Establish territorial user rights for fisheries

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
Share Tweet Email

View assessment score

How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

65%
Certainty

10%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Fishing can impact subtidal benthic invertebrates through species removal or habitat damage from fishing gear coming into contact with the seabed (Collie et al. 2000). Territorial user rights are area-based fishing rights which allocate secure, exclusive access to fish in a specified area to groups or individuals (Raemaekers et al. 2011). These territorial user rights often have controls on fishing mortality, and fishers are held accountable to comply with these controls. By regulating and limiting fishing effort, establishing territorial user rights can reduce the impact on the seabed, the amount of bycatch, and overall threat to subtidal benthic invertebrates (Gelcich & Donlan 2015; Manríquez & Castilla 2001). Evidence for related interventions is summarised under “Habitat protection – Establish community-based fisheries management”.

_{Collie J.S., Hall S.J., Kaiser M.J. & Poiner I.R. (2000) A quantitative analysis of fishing impacts on shelf‐sea benthos. Journal of Animal Ecology, 69, 785–798.}

_{Gelcich S. & Donlan C.J. (2015) Incentivizing biodiversity conservation in artisanal fishing communities through territorial user rights and business model innovation. Conservation Biology, 29, 1076–1085.}

_{Manríquez P.H. & Castilla J.C. (2001) Significance of marine protected areas in central Chile as seeding grounds for the gastropod Concholepas concholepas. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 215, 201–211.}

_{Raemaekers S., Hauck M., Bürgener M., Mackenzie A., Maharaj G., Plagányi É.E. & Britz P.J. (2011) Review of the causes of the rise of the illegal South African abalone fishery and consequent closure of the rights-based fishery. Ocean & Coastal Management, 54, 433–445.}

Study locations

Key messages

One study examined the effects of establishing territorial user rights for fisheries on subtidal benthic invertebrate populations. The study was in the South Pacific Ocean (Chile).

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (1 STUDY)

Mollusc reproductive success (1 study): One site comparison study in South Pacific Ocean found that an area with territorial user rights for fisheries had larger-sized and more numerous egg capsules, and more larvae of the Chilean abalone up to 21 months after establishing fishing restrictions compared to an open-access area.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A site comparison study in 1993–1994 in two rocky seabed areas in the South Pacific Ocean, central Chile (Manríquez & Castilla 2001) found that an area with territorial user rights for fisheries had larger-sized and more numerous egg capsules, and more larvae of the Chilean abalone Concholepas concholepas compared to an open-access area, up to 21 months after establishing fishing restrictions. Egg capsules were bigger in the semi-restricted area (1.9–2.0 cm) than in the open-access area (1.5–1.6 cm). On average, more egg capsules and larvae were produced annually in the semi-restricted area (1993: 69,300 egg capsules/transect, 429 million larvae/transect; 1994: 76,000 egg capsules, 534 million larvae) than in the open-access area (1993: 6,600 egg capsules, 23 million larvae; 1994: 9,900 egg capsules, 34 million larvae). Between January 1993 and December 1994, one diver surveyed a total of 34 transects (90 m²) across two areas. One area (12 transects in both 1993 and 1994) was under the control of a fishermen’s Union group established in 1993 and semi-restricted to fishing (territorial user rights). The other area was an adjacent open-access fishery ground where harvest of the Chilean abalone occurred year-round (six transects in 1993, four transects in 1994). Along each transects, the diver counted and measured Chilean abalone egg capsules, and estimated the number of larvae.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Manríquez P. & Castilla J. (2001) Significance of marine protected areas in central Chile as seeding grounds for the gastropod Concholepas concholepas. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 215, 201-211.

Please cite as:

Lemasson, A.J., Pettit, L.R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation. Pages 635-732 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Category
Limit the number of fishing vessels Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Purchase fishing permits and/or vessels from fishers Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Set commercial catch quotas Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link