Capture-based aquaculture - sustainable value adding to capture fisheries?

• Main Authors: Hermansen, Oystein, Dreyer, Bent
• Format: Report
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade
• Subjects: Fisheries; Sustainable aquaculture; Sustainable fisheries; atlantic cod
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/8910jv483

Capture-based aquaculture (CBA) is an industry that utilizes wild-captured specimens as stocking animals for ongrowing or storage. This yields an intriguing direct link between capture fisheries and aquaculture of these resources. Examples of CBA are collection of early life stages of many crustaceans and adolescent tunas for grow-out in aquaculture systems. Cod CBA competes with capture fisheries and closed-cycle aquaculture. This paper discusses value adding properties of these in order to evaluate the relative costs and value positions according to the Hunt and Morgan (1995) competitiveness matrix. CBA on cod is found to be in a superior value position and at a cost disadvantage. Advantages primarily stem from a quantitatively high yield, ability to supply during the lean season and large fish for sale. Higher capture, farming and slaughter costs are negative factors. Capture of juveniles for CBA imposes an externality on the capture fishery. When evaluating potential or ongoing CBA operations, this has to be taken into account. For cod CBA, this is internalized as cod for stocking has to be caught within regular quotas. Attention from economics and resource management research is scarce, as we find only one study that calculates the economic benefits from alternative uses of juveniles. FAO have proposed strict criteria for CBA evaluation. Our findings indicate that CBA can be economically preferable, even if not satisfying these criteria. KEYWORDS: Competitive advantage, Sustainability, Externality, Atlantic cod, Capture-based aquaculture, Fisheries economics