transition from commercial to recreational use has been the cause of conflict between commercial and recreational fishermen and between recreational fishermen and conservationists. Many of the misunderstandings underlying these conflicts lie in difficulties of communication between the disciplines for lack of a common language. However, the failure of dialogue between the two sectors of the fishing community more frequently arises through a lack of willingness on the part of the stronger group to discuss resource allocation with the minority group from a political perspective. Increasing demand for recreational fishing has put pressure on the natural, wild and the more remote fisheries. This has led to conflicts between local inhabitants and those who are not permanently resident in the locality.

4. The change in the political climate in Eastern Europe has resulted in a move away from a controlled economy to one that is demand led. This has meant the development of new systems of management, which in shared water bodies can involve more than one country. Cultural problems still persist in particular regarding the lack of acceptance of laws that are aimed at safeguarding the stock. The extent to which laws aimed at protecting the fishery are violated depends largely on the perceived cost and benefit to the communities involved.

5. The growth in recreational fishing has generated a significant trade in illegal movements of fish intra- and inter-nationally. Such trade has been generated in order to meet angler�s expectations, which are often obtained in countries other than the one in which they are resident. The main species subject to such movements are carp (Cyprinus carpio), wels catfish (Siluris glanis) and a small number of sturgeon. The illegal movement of fish has led to the establishment of a number of non-native species in countries from which they were previously absent. It has also had implications for fish health as in the case of the co-introduction of a number of novel parasites (Ergasilids) which have been responsible for fish mortalities.

Solutions

6. Fisheries science has widened its remit by including studies of the social and economic aspects of fishing. It has thus enlarged its view from that of concern with only the fish and its habitat to take into account the human dimension including fishermen�s preferences, attitudes and choices.

7. Co-management is one possible mechanism to ensure that the human element is accounted for. It is an inclusive approach to management in that it brings together all aspects of the community, encouraging a sense of ownership of the process and of the resources. The advantages of the approach are:

• Commitment to the process through participation
• Incorporation of stakeholders knowledge, expectations & experience
• Realisation by stakeholders of the pressures that they exert on the system and the potential damage that they cause
• Promotes an understanding of sustainability and environmental issues.
• The potential for increased equity may advance stakeholders� acceptance and �buy-in� to the management system.

8. Inclusion of all stakeholders in co-management systems ensures that decisions better reflect local, social, economic and environmental conditions. The success of co-management is very dependent on meeting short-term economic and social aspirations of stakeholders otherwise enthusiasm for the system is difficult to sustain.

9. Co-management initiatives can arise from economic pressure. Where lakes are eutrophicating and fish stock deteriorating recreational angling assumes a greater importance in maintaining income levels. This results in increasing pressures for consultation among the interested parties with more attention being given to anglers preferences and needs.

10. In order for the various user groups to engage in meaningful dialogue communication needs to be established through a common technical language of communication. This tends to be difficult as fishermen tend to rely on their own experience and on anecdotal information whereas scientists rely more on informed opinion based on quantitative information.

11. Co-operative management is a mechanism whereby two or more countries agree an approach to management of a transboundary water body. Representatives of fishery administrations, surveillance organisations, ichthyologists and fishermen meet within a formal framework to reach decisions based on consensus. Rivers and lakes that have been managed co-operatively have proved more sustainable than those where individual efforts by riparian countries are contradictory and confusing.

12. Providing fishing opportunities closer the urban areas where most people live can reduce pressures on wild fisheries. There is, therefore, an urgent need to improve fishing sites in areas close to towns. Such urban fisheries need to be artificially maintained to produce higher catches than would otherwise be sustainable. Co-management approaches are needed to ensure that wild fisheries are managed sustainably and that they still generate angling tourism. Dialogue between local and tourism communities is needed, as is a commitment on the part of non-resident stakeholders.

ASSESSMENT AND VALUATION OF INLAND FISHERIES

Issues

13. Although the symposium is intended to reflect the situation of the whole of the inland fishery sector, only one contribution considers aquaculture and only a few relate to commercial fisheries. Most contributions focus on problems related to recreational fisheries. This relative emphasis may be taken to be indicative of the relative knowledge of the three sectors. Knowledge of European aquaculture is rather detailed with regard to its component enterprises, production techniques, species reared, market structure and economics. Less is known about the more complicated structure of river and lake food fisheries where the overlap between subsistence and commerce is particularly ill defined. Recreational fisheries with their substantial numbers of active anglers, who are divided into sub-cultures and are often not formally organised, are even more difficult to study. Generally little is known about the motivations and expectations of anglers and the benefits that society may derive from their activities. This lack of knowledge is limiting in view of the increasing importance of recreational fisheries relative to commercial fisheries over most of Europe during recent years.

14. Two main approaches to management of recreational fisheries are common in Europe: a) The protection of the aquatic environment by using its natural productivity but limiting the number of anglers supported or b) increasing angling opportunity through stocking and intensive management of the ecosystem. Each of these management systems has social benefits and costs that should correspond to the goals of the society in which they are applied.

15. Fishery associations and fish-watch services can play a valuable role in the re-establishment and maintenance of fish stocks and nature protection particularly where war and other social and economic disruptions have damaged the resource.

16. Concern was expressed at the falling catches of trout and cyprinids in Swiss waters over the last decade.

17. Fisheries management is increasingly concerned with the management of people rather than the management of the fish stock. This has led to an increase in the number of studies aimed at determining the various human dimensions involved. Several different techniques have been elaborated to obtain relevant information. Studies were presented from many of the member countries on the social and economic value of recreational and commercial fisheries but despite these efforts a lack of basic information on recreational fisheries and fishermen persists in a number of European countries.

