Offshore marine protected areas: Divergent perceptions of divers and artisanal fishers

Thorough comprehension of the perceptions of offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by different local social actors is lacking, especially in developing countries. This study aims to analyze the perceptions and socioeconomic characteristics of divers and artisanal fishers of an offshore MPA, located in Brazilian waters. Data on the perceptions, conflicts, and management of the MPA were gathered through questionnaires and interviews with local actors. The results show that scuba divers and fishers consider the MPA to be very important for biodiversity. They also consider their collaboration in participative management to be of considerable importance, even though they do not form part of the administration. For local actors, the area helps foster the preservation of the marine environment and benefits recreational diving, tourism, and artisanal fishery in local communities. Divers and fishers use the resources and space of the offshore area differently, which results in diverging perceptions and conflicts. Divers propose restricted protection (No-Take Zones), while fishers propose that the MPA should be used exclusively by the poor local communities for artisanal fishing. Conflicts arising from inefficient public administration (lack of environmental zoning, management plans, and participative management) and illegal use of the MPA were also identified. Data stemming from the local actors themselves are central to reducing the conflicts and improving public policies on offshore marine conservation.     

Co-management and “consciousness”: Fishers’ assimilation of management principles in Chile

Chile's new Management Area system delegates management responsibility to organizations of artisanal shell-fishers on the condition that they team with professionally trained marine biologists. A survey of participating fishers in Chile's Fourth and Fifth regions examined four social benefits predicted to result from this type of co-management: (1) improved rapport between fishers and the state, (2) greater awareness among fishers of ecology and the benefits of management, (3) cooperation between fishers and scientists, and (4) unity between fishers. A discussion analyzes the principal benefit encountered—fishers’ newfound “consciousness” of the value of management—within the context of co-management and territorial use rights.     

Fish stocks and their management: The changing face of fisheries in South Africa

Transformation of South African marine fisheries over the past 10 years has had to balance economic stability, equity and sustainability. This is being done in three ways. First, access rights have been redistributed, increasing the number of rights holders 20-fold and the participation of historically disadvantaged individuals from 0.75% to 62%. Second, established companies have undergone internal transformation. Third, subsistence fishers have formally been recognised. New focuses include co-management, ecosystem-based management and marine protected areas. Further necessary steps include parity in salaries, attention to artisanal fishers, embracement of co-management, expansion of subsistence management and effective enforcement. Most stocks are healthy or recovering but exceptions, such as abalone, warn how quickly stocks can be decimated if co-operation is not achieved.     

Exploitation and conservation of coastal and marine fisheries in Bangladesh: Do the fishery laws matter?

The present study analysed the major features of two important acts and an ordinance in Bangladesh that govern coastal and marine fishery exploitation and conservation. The problems with the implementation of these regulations were identified, and the level of compliance among fishers and reasons for their noncompliance were assessed. Based on two case studies on coastal and marine ecosystems, the findings revealed that the level of noncompliance is highly prevalent, particularly in hilsa sanctuaries in the Meghna River estuary. The study identified coastal poverty, the inadequate and improper distribution of incentives, insufficient logistic support, limited alternative occupations, political interference and a lack of awareness regarding fishery regulations as the major limitations in the implementation. The drawbacks of proper implementation and the noncompliance of fishery regulations lead to fishery degradation, directly affect the sustainability of the coastal and marine ecosystem of Bangladesh and may be barriers to achieving Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Establishing a co-management mechanism for sanctuary management, creating economic opportunities outside of fishery sectors, declaring more protected areas in the coastal and marine ecosystem, enhancing logistic support to the enforcing agencies and building awareness are critical to improving the compliance level among fishers. Finally, the study submits that understanding the fishers’ reasons for compliance and noncompliance of the regulations is important for devising fishery policies through the consultation and engagement of stakeholders at all levels.     

Property relations and the co-management of small-scale fisheries in Costa Rica: Lessons from Marine Areas for Responsible Fishing in the Gulf of Nicoya

Marine fisheries in Costa Rica have become characterized by overexploitation, ineffective centralized management and increased conflict among fishing sectors. Despite high economic and socio-cultural importance of small-scale fisheries, no formal mechanisms existed until recently to facilitate the participation of fishers in management. Marine Areas for Responsible Fishing (Áreas Marinas para la Pesca Responsable, AMPR) were legally recognized in 2009 as a co-management approach, enabling the designation of spatial management areas to be implemented collaboratively by artisanal fishers and government agencies. In this paper, we examine property and access relations shaping this emerging participatory management model using case studies primarily from the Gulf of Nicoya region. The policy demonstrably improves upon some aspects of management, for instance, by allowing artisanal fishers to determine gear restrictions within designated areas. However, the model lacks other attributes of more successful co-management scenarios, particularly exclusive access. The fugitive nature of resources further complicates property relations over these fisheries. The cases explored also illustrate broader institutional and systemic issues that preclude effective participatory management. Lessons from the region are used to propose significant shifts to the management of small-scale fisheries in Costa Rica.     

