Efforts to reduce sea turtle bycatch in the shrimp fishery in Northeastern Brazil through a co-management process

The neritic waters of the state of Sergipe in Northeastern Brazil is adjacent to the main nesting area of the olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the Western Atlantic Ocean and an important area for shrimp trawl fishery. To address the problem of incidental mortality of sea turtles captured during trawling and reduce the risk of overexploitation of shrimp stocks, Projeto TAMAR/ICMBio, a Brazilian sea turtle conservation program, has adopted two main strategies: (1) the implementation of a marine monitoring program and (2) active participation in local forums. This paper describes the conflicts among stakeholders, the arrangements and established mechanisms of negotiation aimed to protect sea turtles and shrimp grounds, and strategies to reduce conflicts between user groups. The analysis of this co-management process highlights the importance of stakeholder participation in resource management decision-making through a cooperative process, the role assumed by non-governmental organizations as mediators, and the factors that influence this system. The key factors and actions learnt from the current study include clear identification of the conflicts, identification of stakeholders – both local and external, and local leaders, encouragement of actors and leaders to participate, support and strengthening of local groups, legitimization of the discussion forums through involvement with government, formalization of decisions taken through legislation, and monitoring of the management efficacy.     

Co-management and adaptive co-management: Two modes of governance in a Honduran marine protected area

Selecting the best mode of governance for marine protected areas (MPAs) especially in developing countries has generated considerable controversy in the academic and policy literature during the last 20 years. In this article, two modes – co-management (CM) and adaptive co-management (ACM) – are analysed in detail, and an examination is made of an attempt to put these modes sequentially into practice in the first (2003–2009) and second (2008–2013) management plans, respectively, of the Cayos Cochinos MPA (CCMPA) in Honduras. Extensive fieldwork was carried out during 2006–2010 in three communities dependent on the CCMPA (Rio Esteban, Nueva Armenia, and Chachahuate) including key informant interviews, focus group meetings, household surveys, and participant observation. The paper’s findings are (1) that while the first plan implemented some CM principles (such as sharing responsibility between government, stakeholders and NGOs) it failed to deliver other CM principles (such as transparency and accountability); and (2) that while the second plan increased participation and transparency, and used a more adaptive approach, it still left many stakeholders out of the decision-making process, and its processes of experimentation, monitoring and social learning were very limited. The fact is that CM and ACM are laudable objectives, but very difficult to implement in full.     

Co-management of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) fisheries

The countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have a relatively poor record of fisheries management and the need to reform fisheries governance is urgent. There is now increasing interest in getting fishers and other stakeholders more involved in management through co-management and community-based management approaches. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potentials of co-management as an alternative fisheries management strategy for the countries in the CARICOM region. Co-management is found to have potential but there will need to be capacity-building and institutional strengthening of fisheries departments, fishers and NGOs to participate in co-management. Pilot projects should be initiated to gain practical experience in co-management.     

Participatory methodology used for sea urchin co-management in Barbados

This project aimed to develop co-management of exploited marine fishery resources in Barbados using the sea urchin fishery as a test case. The approach was to work with stakeholders, primarily the fishers, to establish a co-management mechanism that could be operated by the fishers themselves with technical and advisory support from the Fisheries Division. The project used Technology of Participation (ToP) methodology, developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA). ToP methods used included Focused Conversation and Participatory Strategic Planning. To our knowledge, this methodology has not previously been applied in small-scale fisheries co-management. Fishers involvement was developed in stages: identification of groups of fishers in communities and a contact person for the group; dialogue with individuals and the small groups; discussion in larger groups to derive approaches to management; and full group participation to reach consensus regarding the most appropriate approach to management. Key persons identified in communities helped organize meetings to discuss the sea urchin fishery. From these community meetings, individuals were selected to take part in the strategic planning. Two vision meetings with separate groups of fishers, produced similar results. These groups were combined at a planning meeting, where fishers examined the blocks to achieving the vision, developed strategies to overcome the blocks, and an action plan to implement the strategies. Fishers and government officials concluded that the methodology had successfully facilitated the input of both parties and produced a workable, consensual approach.     

