Can global aquaculture growth help to conserve wild fish stocks? Theory and empirical analysis
Can fed aquaculture growth alleviate overfishing and foster the conservation of wild fish stocks? To examine this question we present a stylized fishery model of trade in edible fish and fishmeal that incorporates both market linkages and biological (predator–prey) linkages between the aquacult...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
John Wiley & Sons Ltd
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://umt-ir.umt.edu.my:8080/handle/123456789/21600 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Can fed aquaculture growth alleviate overfishing and
foster the conservation of wild fish stocks? To examine
this question we present a stylized fishery model of
trade in edible fish and fishmeal that incorporates both
market linkages and biological (predator–prey) linkages
between the aquaculture sector and capture
fisheries. We study the effects of local aquaculture
growth, as induced by an increase in aquaculture feedefficiency
(technology shock), and of external or global
aquaculture growth as experienced by either a drop in
the price of edible fish or as an increase in the price of
fishmeal (price shocks). While domestic (or “local”)
aquaculture growth increases wild fish stocks due to
positive market interactions, the effects of external (or
“global”) aquaculture growth are generally ambiguous
and depend on the strength of biological linkages. A
stylized empirical application of the cod (predator) and
capelin (prey) fisheries in the Barents Sea illustrates
that the biological linkages between cod and capelin
reduce the positive impact of aquaculture on cod
conservation roughly by 50%. Recommendations for Resource Managers:
• Fishery managers should differentiate between the
effects of local, technology‐driven aquaculture
growth and the effects of global, price‐driven aquaculture
growth. The latter may have negative impacts
on local fish stocks and the economy.
• Real fishmeal prices increased substantially since the
year 2000. For multispecies fisheries that are not
properly managed, this can increase pressure on fish
stocks if predator–prey linkages are strong, if prey
species regeneration is slow, and if pelagic prey
species are relatively easy to catch.
• An empirical application shows that predator–prey
linkages reduce but not overthrow the positive effects
of global aquaculture growth on the conservation
of local predator fish stocks. This provides some
evidence that a reallocation of fishing effort from
higher to lower trophic levels can conserve fish
stocks at higher trophic levels. |
|---|