Marine biodiversity conservation based on integrated coastal zone management (ICZM)—A case study in Quanzhou Bay,Fujian, China

Marine biodiversity conservation is a common issue in the world. Due to rapid economic development in coastal area in China, marine biodiversity conservation faces great pressure. In this paper, the idea of the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) was applied as a framework in marine biodiversity conservation. At first, the relationship between integrated coastal zone management and the marine biodiversity conservation was discussed. Then, as a case study in Fujian Quanzhou bay, a set of strategies on marine biodiversity conservation based on ICZM were put forward, which included how to define management boundary of marine biodiversity conservation, the impact assessment model of human activities in the coastal area on marine biodiversity, the planning and management of marine biodiversity conservation, and the monitoring system of the marine biodiversity. Finally, the framework of the comprehensive decision support system based on GIS was suggested.     

Unfinished business: Taiwan's experience with rights-based coastal fisheries management

This paper examines a case involving a mix of Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries, co-management and the competition for using coastal zones. In the 2000s, Taiwan's government initiated a remodeling of the fishery right system, which is a rights-based approach to fisheries management, as an attempt to address conflicts between fishers and developers regarding the use of coastal space and to put community-based co-management into practice. The paper particularly compares the system before and after 2000 and identifies areas of concern in the implementation of the remodeled system. The results show that the government's support for this system signifies progress in the right direction. However, concerns emerge, mostly involving fishers' low participation, fishermen's association's lack of technical skills and financial resources, and the division of management responsibility. The government is advised to play a more active role in dealing with these concerns. Finally, the paper reveals that the factor of competition for using coastal zones poses a challenge to co-management, and suggests a holistic view with integrated coastal management or marine spatial planning practices, for developing co-management under the fishery right system.     

“Living with our backs to the sea”: A critical analysis of marine and coastal governance in Guatemala

Guatemala's rich coastal and marine biodiversity provides essential ecosystem goods and services to local residents and the national economy through artisanal and commercial fisheries, aquaculture, port exports and, to a lesser extent, tourism. As in many other countries, national policies emphasise the significance of marine conservation and marine resources, primarily through implementing marine protected areas (MPAs). However, this assumes that governance, as reflected in legal, institutional and organizational frameworks, political capacity and human resources is sufficiently developed to ensure MPAs meet these goals. These issues are explored through presenting the first detailed analysis of coastal and marine governance in Guatemala. The research highlights a range of barriers to good governance which restrict the extent to which MPAs can function effectively. Recommendations are made which can capitalise upon the potential for locally managed marine areas as a means to facilitate the improved governance of coastal and marine resources in Guatemala.     

Heterogeneous management and conservation perceptions within the gooseneck barnacle co-management system in Asturias (N. Spain)

Stakeholders’ perceptions can influence the success of a fishery. It is important to take these perceptions into account when evaluating the development of a management system and its conservation policies. Structured questionnaires were used to determine fishers’ management and conservation perceptions of the Asturian gooseneck barnacle co-management system. Perceptions were analyzed for the entire fishery and for different socioeconomic factors, these were: location, age, years in the management system, way of access, alternative income sources and income. Fishers’ perceptions varied widely among socioeconomic factors. In fact, a trade-off between management and conservation perceptions was observed for the different categories within each socioeconomic factor, particularly for the years in the management system, location and income factors. Despite the heterogeneity in perceptions, the co-management system has successfully generated a strong conservation ethic in its resource users. Furthermore, as a group, gooseneck barnacle fishers hold positive perceptions on the performance of the management system. When generating management policies, fisheries’ managers must take the heterogeneity of resource users present in the fishery into account. The gooseneck barnacle co-management system demonstrates that even within the same fishery there can be multiple paths to sustainability.     

