The Spatial Dimensions of Fisheries:
Putting It All in Place

The Florida State University and Mote Marine Laboratory

The Seventh William R. and Lenore Mote
International Symposium in Fisheries Ecology

A tribute to the legacy of Bob Johannes, who sensitized us to the concept of marine tenure

11-13 November 2008 Sarasota, Florida

Thank you to everyone for making this symposium a wonderful success!

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Format and Topics

Determining the spatial scales of ecosystems and social systems is critical to managing fisheries. The question is, must the scale of management match the scale at which the ecosystem and social systems operate? Although ecological systems function at different scales, social systems have their own scale of operation. In many systems, convergence argues for finer spatial limits on management areas and territorial privileges and restrictions on access, intended to introduce the right incentives for responsible use of resources. Fisher behavior—the spatial behavior of fleets and fishing units in response to resource distribution, operational constraints, and regulations—cannot be discounted.

Talks for this symposium address three primary themes:

I. Defining the spatial scale of ecosystems and social systems

• correspondence between the spatial scales of resource structure/dynamics and management institutions
• geographical hierarchy of management institutions
• spatially variable harvest strategies (area-based quotas, spawning reserves)
• ecological support relating to dispersal, habitat, and metapopulations

II. Governance and access: is area-based management effective against "roving bandits" and serial depletion? Top-down versus bottom-up governance perspectives

• spatially-defined tenure systems (TURFS etc.)
• local management and its limitations
• zoning and multiple use MPAs

III. New elements in the analytical toolkit: the mapping imperative. More and more models (conceptual or formal) and management options for marine resources are discussed over maps. How do we make use of these tools in fisheries?

• learning to make more effective use of the information-rich maps of GIS and the growing associated statistical tools
• the possibility that GIS tools can be used to analyze social issues of fishing communities spread along coastscapes
• new technologies (e.g., hydroacoustics, bottom mapping)
• design-based and model-based survey methods that incorporation variation across space (e.g., geostatistical methods and other creative approaches)

  Participants not presenting papers or posters are welcome.