Learning from three decades of Management Strategy Evaluation in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract South Africa is well known for being one of the first countries to implement management procedures that had been fully tested using Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE). Beginning in the early 1990s, Operational Management Procedures (OMPs) have been developed and implemented for the fisheries for seven important commercial species. Barring a few teething problems, for the first two decades, South Africa's track record of OMP implementation, with OMP-recommended catch limits being signed off by the responsible Minister without change, was exemplary. The sustainable management of some fisheries using OMPs continues without mishap, with regular reviews. However, the past decade has resulted in a number of deviations of decisions from OMP outputs following the declaration of “Exceptional Circumstances” (ECs). This occurred when a resource moved outside the range of scenarios tested at the time the OMP was developed. The reasons why ECs were declared, the methods used to recommend catch limits during ECs and whether ECs might have been avoided are reviewed. The experience gained over three decades of managing fisheries using MSE provides a basis to assess whether the highly time-intensive task of developing these OMPs has been worth the expected benefits, and to provide recommendations related to lessons learned.