On crafting a fisheries co-management arrangement in the estuary of Patos Lagoon (Brazil): opportunities and challenges faced through implementation

This paper aims to analyze a fisheries co-management regime in Brazil. The Forum of the Patos Lagoon, a collaborative partnership among communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, was established to move fisheries management toward a negotiation-style decision processes. We find that while many successes are evident including the delegation of decision power, greater protection of artisanal fisheries, and greater legitimacy assigned the Forum as a decision-making body, several problems remain. These include conflicting institutional arrangements; minimal recognition of local fishers’ interests as concerns rules established; and less than optimal participation of fishers in the Forum. The paper closes with multiple suggestions for improvements of this co-management regime.     

Coastal biodiversity management in Japanese satoumi

Evidence accumulates that better management of coastal biodiversity outside of protected areas will be necessary to halt current trends of depletion. Japanese satoumis are human-influenced coastal seas that are both productive and rich in biodiversity. Satoumi has gained interest within and outside Japan as a field-tested approach to conciliate sustainable ecosystem use and conservation of biodiversity. This paper provides a review of new reports on field implementation of satoumi in Japan. An analysis identifying key institutional features that foster satoumi is provided as well. A great variety of active conservation measures that do not rely on the exclusion of human influence to manage biodiversity are being assessed. Some are centuries-old, such as river basin forestry, some more recent such as seagrass transplants or artificial tidal flats. Crucial to their success are the involvement of local communities and the voluntary contribution of significant labour by ecosystem users, mostly fishers. These contributions from fishers’ communities are an internalisation of the costs of conservation by the economic activity that benefits from it. Rather than a cultural specificity, the latter appears to rest essentially on collective ownership of territorial use-rights, strong local collective structures that enforce the community's interest, and the availability of active conservation measures as options to contribute to biodiversity management through manual work in the ecosystem. It is argued that as the effectiveness of these approaches becomes demonstrated, they should be adequately accounted for in international agreements and targets for biodiversity conservation.     

Fish wars: Conflict and collaboration in fisheries management in Southeast Asia

As a result of declining and overfished small-scale nearshore fisheries in Southeast Asia, there are increasing conflicts and social tensions between and among different user groups, leading to coastal “fish wars”. A challenge facing fishers, resource managers and national decision makers in the region is to identify more appropriate governance and public policy mechanisms to manage conflicts over fishery resources and to resolve them productively in the interests of both long-term sustainability and short-term economic feasibility. A quantitative analysis undertaken in selected coastal communities in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam with and without co-management indicate that co-management does lead to reduced resource conflict levels. The analysis has also shown that when resource conflicts are reduced, food security improves.     

Participatory artisanal fisheries management in islands: Application to the Canary Islands (Spain)

Socio-economic development of small-island fishing communities is greatly dependent on local coastal and marine resources. However, illegal fishing and aggressive practices in insular ecosystems lead to over-exploitation and environmental deterioration. Moreover, a lack of scientific data increases uncertainty and prevents the adequate monitoring of marine resources. This paper focuses on the integration of local fishing communities into decision-making processes with the aim of promoting artisanal fishing on the Island of Tenerife (the Canary Islands), as a way to preserve the marine ecosystem and socio-economic development of traditional cofradias (fishers' organisations). A qualitative methodological framework, based on participatory problem-solution trees and focus groups, was used to identify the main factors impeding the sustainable development of the artisanal fishing sector on the island and to elaborate collective proposals with policy implications. The fishing community involved identified four main issues that are maintaining an unsustainable island fishery: 1) Over-exploitation; 2) Poor self-management of cofradias and commercialisation problems; 3) Fisher individualism and low co-management strategies, and 4) Illegal fishing increase vs. artisanal fishing decline. Results show the required policy enhancements to tackle them and the need to adapt regulations to the local situation.     

海洋生物多样性保护空间规划分区体系构建及其在泉州湾的应用

基于海岸带综合管理的理念,通过海域生态环境敏感性评价与海域生物多样性保护重要性评价,综合利用地理相关分析法、空间叠置法等定性和定量分区相结合的方法进行海洋生物多样性保护空间规划分区划界,提出了海洋生物多样性保护空间规划分区体系,将规划区域划分为生物多样性重点保护区、生物多样性养护区和生物多样性保护重点监督区.以福建泉州湾为案例,应用海洋生物多样性保护空间规划分区体系,得出泉州湾生物多样性保护极重要地区是泉州湾河口湿地省级自然保护区,泉州湾生物多样性保护比较重要地区是晋江河口、洛阳江河口、晋江南岸地区及清源山.泉州湾海洋生物多样性保护空间规划分区方案共划定26个分区,包括生物多样性重点保护区3个,生物多样性养护区14个,生物多样性保护重点监督区9个.泉州湾的应用结果表明,本研究提出的海洋生物多样性保护空间规划分区体系具有一定的可行性和可操作性,可为泉州湾生物多样性保护管理提供重要科学依据.     

