Understanding Fisheries Management Tools and Data needs Ian BERTRAM/Etuati ROPETI Coastal Fisheries Programme SPC –Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems

Outline Background to coastal fisheries Management tools/controls & role of traditional knowledge Data collection Challenges and measuring progress of community based approaches

Background 30,000 island scattered across the Pacific Ocean Just over 10 million people Coral reefs of 70 coral genera Over 4,000 fish species 30 mangrove species Finfish, Invertebrates, Mammals

Coastal fisheries resources Invertebrates Demersal fish Nearshore pelagic

Management Tools Resource management is mainly about managing people Often it involves preventing people from using damaging fishing methods and harming the environment National legislation/fisheries laws to Community rules Includes little to wide range of measures

Closures (area/time) Prohibits fishing in a particular area or season Or combination of both (e.g. spawning aggregation site closed during spawning season) Permanent, rotational, net works of several closed areas Protects resources/habitat

Limits on fishing gear/effort Banning certain fishing methods – Poisons / explosives/ torches or night fishing Certain types of gear allowed to be used in fishery as a whole or in particular areas – Boats of certain size restricted to fish in certain areas (Kiribati- certain islands) Certain people/tribes permitted to fish for particular species or in particular area.

Gear limits (cont) UBA (UBA national/community levels) Plastic/wire traps versus coral traps Nets – Types of nets (cast, beach seine, gillnet) – Length of net and mesh size

Limits on species Minimum size – Allow fish to grow to reach maturity Maximum size – Larger females produce more eggs Protecting berried females

Bag limits; Ban on exports Rotate harvest species Trochus ‘even years’, sea cucumber ‘odd years’ Coconut crabs, clams, lobster

Traditional Taboos Totem, iconic, sacred species Areas linked with superstition Lagoon/fishing closed when death in village or during mourning

Traditional practices, culture or beliefs Stock piling anadara/clams for communal use Shucking giant clams while in water Religious reasons [e.g. fish without scales, invertebrates] A mixture of management measures may be needed to achieve goals of Resource Management

Data, collection, processing, measuring progress Biological studies (life cycles, diversity) In water assessment, (density/biomass) Catch and landing information (production, CPUE) Demographic studies (size/age/maturity) Determining spawning seasons/site [when local knowledge is around for many species] Tagging, to determine connectivity/home range

Data (cont) Socioeconomic studies – Household, creel, market, census surveys Physical (substrate/water) – Habitats, Satellite imagery, mapping changes – Temperature, nitrates, phosphates (Chemistry) Challenges – Translating results to management actions – Cost, lag time in processing and producing results

Challenges Growing population or coping with growing population Pressures on resources Politics (village, provincial, state, national) Levels of governance Political will to act or devolve authority to manage resources Lower priority for coastal fisheries Legal framework

Challenges (cont) Cultural/Traditional values and practices Non-collaborations amongst practioners Limited resources/opportunities at community level Effects of climate change, what are the effects?

Measuring progress of management Before during and after studies Comparative (within and outside managed areas) Perception surveys Socio-economic surveys eg. Samoa Adaptive management

Conclusion Coastal Fisheries Management is about MANAGING PEOPLE therefore COMMUNITIES should be involved