Potential economic impacts of achieving good environmental status in Black Sea fisheries

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) mandates that European Union (EU) member states achieve Good Environmental Status (GEnS) based on an ecosystem-based approach to management. For commercial fisheries, the primary target under the MSFD is one of maximum sustainable yield. Of Black Sea riparian nations, only Romania and Bulgaria are EU member states. Focusing at the supranational level, we review institutions and instruments relevant to management of the Black Sea. The economic values of current fish catches are assessed, and the results of a recent analytical assessment of fish stocks are used to estimate potential future values based on maximum sustainable yields. In the Black Sea region, despite long-standing attempts to improve fisheries management, there remains a lack of effective regional cooperation. Evidence from the scenario analysis suggests that achieving GEnS would not have an undue negative impact on overall fishery sector incomes, and could, with appropriate investments in processing and marketing, deliver increased economic benefits for Black Sea countries. The ongoing policy debate between and within Black Sea coastal states needs to be extended to include recognition of the potential economic and social benefits of effective fisheries management. More work is required to assess returns on investment in interim management measures to deliver GEnS.

Understanding the Impact of Environmental Variability on Anchovy Overwintering Migration in the Black Sea and its Implications for the Fishing Industry

“…Applying a Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to the Black Sea is a challenging endeavor due to the fact that of the six riparian countries, only two are members of the EU (Romania, Bulgaria) with large legal, economic, political, and institutional differences across the basin and diverse fisheries interests and capacities. Despite attempts to improve fisheries management, there is a lack of effective regional cooperation by the riparian countries to date and stocks remain overexploited in the Black Sea (Goulding et al, 2014).…”

Achieving good environmental status in the Black Sea: scale mismatches in environmental management

“…In hindsight, it would have been much easier to set a scale for a regional political agreement from the outset that covered the Danube and Dnipro basins and the entire northwest shelf of the Black Sea, rather than negotiating this on a piecemeal basis. Goulding et al (2014) summarize the history of overfishing in the Black Sea, following the collapse of the larger, higher value species. The major fisheries currently being exploited in the Black Sea are those for small pelagic species, anchovy and sprat.…”

“…Therefore, in parallel with the emergence of a better understanding of the potential yields of the fisheries, and in particular identification of the reference levels for several key fish stocks, there is now an opportunity for an updated socioeconomic analysis of the costs and benefits of regional fisheries management organization. Goulding et al (2014) present the first step in this process, an economic assessment of the potential benefits of a Black Sea fishery managed toward maximum sustainable yield. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss3/art54/ Recognition of the potential contribution of well-managed fisheries to the economies of Black Sea riparian states and their coastal regions based on such an analysis, and viewing fisheries management measures as potential investments could inform the ongoing political discussions on a joint management approach on fisheries management, independent of the geopolitical interests expressed in other regional management fora.…”

Steps toward a shared governance response for achieving Good Environmental Status in the Mediterranean Sea

“…However, different ecosystems provide a complex combination of different http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss4/art47/ services; thus, problems may arise when an economic valuation of ecosystem services is required, mainly because of the complexity of the ecosystems and the interdependency of the services provided. In summary, an environmental program of measures can have economic justification because societal benefits may be enhanced when environmental quality is improved and the full welfare benefits from ecosystem services are quantified accurately (Goulding et al 2014). However, disentangling the joint production of ecosystem services as well as the linked nature of GEnS descriptors remains a challenge (O'Higgins et al 2014b).…”