Can co-management emerge spontaneously? Collaborative management in Sri Lankan shrimp aquaculture

Shrimp aquaculture in northwestern Sri Lanka shows co-management like features. To understand the reasons behind co-management and to identify the mechanisms by which co-management is carried out, the paper examines shrimp aquaculture operations in three coastal communities using a case study approach. Water from an interconnected lagoon system is the key input for shrimp ponds, but it is also the potential source of shrimp disease outbreaks that threaten all shrimp farms. Farmers try to prevent the spread of disease by co-operating to adjust the timing of water intake and wastewater release. This is done through a zonal crop calendar system which is developed and implemented by a vertically integrated institutional structure with three levels: sub-zonal/community, zonal, and national. Partnerships, overall sharing of power and authority, and learning-by-doing are key features of this collaborative management system. The case shows that adaptive co-management can develop through collaborative problem-solving over time, even in the absence of legal arrangements.     

Regional cooperation for European seas: Governance models in support of the implementation of the MSFD

During the implementation process of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Member States are expected to cooperate and coordinate at the regional sea level as wells as arrange stakeholder involvement. However, the MSFD does not specify any governing structures to do so. The aim of this paper is to address these key challenges of the MSFD by developing four governance models for regional cooperation and assess their impact on governance performance. The four models are based on the building blocks of stakeholder involvement (low or high) and decision-making power (binding or non-binding decisions): (1) Cross-border platforms; (2) Regional Sea Convention-PLUS; (3) Advisory Alliance and (4) Regional Sea Assembly. Secondly, the paper will do an ex ante assessment on how the alternative models will have an impact on governance performance. The assessment criteria for governance performance are: (a) costs to set up and run a model; (b) capacity to cooperate; (c) policy coordination; (d) institutional ambiguity; and (e) implementation drift. In addition to this assessment of the performance based on expert judgement (i.e. scientists of WP7 of the ODEMM project), 4 roundtable discussions have been undertaken in which stakeholders from the four regional seas did an assessment of the four models. The main conclusion is that increasing stakeholder participation, a much desired development in regional organisation of marine management as expressed by the stakeholder community, will increase the costs of the policy making process. If stakeholder participation is not embedded in a wider institutional setting in which the participation of stakeholders is directly related to the policy process and the degree to which decisions taken are binding, the increase of costs does not lead to a more smoothly running model.     

Towards a functional typology of small-scale fisheries co-management informed by stakeholder perceptions: A coral reef case study

Co-management has gained significant traction in small-scale fisheries as part of the solution for resolving economic inefficiency, unsustainable harvesting and unequal distribution of benefits derived from fisheries, generating some promising results. Most studies, however, present co-management as the sharing of power between resource users and centralised government, and do not explicitly consider the role of a more diverse set of stakeholders, or what roles different stakeholder types are best positioned to perform. This paper contributes to our understanding of stakeholder diversity by determining, through surveys with 133 fishery stakeholders in Solomon Islands, which stakeholder types are perceived as most suited to particular co-management roles, and which stakeholder types should be collaborating to increase fishery stocks. The effect of respondent socio-demographics, on perceived roles, is tested to explore the value of the role typology. Ten dominant roles were identified across seven stakeholder types, including collaboration and raising awareness, which were perceived to be dominantly the domain of auxiliary stakeholders that are not explicitly recognised in the co-management literature, including NGOs and church leaders. Of the socio-demographic variables tested, only site explained some of the variation in stakeholder roles perceived by respondents. The primary value of the typology lies in its potential to be used as a basis for dialogue on strengths and weaknesses of allocated roles for increasing fish stocks in existing co-management systems.     

Engaging stakeholders in fisheries and marine research

Despite knowledge-brokering being of high interest to public policy, there is a lack of research integrating the knowledge of stakeholders and scientists, principally because public policies remain viewed as top-down controlled. To help European research policies make a positive difference to society, there is a need to better engage stakeholders with the delivery of research and to demonstrate an impact and value that it brings. The pertinent question addressed by this communication is: how can a deeper and more systematic engagement of stakeholders be enabled through European research activities? Enabling stakeholder participation in European research activities requires there to be an incentive for researchers and stakeholders to engage, and the capacity of stakeholders to operate effectively in the research framework. Unsurprisingly, the establishment of communications and cultures conducive to shared problem solving is high priority, as is the need to work towards a governance structure that helps link research with policy outcomes, while at the same time resonating directly with stakeholders. The Regional Advisory Councils could be a strong force in bringing stakeholders knowledge to bear on the scientific issues relevant to management, but their strategy and capacity to mobilise the skills to do so are not yet ready.     

