Fisheries, Network Analysis, and New Interactive Data Tools
WASHINGTON—According to a new blog post published today by Resources for the Future (RFF), designing and evaluating fisheries management policies can present profound challenges. However, addressing these challenges is critical for economically vital fisheries—like those in Alaska, where the seafood industry generates over $5.4 billion in direct annual economic output.
The new post—Network Analysis Reveals Hidden Patterns in Fishing Enterprises—is coauthored by Kailin Kroetz, RFF Fellow; James N. Sanchirico, University of California-Davis and RFF University Fellow; Matthew N. Reimer, University of Alaska-Anchorage; and Daniel K. Lew, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
Policies that govern catch limits, fishing seasons, and how quota are allocated to fishers are typically implemented on a single-fishery basis. But fishery participants in a region may take part in numerous fisheries, targeting multiple species, in multiple areas, and using a variety of nets, pots, and other gear to harvest their catch. This complexity is not often reflected in the design and evaluation of management policies.
Network analysis and interactive mapping provide invaluable new tools to understand potential “spillover” impacts from management decisions in the form of unanticipated and sometimes negative consequences. The post is accompanied by an interactive tool that helps illustrate this research. The authors conclude that “the high degree of connectedness and clustering we see across Alaska fisheries indicates that the regional fishing sector is vulnerable to cross-fishery spillovers from network shocks, such as policy changes or changes in fish stock abundance.”
Read the full post: Network Analysis Reveals Hidden Patterns in Fishing Enterprises.
Read the abstract of the recent paper in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences by most of the authors.
Read the related RFF working paper—Identifying the Potential for Cross-Fishery Spillovers: A Network Analysis of Alaskan Permitting Patterns.
This research was conducted with the partial support of the North Pacific Research Board and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. Its mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. RFF is committed to being the most widely trusted source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed here are those of the individual authors and may differ from those of other RFF experts, its officers, or its directors. RFF does not take positions on specific legislative proposals.
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