Policy Insights and Implications
One of the main successes of MultiTip is our ability to provide insights on fisheries management at Lake Victoria. MultiTip has published 3 Policy Briefs on the Nile Perch fishery at Lake Victoria and 1 Policy Brief on the Dagaa fishery.
MultiTip Policy Briefs on the Nile Perch Fishery at Lake Victoria
| MultiTip Policy Brief #1 |
Two changes in gear regulation to improve yield of the Nile Perch fishery |
| MultiTip Policy Brief #2 |
A high-value Nile Perch fishery through limits on fishing pressure |
| MultiTip Policy Brief #3 | |
|
MultiTip Policy Brief #4 |
Bottom-up management of the Nile Perch fishery has potential |
Back to Findings Summary
Two changes in gear regulation to improve yield of the Nile Perch fishery
MultiTip Policy Brief #1
Authors: Johannes Kammerer, Santiago Gómez-Cardona, Chrisphine Nyamweya, Hillary Mrosso, Timo Goeschl, Anna Marciniak-Czochra
Gear regulation has been a subject of discussion among Lake Victoria Nile perch stakeholders for a long time: How best to regulate gear to maintain abundant and healthy fish stocks while ensuring high fishery yields? A new study shows that two simple, but important changes to current gear regulation in the Nile perch fishery can help reach these goals and actually increase long-run yields: Gillnets below 6” should be phased out and the 85 cm upper slot size end should be abandoned. These conclusions are based on novel size-structured, ecology-based and empirically informed models of the Nile perch fishery.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
A high-value Nile Perch fishery through limits on fishing pressure
MultiTip Policy Brief #2
Authors: Santiago Gómez-Cardona, Johannes Kammerer, Grigori Shapoval, Hamsa Zazai, Timo Goeschl
The latest Nile Perch (NP) Fisheries Management Plan III (2021-2025) recommends limiting fishing pressure through capping the number of vessels and gears-per-boat. Based on a calibrated agent-based model, a new study finds that if implemented, these measures are likely to have a significant positive impact on the value of the fishery: Limiting vessel numbers and gears-per-boat brings the fishery to a more stable regime, associated with higher long-term incomes on the basis of an ecologically healthy fish stock. Three aspects characterize this high-value fishery regime: a fish stock dominated by large fish, fewer vessels and gears-per-boat, and a preference of fishers for targeting larger fish.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
Understanding and addressing fishers' behavior
MultiTip Policy Brief #3
Authors: Philipp Händel, Astrid Dannenberg, Pia Fischer
The lack of compliance to fishing regulation is a major problem at Lake Victoria fisheries and enforcement can be challenging. One method of addressing this issue is through campaigns that promote sustainable low- risk behaviour, like compliance to net regulations. However, this too can have a limited impact. By conducting behavioural experiments with fishers, we are able to investigate the causes of non-compliant behavior and provide recommendations on how campaigns can be made more effective. We find that fishers are less likely to imitate low-risk behavior, but they are also less likely to behave in a risky manner if they are aware that their actions could harm others. Therefore, to effectively promote sustainable, low-risk behavior, we suggest informing fishers about how high-risk behaviour, like non-compliance, can negatively affect others livelihoods.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
Bottom-up management of the Nile Perch fishery has potential
MultiTip Policy Brief #4
Authors: Karlijn van den Broek, Joseph Luomba, Bwambale Mbilingi, Horace Onyango, Sina Klein & Helen Fischer
Management of the Lake Victoria Nile perch (NP) fishery is challenging and there is an ongoing debate on the effectiveness of enforcement and bottom-up approaches like BMUs. Our research findings indicate that bottom-up approaches have great potential because it aligns with fishers perceptions. However, for any approach to be successful better exchange of knowledge is needed and misconceptions have to be addressed. These findings are from collaborative research with regional fisheries institutions where we investigated fisheries stakeholders’ perceptions of the drivers of the NP stock decline.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
MultiTip Policy Briefs on the Dagaa Fishery at Lake Victoria
Subsidies, not Buybacks: Dagaa Nets at Lake Victoria
MultiTip Policy Brief #5
Authors: Florian Diekert, Tillmann Eymess, Timo Goeschl, Santiago Gomez-Cardona, Joseph Luomba
Policymakers at Lake Victoria have discussed buyback programs for illegal gear to solve compliance issues in the Dagaa fisheries. But buyback programs create problems of their own. When fishers can sell their illegal nets to the government for a profit, the program simply increases illegal net production. A new study shows that there is an effective alternative: a subsidy program for legal nets. Offering a 20% price discount on the price of legal nets makes half of all dagaa fishing operations at Lake Victoria comply with mesh- size regulations. This is the result from research at 20 landing sites in Tanzania using an innovative methodology.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
