An Overview Of Our Solution
The success story of the co-management of a sea-cucumber fishery
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Océanos/Costas
Community Type
Suburbano
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Europa
Problem
Describe the problem
An innovative co-management system has been developed between a Melanesian community and the provincial Fisheries Department to implement an adaptive harvesting strategy to sustain a small-scale commercial sea cucumber fishery. This system is based on a five-step cycle : 1) cost-effective participative monitoring of sea cucumber biomass, 2) direct stock assessment derived from observation data and habitat mapping, 3) definition of total allowable catches (TAC), 4) short and periodical openings of the fishery, 5) temporary closure of the fishery when the TAC has been filled. A shared decision-making process has ensured that fishers are the first beneficiaries of this unique and successful approach to sea cucumber fisheries management.
Biodiversity Impact
Our solution was implemented after local fishers detected a decrease in commercial-sized sandfish and asked the provincial Fisheries Department for assistance. Today the sustainability (and even growth) of the sandfish fishery looks achieved. The status of the resource has been assessed seven times through participative in situ monitoring surveys following a standardized sampling design since June 2008. Estimations show that the total stock has increased by 123 % in biomass (from 84 t to 188 t) and by 109 % in number (from 345,000 to 720,000 individuals) between June 2008 and October 2011. The biomass of commercial-sized sandfish (20 cm and above) has almost tripled from 13 t (28,000 individuals) to 40 t (99,000 individuals) during this period. The fast recovery of the sandfish population shows evidence of the sustainable level of both current exploitation rate and natural recruitment. Our co-management system has indeed significantly increased the density of mature adults (from 11 to 72 individuals.ha-1) and likely improved the reproductive success. Additionally, sandfish are natural scavengers that live on soft bottoms and sea grass areas in particular, and may encourage a number of ecological interactions by burying in and ingesting the sediments. Though the full impacts of sandfish overfishing has only be partly explored by the scientific community, their removal is expected to affect sea grass productivity in particular. Conversely, our management approach may have therefore improved the sea grass system by maintaining a higher density of sandfish over the area.
Solution
Given the success of our co-management system, the area is given a high focus in the community to protect the ecosystem - which is communityƒ??s marine natural capital - against potential local threats. The direct benefits from the sandfish fishery are indeed obviously linked to ecosystem health, including marine biodiversity. The area is lightly populated and main human-induced degradation risks come from the growing mining industry. Indeed the fishery is located on the largest sea grass bed of New Caledonia in the vicinity (15 km) of the construction site of a major processing plant (www.koniambonickel.nc). The mining company has implemented an environment monitoring program (both marine and terrestrial) since 2007 following New Caledonia legislation but the fishery area was not included in its survey area. In 2010 sandfish fishers claimed to extend the regulatory survey area northward and to install new permanent sediment monitoring stations to detect early signals of sea grass degradation. Besides, monetary returns from the sandfish fishery (see below) have allowed small-scale fishers to decrease fishing pressure on other coral reef and mangrove resources (such as trochus Trochus niloticus, mangrove crab Scylla serrata, and dozens of reef fish species). This has resulted in a more balanced exploitation regime which is likely to prevent overharvesting and biodiversity alteration in the whole communityƒ??s customary area. // Our co-management system has been developed over communityƒ??s main fishing ground for sandfish (2,570 ha). The survey area is currently extended to two smaller fishing grounds (741 ha and 132 ha) to protect all sandfish resources of the communityƒ??s customary marine areas. Given that the sandfish population is heterogeneously distributed, site-specific assessments and TACs must be defined. Given indirect effects of sandfish fishery sustainability on the surrounding ecosystem that is exploited by communityƒ??s fishers (as mentioned above), our solution is likely to impact about 8,200 ha. