Arlie Hannah McCarthy, Daniel Steadman, Hannah Richardson, Jack Murphy, Sophie Benbow, Joshua I. Brian, Holly Brooks, Giulia Costa-Domingo, Carolina Hazin, Chris McOwen, Jessica Walker, David Willer, Mohamad Abdi, Peter J. Auster, Roy Bealey, Robert Bensted-Smith, Kathryn Broadburn, Gonçalo Carvalho, Tom Collinson, Bolanle Erinosho, Michael Fabinyi, Senia Febrica, Wilson Ngwa Forbi, Serge M Garcia, David Goad, Lynda Goldsworthy, Hugh Govan, Charles Heaphy, Jan Geert Hiddink, Gilles Hosch, Daniel Kachelriess, Jeff Kinch, Alana Malinde S.N. Lancaster, Frédéric Le Manach, Thomas Matthews, Alfonso Medellín-Ortiz, Alexia Morgan, Helena Motta, Hilario Murua, Naveen Namboothri, Evelyne Ndiritu, Kelvin Passfield, Nicolas J. Pilcher, James O. Portus, Juan M. Rguez-Baron, Morven Robertson, Abhilasha Sharma, Cristián G. Suazo, Leandro Luis Tamini, Juan Vilata-Simón, Nibedita Mukherjee.
Journal / Edition: Conservation Letters, Volume 17, Issue 2
No globally agreed definition or indicator exists for ‘destructive fishing’. An extensive review of academic literature, media and policy showed considerable vagueness in how and when the term is used, including within five multilateral policy frameworks. The vagueness of the term in global treaties has rendered it a quasi-concept undermining consistent implementation.
A clear definition will enable managers to monitor change in the scale and prevalence of destructive practices; to determine if policies and management practices are effective and, ultimately, help restore and conserve biodiversity. Further, a definition will align with international legal instruments such as the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)15 and the High-Seas Treaty which calls for “the need to address… biodiversity loss and degradation of ecosystems… due to… unsustainable use”. By synthesising expert knowledge from individuals in diverse fishing-related fields, we aimed to understand the utility of a definition, uncover consensus (or dissensus) on what constitutes ‘destructive fishing’, and propose a starting definition.
Arriving at a definition
To form a consensus on the working definition, the Delphi technique – an anonymous, iterative process of expert consultation – was used to synthesise the opinions of a range of 80 fisheries experts representing 32 nationalities, including academics, practitioners in NGOs, and those working directly in the fishing industry and associated fields.
Now that a starting definition has been proposed, the ambition of the project team is to work with policymakers to further develop a consensus-built definition of “destructive fishing” at international policy forums, to encourage the adoption of the definition at an international and national level.
The proposed definition
Destructive fishing is any fishing practice that causes irrecoverable habitat degradation, or which causes significant adverse environmental impacts, results in long-term declines in target and non-target species beyond biologically safe limits, and has negative livelihood impacts.
Destructive fishing: An expert-driven definition and exploration of this quasi-concept
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