http://hdl.handle.net/10037/203 2012-02-12T06:31:42Z http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3810 Luan, Lan<br /> Atlantic salmon export plays an important role in the total Norwegian seafood export. EU countries are currently the main markets for Norwegian salmon export. China is one of the countries which are expected to have an increased demand for Norwegian salmon. Norwegian fresh salmon exporters are currently facing the trade barriers with respect to new inspection regime and high transportation costs when they export fresh salmon to China. This study is investigating whether Coolnova salmon, fresh frozen salmon using proton magnetic freezing technology, may break the trade barriers of Norwegian fresh salmon export to Mainland China. Firstly is the meaning of preferred fresh quality of Norwegian Atlantic salmon and secondly is the potential market value of the Coolnova salmon for the wholesalers and the supermarket in Hong Kong estimated. A sample of fresh chilled, Coolnova and frozen salmon fillets were tested by wholesalers and supermarket managers who gave their quality judgement recorded in a questionnaire. Different perceptions and attitudes were expressed related to both quality factors like fatness and colour influenced by the different fish feeding, sizes and fillet cuts of the tested salmon samples as well as factors related to the application of novel freezing and thawing technologies where Coolnova salmon has its advantage. The results show that freshness is a preferred product attribute of salmon characterized by appearance as a distinctive orange colour, clear white oil lines and a hard texture and smooth and juicy taste. The results indicate that Coolnova salmon after fresh-frozen and thawed, may satisfy the markets requirements for freshness and furthermore gain a cost advantage by the opportunity to move distribution from an expensive fresh airfreight to a low cost frozen sea freight. Frozen salmon can be kept in freezers for a long time without quality degradation and would thereby not be affected by the new quality inspection regime which hampers the fresh fish import to China. Coolnova salmon can thus break the trade barrier of Norwegian fresh quality salmon imposed by the Chinese government.<br /> 2011-12-27T23:00:00Z Luan, Lan http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3531 Nguyen, Quoc Khanh<br /> The fishery sector is a significant contributor to national income as well as a source of employment for local people. The export value of Vietnamese fisheries product is around US$ 4 billion annually. The tuna fisheries have become a key contributor to Vietnamese seafood export. The main markets for Vietnamese tuna products are the European Commission (EC), United States (US) and Japan. Vietnamese fisheries are considered as small-scale and traditional, with a large number of actors. The large number of actors coupled with incoherence between the legal frameworks and fishing practices has led to an increase in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), IUU fishing is a global problem that is negatively affecting the environment, ecosystems, biodiversity, fish stocks and social-economic conditions of people. To deter and eliminate IUU fishing, the EC adopted the IUU regulation, which came into effect from 1st January 2010. The IUU regulation applies to all countries that have fish trade with the EC. The goals of the regulation are sustainable resource management and exploitation, while providing sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions. According to the IUU regulation, the import of fishery products into the EC is only allowed when accompanied by a certified catch certificate that ensures that the products is not a result of IUU fishing. Thus, in order to export fish to the EC, Vietnam has introduced catch certificates. Although fisheries regulations in Vietnam have improved, there are mismatches between the Vietnamese regulations and the EC’s IUU regulation. In its implementation of the IUU regulation, the Vietnam’s tuna longline fisheries is facing various problems and challenges with regards to the process of issuing catch certificates and fishing licenses, resources management and conservation, lack of an updated resource database, keeping logbooks and reporting, low education of fishers, and corruption. This thesis analyzes these problems and challenges. The study found that due to the inconsistencies between the EC’s IUU regulation and the Vietnamese regulations as well as Vietnam’s practical implementation of these regulations, there seems to be limitations to how effective the combat against IUU fishing will be. Despite the apparent implementation of EC regulations in Vietnam, IUU fishing activities still take place and IUU fish products are still being exported to the EC from Vietnam.