Trust relationships between fishers and government: New challenges for the co-management arrangements in the Dutch flatfish industry

Until the 1990s fisheries were largely managed by the state. Since then, Dutch government and the sector increasingly recognized that a fishing industry cannot be managed effectively without the cooperation and participation of fishers to formulate policy and to implement and enforce laws and regulations. As a result, in the nineties, the existing neo-corporatist arrangement was replaced by a co-management system in the Dutch flatfish fishery. Co-management is often seen as leading to greater procedural legitimacy and subsequently compliance. However, constructing an effective co-management arrangement is not only a matter of building institutions but also a matter of building trust relations between the government and industry. Institutional arrangements such as co-management can contribute to these trust building processes; however, a too strong reliance on institutional arrangements can lead to distrust when new challenges are being faced and institutional arrangements fail to adapt to these changes.     

Perceived concerns and possible management strategies for governing ‘wind farm–mariculture integration’

In offshore waters of the German North Sea multiple stakeholder activity is increasing in both type and intensity. Newcomers such as wind farms make for additional claims and exclude, due to current legal constraints, other sectors, such as traditional fisheries. In this context, integrating marine aquaculture with designated wind farm areas might provide chances to combine two industries in the frame of a multiple-use concept. This paper takes up concerns and possible management framework requirements as expressed through interviews with the wind farm industry and the mussel harvesting sector when inquiring about such a multiple-use setting. The article closes with a discussion on two co-management strategies that might be appropriate for governing potential interacting wind farm–mariculture activities.     

From ad hoc towards the institutionalisation: An assessment of Malaysia's policy evolution on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Malaysia's policy on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (A&SO) in the last three decades has evolved from being focused on diplomatic engagement to pioneering science in cooperation with the international community and strengthening science diplomacy by becoming a member of the international governance of Antarctic. Through process-oriented evaluation, the aim of this study is to map out the development of Malaysia's policy on the Antarctic region (from 1982 to 2016) and consequently, identify the current capacities and future needs to strengthen its involvement. This study reveals that Malaysia's policy on A&SO has strong integration in foreign affairs, science and technology (S&T), and the environment, and the involvements are parallel with the national development plan. To move forward, Malaysia is currently establishing a suitable governance structure and a long-term management plan to ensure a long-term political commitment, sustain investment of resources and strengthen the dynamic participation of stakeholders. This study advances the scholarly understanding of the political processes and challenges to Malaysia's Antarctic policy development, in its journey towards institutionalisation which will create distinctive and valuable positions for Malaysia to contribute to current debates on the future of the Antarctic region. In the context of ad-hoc decision on certain policy, this case study will contribute relevant information about the development process, issues and challenges on policy through ad-hoc implementation.     

The engagement of stakeholders in the marine spatial planning process

Due to the interdependency that exists between the ecosystem resources and its users, successful implementation of ecosystem-based management depends on the identification and understanding of different stakeholders, their practices, expectations and interests. Today, many scientists and resource managers agree that the involvement of stakeholders is a key factor for a successful management regime in the marine environment. The way stakeholders are involved in the process must reflect, or at least address, the existing complexity of the specific context. A comprehensive method that allows doing this is by use of stakeholder analysis and mapping. This article will focus on the various types and stages of stakeholder participation in a marine spatial planning process, and will illustrate how to conduct a stakeholder analysis that allows the involvement of stakeholders in an adequate way that is sustainable over time.     

Engaging Los Angeles County subsistence anglers in the California marine protected area planning process

Ecosystem-based management is more successful when a great diversity of stakeholders is engaged early in a decision-making process. Implementation of the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) has been stakeholder-based, coordinating the participation of a wide range of people including divers, fishermen, conservationists, local officials, business owners and coastal residents. Although commercial and recreational fishermen have actively participated throughout the MLPA implementation process, and research related to California’s sport and commercial fisheries has been integrated into the process, pier and shore anglers have been relatively unengaged as stakeholders. This study was completed to generate information about pier angler understanding and sentiment towards marine protected areas (MPAs), as well as to educate anglers on the MLPA implementation process in southern California and inform them on involvement opportunities. Of the 3030 pier anglers surveyed over 12 months, 78% only fish for subsistence from piers and from shore (never from boats); 84.6% are of non-White/Euro-American ethnicity and speak English as a second language; and 82% indicated that they were supportive of establishing a strong network of MPAs in southern California, specifically fully-protective no-take marine reserves. This study is an example of an alternative and customized method of outreach designed to reach a unique and previously unengaged stakeholder group, which stands to be affected by the implementation of the MLPA in California. Engaging such non-traditional stakeholders in public policy may be critical for decision makers to gauge all views from those standing to be affected by a policy—not just the views of those that regularly attend policy meetings—and for the ultimate success of policy implementation and community support.     

