The present study investigated aspects of implementing an ecosystem approach to management of the inshore waters of Wales, UK. The study identified data inadequacies relating to two important extractive activities, commercial and recreational fishing, and addressed these where possible.
The commercial fishery was investigated using interviews and data sourced from fisheries management authorities. The study revealed that fishery landings had been previously underestimated, while the active fleet size was smaller than indicated by the national register. An input-output model was constructed for economic impact assessment of potential management measures, and revealed that removal of the catching sector would result in economy-wide losses of £101 million gross revenue per annum and 1220 full-time jobs. An investigation of fishers' attitudes revealed inter-sector differences in their inclination towards resource stewardship that could be explained by target species' mobility and past experiences.
The recreational fishery was investigated using self-completion questionnaires, interviews and long-term angler catch reports. Results indicated that sea anglers spent a minimum of £53 million in Wales on angling in 2003, a higher figure than previously estimated. Complete removal of sea angling opportunities in Wales could cause losses of £118 million gross revenue and over 2100 jobs, although much of these losses could be absorbed elsewhere in the economy through the redistribution of resident anglers' expenditures. The loss of visiting anglers' expenditures however would cause actual losses of at least £15 million gross revenue and 268 FTE jobs. Thirty years of angler catch data revealed strong temporal declines in the numbers of trophy thornback ray Raja clavata and cod Gadus morhua reported - trends that reflected regional stock declines and fishery participant perceptions.
Marine reserve design for the region was then investigated using a site-selection algorithm. Incorporating the study's fine-resolution economic data in the design process resulted in reserves that were considerably less costly to resource users than reserves designed with existing coarse-resolution official data. Integrating the collated economic and ecological information in reserve design revealed that the economic and ecological implications of reserves will depend on design criteria such as reserve objectives. The integration of survey methods, economic impact assessment and site-selection tools demonstrated herein should provide a valuable technical basis for future applications of the ecosystem approach.