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Fisheries and aquaculture Theme
Session Organizers:
Patrick Christie
Dominique Benzaken Principal issues examined: The theme of fisheries and aquaculture management is examined in four linked sessions. The initial 3 sessions will focus on 3 key broad themes which will be presented at the outset to participants
The fourth session will synthesize issues, approaches and lessons learned from these cases and discussions in order to develop recommendations for the improvement of fisheries and aquaculture management. Management frameworks and specific tools are examined with particular attention placed on how to address both social and environmental goals can be met. The role of various stakeholders in community-based and co-management processes is emphasized. Workshop 1: Experiments in fisheries management and enforcement in the Philippines (Lead facilitator Patrick Christie supported by Dominique Benzaken) Case 1: Fishing for a Secure Future: Opportunities for Reforming Fisheries Governance in the Philippines and other tropical contexts. Presenters: Patrick Christie This presentation will identify key challenges and major approaches to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management in the tropics. It will draw from the all the major regions of the world and provide a point of departure for the case studies in management approaches. Case 2: Conserving and Increasing Fish Stocks: The FISH Project Experience
Case study presenter: Rene Acosta, USAID/Philippines, Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) Project Fisheries play a key role in the social and economic life of the Philippines-providing employment, essential nutrition and even tourism enterprise opportunities for a rapidly expanding, predominantly coastal population. Yet numerous signs indicate that this valuable resource is threatened by overfishing, destructive and illegal fishing. Catch per unit effort has declined dramatically. The catches of small, subsistence fishers have dropped and some experts have begun to warn of a possible crash of selected stocks in as little as ten years. If this situation is not addressed, declining (and potentially crashing) fish stocks could lead to further biodiversity and economic losses, food insecurity, increased conflict over dwindling supplies of fish, deepening poverty, and a deteriorating quality of life for fishing communities. The primary purpose of the Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) Project is to conserve biological diversity in at least four biologically and economically important marine ecosystems in the Philippines, as measured by an increase in fish stocks and the maintenance of selected coastal resources that support them with environmental services. The Project will accomplish this objective by improving the management of these fish stocks and environmental resources such as coral reefs and mangroves, which support them. The four target ecosystems are: the Calamianes Islands in Palawan; Danajon Reef in Bohol; and Tawi-Tawi and Surigao del Sur, both in Mindanao. The FISH Project will support the efforts of the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) and selected local government units (LGU) to conserve biological biodiversity in the selected areas. The case study will present initiatives midpoint of its 5 to year implementation period and highlight lessons and experiences that take a holistic multi-pronged approach, focusing on an entire ecosystem in developing and implementing management plans, improving policies and raising public awareness and political commitment. Expected result is an increase in marine fish stocks by at least 10% from current baselines in targeted coastal and marine ecosystems within seven years. Technical assistance will cover the following components: 1) strengthen the capability of local and national institutions to manage marine fish stocks and coastal resources; 2) improve local and national policies for more sustainable use of marine fish stocks and coastal resources; and 3) build the political will to advocate for more responsible management of marine fish stocks and coastal resources. A combination of growth, control, and maintenance mechanisms are being implemented at the field level. This case study will showcase innovative interventions which include among others responsive policy actions, integration of population, health and environment activities, fisheries monitoring, baseline assessments, law enforcement interventions, and marine sanctuaries/marine protected areas networking and others. Case 3: Coastal Law Enforcement in the Philippines Case study presenter: Attorney Asis Perez, Tanggol Kalikasan. The top three violations of fishery laws in the Philippines according to a random survey by the Coastal Resource Management Project in 2001 are: commercial fishing in municipal waters: blast fishing and use of poison in fishing. Mangroves cutting, coral mining, use of fine mesh nets and aquatic pollution were also some of the common violations mentioned. Commercial fishing inside the 15 kilometers of municipal waters persists due to many push and pull factors. Some reason why they are enticed to fish inside the municipal waters are: local government permission or indifference, presence of target species, proximity to fish landings, presence of payaws, non-systematic enforcement and weak prosecution. These are some factors that pull them inside municipal waters. While some factors that push or encourage them to intrude are: weak or lack of licensing and permitting system, presence of high caliber firearms in their vessels, political backing of provincial or national officials and lack of clearly defined municipal water boundaries. Blast fishing continue to persist