<br /> 2011-05-12T22:00:00Z Nguyen, Quoc Khanh http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3530 Hamenoo, Edmond Kwablah<br /> Aquaculture in Ghana has over the years been little productive despite earlier claims about the high potential of the country. These claims are supported by an abundance of latent natural resources that can support large scale commercial production and the existence of a strong traditional market for fish products. A survey of consumer behavior in the local market for tilapia and fish in general was conducted in Ghana. The data were subjected to tabulation and multivariate analysis to assess the availability of market for tilapia and the determinants of its demand among different income earners. Local production according to the survey is not able to satisfy the market. Whereas low income earners and large families are avid fish consumers, it is mostly the relatively small group of high income earners that can afford tilapia at current retail prices. The performance of Ghana was measured in terms of the relative competitiveness of the value chain of tilapia in China, Egypt and the Philippines, as well as with prices on the global market. All the three countries profiled had a cost advantage and this was a result of wide differences in the cost of some factors of production or their relative scarcity in Ghana. The cost of importing fish feed, high interest rate on credit and poor production technology were some of the bottlenecks that greatly reflected on first sale prices. While a kilogram of fish feed for instance cost US$ 0.3 in Egypt and US$ 0.53 in China, the average price in Ghana is US$ 1.96. The export price of frozen tilapia fillet from China is about US$ 1 while the retail price of frozen whole tilapia in Ghana is about US$ 6.5. Tilapia from any of the countries surveyed would be more competitive to that of Ghana not only in the global market but also on the Ghanaian local market given the current price differences.<br /> 2011-05-12T22:00:00Z Hamenoo, Edmond Kwablah http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3529 Rahman, Fatema<br /> Natural transformation is one of the three mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer by which bacteria are able to take up free DNA from the surrounding environment. In natural ecosystems, bacteria preferentially attach to surfaces, forming matrix-enclosed communities known as biofilm. Biofilm cells differ phenotypically and physiologically from their free-floating counterparts. Objective: To estimate transformation frequency in Streptococcus gordonii biofilm and compare that to transformation in a planktonic type of growth. Methods: S. gordonii challis (ATCC 35105) was grown as biofilm in appropriate liquid media. The plasmid vector pVA838 and chromosomal DNA of S. gordonii were used as donor DNA in the transformation assay. Strain-specific synthetic Competence Stimulating Peptide (CSP) was used to induce competence in S. gordonii. The biofilm was grown in polystyrene microtiter wells. Cells in the biofilm were harvested to assess the transformation frequency. Results: The transformation frequency in biofilm bacteria was found to be approximately 6-fold higher than those of planktonic counterparts. Conclusion: This result may either indicate a potential stress-related role of CSP or the fact that CSP participates in the synthesis of bacteriocin-like protein. The finding of enhanced cells in the biofilm in the presence of CSP suggests the involvement of CSP-QS system in the process of biofilm formation. Probably the most confusing finding of this present study was the dramatic increase of the OD value in the liquid culture of S. gordonii after addition of CSP in the early growth phase. This study demonstrated that S. gordonii cells were able to acquire foreign plasmid DNA much more efficiently than their planktonic counterparts in vitro. This finding suggests that biofilm growth mode may provide optimal condition for genetic transformation.<br /> 2011-05-31T22:00:00Z Rahman, Fatema http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3528 Hotvedt, Bjørnar Dahl<br /> This study examines the reasons why the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have been unable to reach an agreement for the distribution of the Total Allowable Catch for Atlantic mackerel. Whereas the allocation previously was decided by the long-standing coastal states, the EU, Norway and the Faroe Islands, changes in the mackerel’s migration pattern in a northward direction has led to Icelandic and Faroese requests for a larger portion of the resource. The “mackerel conflict” breaks out in 2010 and entails the use of sanctions as well as the setting of unilateral quotas in addition to those following from the coastal state agreement. The combined quota demands far exceed sustainable harvesting levels and will by all likelihood lead to overexploitation. The research methods were qualitative and involved the application of two-level game