Stakeholders’ participation in the fisheries management decision-making process: Fishers’ perceptions of participation

Public participation is a key ingredient of good governance and there are many advantages of involving stakeholders in the decision-making process. The European Commission identified the lack of stakeholder involvement as one of the major weaknesses of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). As such, the 2002 Reform of the CFP aimed to improve its system of governance by increasing the involvement of stakeholders in decision-making. Over the last decade, Scottish inshore waters have seen an increase in management measures focused on involving fishers, delegating responsibilities and decentralizing management. The present document investigates commercial inshore fishers’ perceptions of participation in the decision-making process and attitudes towards a new management regime – the Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) – which aims to increase participation in and decentralization of inshore fisheries management. A survey was conducted, through face-to-face interviews, and ordered logistic and multiple regression models created to identify which characteristics influence fishers’ perceptions and attitudes. The present analysis concluded that, 5 years subsequent to the reform of the CFP, the majority of inshore fishers perceive themselves not to be consulted or involved in the decision-making process. However, and despite the fact that fishers are not completely certain of the potential of the IFGs to increase their participation in the management process, they have an overall positive attitude towards their implementation.     

Eliciting stakeholder preferences: An application of qualitative and quantitative methods to shrimp aquaculture in the Indian Sundarbans

The Sundarbans region of West Bengal in India is inhabited by small-scale farmers and traditional rice paddy-cum-prawn cultivators. Recent policy initiatives by the Government of India may facilitate expansion of commercial shrimp aquaculture in the future, setting the stage for potential conflicts between local stakeholders. We used qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the preferences of local stakeholders for alternative management options related to shrimp aquaculture development in the region. We then derived management recommendations for the development of shrimp aquaculture in the region that would minimize the environmental impacts of shrimp aquaculture, distribute the economic benefits of shrimp aquaculture more equally and develop alternative opportunities for income generation, especially for shrimp Fry Collectors.     

Developing a co-management financing mechanism to enhance the financial sustainability of marine protected areas in Taiwan

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a cost-efficient and management-effective tool. Fishery Resource Conservation Zones (FRCZs) are one type of MPA in Taiwan, and they were designated to ensure the sustainability of fishery resources since 1976; however, government appropriations are the only financing source for FRCZs, leading to manpower and equipment shortages for FRCZ management. This study selected the Touching and Suao FRCZs in Yilan County of Taiwan as cases studies. To assess the feasibility of establishing a sustainable financing mechanism for MPAs, the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was applied to examine respondents׳ willingness to pay (WTP) to setup a fund for FRCZ management. The empirical results indicated that approximately 90% of respondents would be willing to donate funding for MPAs, and the WTP per respondent is NT$586.51 (US$19.6). Thus, establishing an MPA fund is a feasible way to operate Taiwanese MPAs through a co-management framework involving the central government, local government, local communities and stakeholders. However, based on our empirical results, a co-management financing mechanism for MPAs should be established to ensure stable and diverse financing sources.     

User participation and institutional change in fisheries management: a viable alternative to the failures of ‘top-down’ driven control?

This article investigates the role and value of user participation in fisheries management. New empirical data on changes in the institutional structure of fisheries management systems is presented by examining the management structure of two Danish fisheries. The analysis focuses on how user participation functions are institutionalized as co-management between administrators and user groups. General lessons for successful user participation in management are deduced. The paper concludes that co-management is able to overcome some of the fundamental problems related to modern fisheries management and that co-management can work as an active and effective management tool rather than as an impediment to efficient management.     

Weaknesses in the ethical framework of aquaculture related standards

This paper presents some results from a critical review of how well aquaculture standards fulfil their intentions to promote sustainable aquaculture. The focus was on revealing possible weaknesses in the ethical frameworks of the investigated documents, particularly with regard to less powerful stakeholders in aquaculture production and trade. The review revealed a bias across the standards in the sense that they devote most attention to an instrumental approach to environmental health, at the expense of social sustainability considerations. This indicated an asymmetry in the sense of more concern for the interests of the relatively affluent European seafood consumers than the interests of the poorer Asian aquaculture producers and their livelihood conditions. Two moves needed in the aquaculture standard industry are advised. One is to practically enhance the involvement and power of the weaker groups. The other is to secure pragmatically and politically feasible implementations of ideal theoretical ambitions.