mainly due to two reasons: the ineffective control of nitrates and uncontrolled manufacturing and distribution of blasting caps. The use of cyanide and noxious substances in fishing exists due mainly due to two reasons also: one is the high market demand for live food and ornamental fish and two, lack of control mechanisms to detect cyanide and poison in live fish. Compounding these problems are conflicting and ambiguous policies caused by differing interpretations of the law; confusion of jurisdictional roles between authorized agencies and/or deputized local enforcers; selective enforcement stemming from political interference and discretionary prosecution; minimal punishment of offenders; lack of capacity for enforcement; and lack of public awareness (Christie, et al. 2005) To address this complex problem, the government must formulate a programmatic and systematic approach to fishery law enforcement. This would entail first and foremost, establishing a national framework for coastal law enforcement and mainstreaming of fishery law enforcement at the national and local levels with the end in view of building the capacity of frontline defenders of fishery resources namely the local government units and the Philippine National Police. This case study will provide a brief history of coastal and fishery law enforcement, historical perspectives on institutional arrangements vis-a-vis development of laws and regulations, early attempts and interventions by key enforcement agencies and current trends. Workshop 2: Large marine managed areas and MPAs as a fisheries management tools: Approaches to address conflict and multiple objectives (Lead facilitators Patrick Christie and Dominique Benzaken with assistance from workshop participant) Case 4: Promoting the sustainable use of marine resources in Kuna Yala, Panama
Case study presenter: Dr. Renate Sponer, Executive Director, Project Coordinator (sponerr@si.edu; baluuala@yahoo.com)
Partners: General Kuna Congress, Sian Ka´an Biosphere Reserve (in progress) Kuna Yala is a very special place – its natural beauty with its large expanse of primary tropical forest, the idyllic white-sand beaches of its almost 400 coral keys and the coral reefs in crystalline water, on the one hand, and its distinctive indigenous culture, where millenary traditions and knowledge are still alive and practiced, on the other – there are many reasons why explorers, tourists, anthropologists, biologists and investors alike have been attracted to it for many years. While their extraordinary tenacity, astuteness, united-ness and political organization have enabled the Kuna to preserve much of their culture and resources, their society is nevertheless changing ever more rapidly through the exposure to the modern world around them, causing an ever greater number of problems. Our organization attempts to assist communities in Kuna Yala address those problems that affect their natural resources, particularly in the marine environment. Many other NGOs, both Kuna and non-Kuna, as well as individuals, national and international governmental institutions, and even the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, are and have been carrying out projects in scientific research, applied conservation, alternative sources of income, fisheries management etc., however, they were all destined to fail, in many different ways and for different reasons. It appears, however that BALU UALA is succeeding in putting into practice important conservation measures: so far, five marine protected areas have been created, managed by community commissions, community-run fisheries management and bio-physical monitoring programs are in place, local promoters routinely impart environmental education to all sectors of the population, and children and youth clubs for nature conservation are actively working in all communities. We believe this success is due to a number of policies, such as 1) addressing the problems that affect marine ecosystems in KY in a comprehensive way, trying to take into account the links between environment, culture (own and outside), and economy; 2) working with a small budget and little resources; 3) building up the project personnel almost entirely of local non-professionals (leaders in their communities, dedicated to farming, lobster diving, etc.) who have since become well versed in the fields of coral reef ecology, basic field research and environmental education; and a three-step work plan: I) Education, information and training: our experience from working in several communities over the last two years, has taught us that it is essential to invest time and effort in making the local people experience, learn and understand the problems, their reasons and possible solutions, in order to ensure that they truly take ownership of the project; II) Research: it is indispensable to have a profound knowledge of the (web of) problems one wishes to address, including quantitative and qualitative data, in order to work efficiently and with a clear direction; III) Action: once people are aware of the problems and understand what their causes and possible solutions are, it is important that action is taken, namely specific measures that the communities (and their advisors) consider to be the most convenient, efficient and effective. Together, these policies have earned our team the respect and trust of the communities, who had over the years learned to live with and take advantage of the many big-budget, non-consultative projects that have come and gone. Case 5: Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Okinawa, Japan