theory and the consideration of “win-sets” to explain the absence of co-operative management. The main finding was that the pelagic fishers effectively enjoy veto power over the outcome of the negotiations, in particular in fishery-dependent Iceland and the Faroe Islands, but to a large extent in Norway as well. Also in the EU the affected fishers have a decisive influence, although only in political terms. The parties’ many attempts at influencing each other’s positions have so far had no discernable effects and the situation begins to bear resemblance to a “tragedy of the commons”. Key words: Atlantic mackerel, European Union, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, TAC, quotas, conflict, two-level games, tragedy of the commons.<br /> 2011-05-12T22:00:00Z Hotvedt, Bjørnar Dahl http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3527 Bampoe, Audrey Anima<br /> The management of multi-species fisheries is usually challenging because of the high number of fleets and gears targeting numerous species. In recent times, the concept of metiers has been used to enable further understanding of spatio-temporal variation of species and behaviour of fishers. In the present study, an output-based approach (i.e. the use of landing data) was used to identify potential metiers in the artisanal fisheries of the Central region of Ghana. The landing data was over a five-year period – 2004-2008 and based on species caught by five main gears, namely Ali-Poli-Watsa (a type of purse seine net), beach seine, drift gill net, hook and line and set net gears. Multivariate analyses, namely Canonical Correspondence Analysis, Redundancy Analysis (RDA) and Generalized Additive Models (GAM) – were used to analyze catch per unit effort (CPUE) and revenue per unit effort (RPUE) on yearly and monthly basis respectively. The environmental variables used in the multivariate analyses were gear, year, month and temperature. It was observed that changes in catch and revenue rates followed seasonal patterns, with some gears recording their maximum revenue rates in the second semester of the year. Initially, three major gear groups were identified. Subsequent analyses led to the generation of two models – prey-gear niche and niche timeline – to further explain the interactions of the various gears across months and the implications of these to fisheries management was discussed. The results from the multivariate analyses were supplemented with data obtained from interviews of fishers in Winneba fishing community. It was observed that even though fishers had high fidelity to particular gears during fishing seasons, they sometimes diversified their target species. Lack of an alternative occupation to fishers threaten their livelihoods, thus it was recommended that fisheries managers or scientists explore ways of enhancing the resilience of fishers.<br /> 2011-05-14T22:00:00Z Bampoe, Audrey Anima http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2919 Mensah, Isaac<br /> The tuna fishery is an important sector in Ghana. In 2009, total landing of tuna in Ghana represented about 24% of total catches in the East Atlantic. Canned tuna is Ghana’s most important non-traditional export commodity in terms of foreign exchange earnings. The main focus of this thesis is to analyze the performance of Ghanaian canned tuna export to the EU -27 market. Performance is measured in terms of Ghana’s competitiveness relative to the performance of other exporting countries; namely, Cote d’ Ivoire, Ecuador, Madagascar and Thailand. The competing countries are all leading exporters of canned tuna and were chosen to reflect regional balance and different trading and tariff systems in the EU market. The performance indicators employed for the study are two measures of specialization; the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and the Revealed Symmetry Comparative Advantage (RSCA) and a measure of competitiveness, the Market Share (MS) Index using yearly data from 1999 -2009. To infer competitiveness from the changes in export value over time, a first- level Constant Market Share (CMS) analysis was used to decompose the changes in export value into a structural effect, competitive effect and second-order effect. To augment this technique, an empirical analysis on the determinants of the Ghana’s canned tuna export was conducted using the Armington trade model by OLS regression on monthly data from January 1999 – December 2009, with quantity market share as the dependent variable. The results of the indices of specialization, shows that, Ghana has comparative advantage in the export of canned tuna to the EU -27 throughout the study period. In terms of competitiveness, Ghana’s market share value has declined over the study period. Judging by the operational definition of competitiveness, Ghana has been less competitive. The CMS decomposition of changes in export values indicates that the changes in export value of Ghana can be attributed to structural effect (growth of the market) mainly. The results of the regression analysis indicate that, price ratio, the level of specialization and trade policy effect have statistically significant effect on the quantity market share of Ghana.