A tenuous triumvirate: The role of independent biologists in Chile's co-management regime for shellfish

Fisheries co-management is usually defined by shared decision-making between fishers and the state. Chile's co-management regime for shellfish differs from the norm by incorporating a third party: independent biological consultants. This paper evaluates Chile's system and compares three-party co-management to two-party systems. It finds that consultants fulfill functions absent in two-party co-management, such as playing an intermediary role between fishers and the state, and also perform certain functions better than either of the other two entities involved, such as acting as a credible and objective source of information. It then discusses ways to perfect Chile's system, such as stepping up knowledge transfer activities so as to further empower fishers.     

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.     

Estimating the potential impact of entry fees for marine parks on dive tourism in South East Asia

Marine reserves are increasingly being established as a mechanism to protect marine biodiversity and sensitive habitats. As well as providing conservation benefits, marine reserves provide benefits to recreational scuba divers who dive within the reserve, as well as to recreational and commercial fishers outside the reserve through spill-over effects. To ensure benefits are being realised, management of marine reserves requires ongoing monitoring and surveillance. These are not costless, and many marine reserve managers impose an entry fee. In some countries, dive tourism is major income source to coastal industries, and a concern is that high entry fees may dissuade divers. In this paper, the price elasticity of demand for dive tourism in three countries in South East Asia – Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia – is estimated using a travel-cost model. From the model, the total non-market use value associated with diving in the area is estimated to be in the order of US$4.5 billion a year. The price elasticity of demand in the region is highly inelastic, such that increasing the cost of diving through a management levy would have little impact on total diver numbers.     

Development trajectories and impacts on coral reef use in Lingayen Gulf,Philippines

Management interventions to reduce pressures on coral reefs often include attracting fishers to non-extractive non-fishery supplemental livelihoods. We look at the case of coral reefs in Lingayen Gulf, Philippines to understand the impacts of local (i.e., aquaculture and tourism), regional, and national development on the artisanal fisheries sector. Using household surveys and a coral reef interaction index (CRII), we obtained relative levels of dependency and impacts of fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism on coral reefs for livelihood. Results show that overall dependency on coral reefs remains high despite its decreasing quality. Socio-economic profiles reveal steep hurdles in shifting fishers to aquaculture. Both aquaculture and fisheries will continue to grow and eventually compete for space if left unmanaged further resulting in reduced reef quality. Shifts of fishers to tourism-based and other low-capital requirement mariculture (e.g., sea ranching) are more realistic than the expectation of absorbing fishers into current aquaculture businesses. Strengthening local coastal governance capacity to improve proactive responses for micro–macro development interactive synergy will also help reduce the impacts of development on reefs. Improving safety nets for coastal communities through skills enhancement and supplemental livelihood options that facilitate stewardship and reef recovery is an imperative. Transforming the lessons learned at village level actions to sustain municipal scale programs and institutional cooperation among stakeholders such as through marine protected area networks remain a challenge. Sharing forums and joint financing of coastal resource management remain to be realized through public and private partnerships and expansion of development for investments in social enterprises.     

Fishers’ compliance motivations: A case study of the Sultanate of Oman

This study identifies factors that are likely to influence compliance motivations as perceived by artisanal fishers and investigates whether there is any locational difference in relation to fishers’ views of the agreed factors. A total of 100 face-to-face interviews were conducted involving randomly selected fishers from two coastal towns of the Al-Batinah Governorate of Oman. A two-stage process was adopted to obtain fishers’ assessment on each compliance factor. For some cases, statistically significant differences in respondents’ level of agreements were noted. The key results from the survey were discussed along with management implications. Based on the findings it is argued that a hybrid approach to enforcement, perhaps, be necessary to influence fishers’ compliance motivations. Although the assurance of conveying robust statistical inferences on the subject-matter based on a small sample size would not be practical however, consistent replication of the present study should help ensuring validity of the results and generating insights into the design of effective compliance strategies to promote resource stewardship and long-term sustainability.     

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.