Presenter: Shinichiro Kakuma MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) are considered effective for the resource management of the coral reef fisheries. MPAs are used also for the coral reef ecosystem conservation. This case study compares MPAs in five districts in Okinawa, and examines effective MPA setting methods. Because coral reef eco-system sustains coral reef fisheries, conservation of the eco-system is essential for the sustainable fisheries. The conservation of the eco-system, however, may conflict with the coral reef fisheries in the future, because the conservation possibly will restrict the fisheries. This case study tries to seek out the methods how to balance the two and how Asia-Pacific people living in the coastal areas and coral reef eco-system co-exist. Case 6: Managing spawning aggregations, a seasonally and spatially concentrated fishery resource Case study presenters: Martin Russell (martinr@gbrmpa.gov.au) and Yvonne Sadovy (yjsadovy@hkucc.hku.hk), Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations Many commercially valuable reef fish species form aggregations for the purpose of spawning. Although variable across reef fish species in their patterns and predictability of formation, these aggregations can be highly concentrated in both space and time and, hence, susceptible to particularly high levels of fishing pressure. In a number of cases, such fishing pressure has been the major factor resulting in declines and/ or losses of spawning aggregations, as well as of the fishery that they maintain. Despite their vulnerability and clear biological importance for populations persistence, the management of spawning aggregations is not commonly practiced for three key reasons. The first is that spawning aggregation management is not a typical conventional management tool, the second is that aggregations are usually not factored into marine protected area planning, and the third is that spawning aggregations give an illusion of plenty, most typically perceived as important fishing opportunities rather than life history phenomena that need protection. At ITMEMS2 a statement of concern on spawning aggregations was endorsed to raise the profile of the need for aggregation management. Since that meeting, some progress has been made towards better protection in both the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific, with protective legislation being drafted in several countries and a greater awareness on this natural phenomenon. Several case studies will be presented that demonstrated key remaining management challenges, from the perspectives of both biological knowledge and public perception. Workshop 3: Pacific Islands: Community based management and sustainable livelihoods ( lead facilitator Dominique Benzaken supported by Patrick Christie) Case 7: Sustainable livelihoods: myth or reality
Presenter: Dominique Benzaken It is widely accepted that conservation measures are likely to be adopted by local communities if they also generate income for those communities. Consequently many community based resource management projects have included in their design alternative income generating activities to offset the costs of those measures. Whilst this approach is reasonable, it is important to ensure that the goods and services proposed as alternatives (eg ecotourism, aquaculture or local crafts) are financially and economically viable, and not a subsidy in disguise or worse a cost to the community over the long term. In most cases, decision makers and in particular local communities do not have at their disposal the information nor the tools to assess the financial benefits of alternative income generation activities proposed to them. Two studies recently published on the marine aquarium trade in Fiji and the Solomon islands for SPREP, FSPI and the Governments of Solomons Islands and Fiji provide an illustration of those issues. International interest in marine aquarium products - coral, fish, invertebrates and live rock - has steadily increased over time. In terms of volume, live rock and coral are two of the most important products in the marine aquarium trade, and interest in these two products, and in other ornamental species, is growing world-wide. In 2004, Fiji supplied about 161,927 pieces of hard and soft coral and 1.36 million pieces of live rock to overseas markets, mainly in USA, Hong Kong, Japan and Europe. Fiji also exported 169,143 pieces of ornamental fish and 31,900 pieces of invertebrates (CITES database with the Fiji Fisheries Department, July 2005). For Pacific Island countries such as Fiji and Solomon islands, the marine aquarium trade is an important source of revenue for rural communities. In the Solomon islands for example, the industry gross revenue earned from the export of live and dead coral, other aquarium products and cultured coral is approximately SI$ 5.0 million/year. There has been however a growing international concern over the environmental effects of live coral and live rock harvest from the wild. While scientific evidence of the extent of ecological impacts is limited, wild harvest of coral and live rock particularly has been discouraged. Despite increasing interest and the promotion of culture of coral and live rock as an alternative source of products for aquarium trade, it is not known if coral and live rock culture is financially viable or if cultured products can compete with wild harvest as a source of income for rural communities. According to the findings of the studies, rural communities could make a reasonable profit from farming coral and live rock for sale to the aquarium trade, however, the level of income possible from culturing coral and live rock might not be able to compete at this stage with income currently earned by villagers harvesting live rock and live coral from the wild, particularly Fiji. The question is really under what conditions could farming coral and live rock be an attractive