<br /> 2010-11-29T23:00:00Z Mensah, Isaac http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2915 Pihlstrøm, Malin<br /> This study examines the sustainability of Norwegian salmon farming on the basis of its use of marine feed resources, from a biological perspective. The salmon farming industry in Norway is deemed moderately sustainable according to the assumptions and methodology applied in this thesis. However, it is pointed out that these results would most likely have been different if social and economic aspects had been included. Another aspect is that the food vs. feed issue does not accrue to the current discussion, as this is purely decided by economic considerations. The study also point out that at present, salmon is the best overall existing alternative for food production. Salmon can be produced more efficiently and with higher output than any other livestock, such as pig and poultry. The limited supply of marine resources is not considered to restrict a further expansion of the salmon farming industry in near future, but poses a challenge in the long term. Keywords: Sustainability, salmon, feed, forage fish, FCR, fisheries management<br /> 2010-11-14T23:00:00Z Pihlstrøm, Malin http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2497 Høgi, Mia<br /> Being a fisher is considered to be one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Injuries are common, and death is a recurring event. The fishers experience competition for the space they are utilize and in the most important fishing area in Norway, Lofoten and Vesterålen; the oil industry has stated their interest in what they think is the most unopened prospective area on the Norwegian continental shelf. The area is a high latitude ecosystem with few yet but abundant species; fish, sea birds and sea mammals, and is regarded to be a vulnerable area by the Institute of Marine Research. The fishers experience risk on a daily basis in their occupation, but the oil industry presents new threats through seismic activity, area access conflicts and the risk of oil spills. Through analysis of documents and interviews with relevant people the social constructionist approach to risk will deal with the fishers’ current risk, and fishers’ risk in regards to the oil industry in the case of Lofoten and Vesterålen. The results indicate that the fishers underestimate personal risks that come with the occupation while they see the possible risk with the oil industry, especially in regards to oil spills, as a real threat. The seismic activity performed during the last three years showed a large resentment toward the oil industry and the majority of the fishers are reluctant to the oil industry. Although the possibility of an oil spill in the area is regarded as diminutive by the oil industry and the Norwegian authorities, the consequences can be massive and can affect the resources the fishers’ rely on. The uncertainty in regards to oil spill, extended effects (e.g. employment opportunities) and effects on the fishing industry in addition to knowledge gaps and the fishers’ lack of control largely explains the fishers’ negative attitude to the oil industry.<br /> 2010-05-13T22:00:00Z Høgi, Mia http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2496 Siyema, Tandiwe<br /> This study examines the extent, drivers and the management of overcapacity in the South African Hake Deep Sea Trawl (HDST) fishery. The research methods were quantitatively based on input-based capacity measures and qualitatively based on subjective capacity measures. The majority of the fishing capacity that operates in the HDST fishery was brought over during the recent allocation of fishing rights in South Africa. The utilization of this capacity is limited through TAC reduction and effort control regimes. This leads to capacity underutilization which reduces employment and increases the costs of the HDST fishery. Further, this capacity under-utilization has facilitated a slight recovery of this fishery’s target stock. In economic terms, there is substantial overcapacity in the HDST fishery, indicated by capacity under-utiization. In biological terms, there is no overcapacity in this fishery as capacity utilization is restricted. In social terms, however, there is inadequate fishing capacity in the HDST fishery as capacity under-utilization induced labour-under-utilization. Hence, the above management measures work in favour of the state which is concerned with the biological aspects of the fishery. The industry which is concerned with economic aspects faces overcapacity.<br /> 2010-05-17T22:00:00Z Siyema, Tandiwe