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Declines in commercial landings and increases in fishing fleet power have raised concerns over the continued provisioning of nutritional and economic services by tropical wild fisheries. Yet, because tropical fisheries are often data-poor, mechanisms that might buffer fishers to declines are not understood. This data scarcity undermines fisheries management, making tropical fishing livelihoods particularly vulnerable to changes in marine resources. We use high-resolution fisheries data from Seychelles to understand how fishing strategy (catch diversification) influences catch rates and revenues of individual fishing vessels. We show that average catch weight decreased by 65% over 27 years, with declines in all nine species groups coinciding with increases in fishing effort. However, for individual vessels, catch diversity was associated with larger catches and higher fishing revenues and with slower catch declines from 1990 to 2016. Management strategies should maximize catch diversity in data-poor tropical fisheries to help secure nutritional security while protecting fishing livelihoods.

No abstract

Many small island states have developed economies that are strongly dependent on tuna fisheries. Consequently, they are vulnerable to the socio-economic effects of climate change and variability, processes that are known to impact tuna fisheries distribution and productivity. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of climate oscillations on the tuna-dependent economy of Seychelles. Using a multiplier approach, the direct, indirect and induced economic effects of the tuna industry expenditure benefiting the Seychelles' economy declined in 1998 by 58, 26 and 35%, respectively (mean decline: 42%), a year of strong climate oscillation in the western Indian Ocean. Multivariate patterns in tuna purse-seine vessel expenditures in port were substantially modified by strong climate oscillations, particularly in 1998. A cointegration time-series model predicted that a 40% decline in tuna landings and transhipment in Port Victoria, a value commensurate with that observed in 1998, would result in a 34% loss for the local economy solely through reductions in cargo handling expenditures. Of several indices tested, the Indian Oscillation Index was best at predicting the probability of switching between low and high regimes of landings and transhipment, which translate into impacts for the economy. It is hypothesised that a late 2006/early 2007 climate oscillation was compounded by prior overfishing to produce a stronger impact on the fishery and economy of Seychelles. The effects of fishing and climate variability on tuna fisheries are complex and pose significant challenges for fisheries management and the economic development of countries in the Indian Ocean.

Introduction