alternative for communities. For Solomon Islands villagers, switching to culturing corals could only be profitable if the scale of operation was reasonable and well structured, transports costs kept down and market price high. Other factors such as local infrastructure, availability of air cargo space and regular flights being also determinant. The lessons learnt for donors, regional organizations, government and NGOs are that community based resource management projects advocating alternative livelihoods must be supported by evidence of the viability of those alternatives, and most importantly that coastal managers are able to make to informed decisions on such options. SPREP and FSPI and ICRAN are proposing to conduct an evaluation of community alternative livelihood options and approaches taken to promote these in the South Pacific Islands, with the view to develop community-appropriate tools to enable communities to evaluate alternatives themselves. Case 8: Upscaling of community based management (LMMA) to the national level and Integrated Coastal Management
Presenter: Bill Aalbersberg In Fiji there has been considerable enthusiasm about community-based marine resources management. Participatory methods are used and the communities are encouraged and trained in skills of implementation, monitoring and analysis. Challenges have arisen in mainstreaming this approach into national policy, in developing ways to spread it throughout Fiji’s far-flung islands and integrating the community work into a broader integrated coastal management framework. This paper will present the some of the early results of these efforts. In 2000 the biodiversity and socioeconomic benefits of the locally-managed marine area (LMMA) work that had been carried out since 1995 were presented to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries. He encouraged the formation of a multi-agency group of relevant government ministries, NGOs and others who were interested in such work. This group is now known as the Fiji LMMA Network. Members have worked together to share skills and develop additional community areas in Fiji. By the end of 2005 more than 30% of the inshore area was under such management. Work in the outer islands has adopted an approach where local government officials, community representatives and volunteers are trained to carry out LMMA work in the villages in that area, with national support as needed. The LMMA approach is limited in that many marine resource management problems are outside community control. In a pilot province of Fiji, LMMA members also did participatory planning with the tourism industry, local government officials and NGOs in the area to identify threats to the coastal area and develop a joint strategic plan for coastal management. A committee with four representatives from each group plans and monitors the implementation. They also send reports of their meetings and information and policy needs to an intersectoral national ICM committee that meets bimonthly. Over a couple of years, several national policy needs have been identified which have now been endorsed by cabinet and are being implemented. These include the need for tourism master planning, special permitting for the coastal areas, better governance in villages, and a review of waste management policy. Although many challenges remain the case study shows a community-based approach and participatory methods using an adaptive management framework can result in a bottom-up identification of integrated coastal management policy needs that helps ensure national-level implementation. Case 9: Integrating Coral Farming into Coral Reef Management and as a Sustainable Community-Appropriate Alternative to the Destructive Coral Trades
Presenter: Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD Reef corals have been harvested by communities for centuries for use in construction and landfill, and burned to produce lime for cement or for human consumption with betel nut. Coral harvesting for the global curio and aquarium trades is a newer threat, and presently some 200,000 juvenile corals (5-10cm) are exported from Fiji per year, with the global demand for aquarium corals something of the order of 1-2 million colonies annually. Highly-colored corals are chiseled off the reef and in the process an unknown number of corals inadvertently break up during collection to be left dislodged on the reef. Conflicts have arisen in Fiji between the coral trade and the tourism industry. However, as coral-based industries provide an important source of income to poor communities, rather than working to ban the coral trades in our Coral Gardens Initiative reef management sites, Counterpart International and its Pacific partners prefer to work to replace the destructive wild coral trades with sustainable community-based coral farming enterprises. Coral farming thus far has proven to be a powerful hands-on awareness tool for communities and has been incorporated into coral gardening programs at resorts, used in sustainable coral reef restoration, and as a restoration measure for threatened Acropora corals in the Caribbean. This case study reports on the development of community-appropriate methods for farming second-generation corals for the aquarium trade, providing a sustainable alternative as well as a higher quality coral product. Details on methods, growth rates, and other findings are presented. The social and conservation context required for a sustainable industry supporting rather than undermining coral reef management and conservation is also discussed. Workshop 4: Challenges, issues, approaches and lessons learned from around the world. Facilitated discussion synthesizing findings from Workshops 1-3.
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