18. Special problems were encountered in attempting to set-up and run a unified survey on recreational fisheries management and socio-economics in the five Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden Finland, Norway and Iceland. The different institutional backgrounds, and affiliations of the partners involved in the survey caused difficulties as did their possibilities to fund for their continued participation in the project. Problems were also experienced in random sampling of population addresses from official registers, to differences in the definition of recreational fisheries and fishermen and to the fact that not all questions in questionnaires applied to the situation in a specific participating country.

19. Governmental allocations to the fisheries administration in UK are now so low, that the necessary services for the management and protection of the fishery cannot be provided.

20. Fisheries in the rivers and lakes of Finland had been organised by statutory fishery associations in the past. These have not been effective especially with regard to commercial fisheries. At the same time the importance of recreational fisheries and aquaculture ahs increased although the commercial sector has remained static or even declined. There is still a lack of knowledge of the socio-economic role of the whole marine and inland fishery sector in Finland and its relative importance for the regions.

21. The decreasing fish catch from Swiss waters will be studied using different approaches. These will include statistics of the number of anglers and their catches, analysis of electro-fishing data time series, and a survey of relevant angler related changes in behaviour, equipment etc.

22. Several methods have been tried to obtain greater insight into recreational fisheries. In Switzerland a study based on replies to written questions supplemented by a telephone survey was used to obtain information on active anglers, their preferred angling habits, their expenditures, acceptance of fishing regulations, and environmental awareness.

23. Another survey was performed in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. This was based partly on written answers to a multiple choice questionnaire and partly on direct responses and led to a better knowledge on the social structure and professional categories of anglers, the number of days anglers spend at the water, the duration of an average angling day, the anglers motivation, and species ranking by preference and yield. It also provided data on the expenses for angling relative to the value of the catch.

24. In the UK the whole structure and functioning of the inland fisheries sector has been studied to provide a basis for the recasting of relevant legislation. Further pilot studies on the economics of the sector have been carried out to justify increased funding of fisheries administrative services. A full survey will be carried out on the basis of these initial case studies that will be used to explain the benefits of fisheries to the public, thus raising public awareness.

25. Fishery biologists and social scientists must co-operate to link biological criteria and catch and effort data to social and economic data from anglers. Such combined surveys have been carried out successfully on several lakes in Texas, USA although a similar approach to the estimation of the total socio-economic value of recreational fisheries in Scandinavia have experienced difficulties.

26. Cost-benefit analysis of the ecological economics of a liming programme conducted on acidified Norwegian rivers and lakes demonstrates the usefulness of environmental valuation techniques for the development of policies that result in such restoration programmes and lead to increased freshwater fish stocks.

27. The efficiency of Finnish inland fisheries has been enhanced by a reorganisation of the system, creating fisheries regions and introducing co-management schemes. Common goals were defined taking into account the interests of all parties involved, including owners of fishing rights, fishermen, administrators and researchers. These goals have helped in the implementation of the fishery policy. The coexistence of recreational and commercial fishing was regulated by a policy on access, which was based on market forces but also enabled participation at reasonable costs. In contrast to the priority given to recreation in private waters, commercial fisheries have been given priority in state-owned waters.

28. The contribution of fisheries to regional economics is looked at using basic data from the Finnish statistics yearbook and fishery statistics. Furthermore a location quotient is used to compare the relative importance of the fishery sector with the gross domestic product of the same area.

PERSPECTIVES IN INLAND FISHERIES

Issues

29. The next decade will be critical in ensuring the sustainable development of European inland fisheries and aquaculture. Increased pressures on the resource from recreation demand and environmental damage mean that all applicable methods should be used for planning and applied resource management. Models should be elaborated which give a macroeconomic perspective. The socio-economic value of the fishery and of related activities should be established and the various needs of resource users, and new scientific and technical developments taken into account.

Definition of categories

• Aquaculture is directed at satisfying food requirements in general through improved supply, quality, price and marketing. Aquaculture should also satisfy needs related to the availability of fish for restocking water bodies for production, recreation and for the preservation of biodiversity. In view of the ongoing debate in Europe a position should eventually be developed by members of EIFAC with regard to Genetically Modified Organisms.
• Subsistence fisheries still constitute a significant socio-economic activity in some areas. These should be kept under review to assess changes occurring in the activity and required policy adjustments.
• Artisanal fisheries should be assessed separately from commercial fisheries, if only because the artisanal sector generally relies more on traditional methods and techniques that may be less destructive and more appropriate for meeting conservation objectives. These methods may also need to be preserved as an historical and cultural heritage that may further prove useful for defining improved exploitation and management methods.
• Commercial fishing is a priori the most important sector in terms of economic value, at least if one ignores non-market valuation. This sector is directly driven by market forces. It generates direct returns and employment benefit that can be substantial at the level of local economies. Increasing development of this sector may generate conflicts with other users and lead to serious resource overexploitation.
• Recreational fisheries have grown in importance throughout Europe in recent years and have been the object of increased research. Research and fisheries administrations have been especially involved in the assessment of the production and socio-economic value of this activity as compared with other more commercial uses. The role of recreational fisheries should be better recognised and recreational fishers should be involved more systematically in the management of fisheries.

30. Conflicts between resource users can occur as a result of direct competition for the same fishery resource, or because resource and environmental degradation cause by one category of users is not acceptable by other users. In some cases these conflicts are resolved by limitations on access or by partitioning the resource in space or time to allow access to a greater range of users.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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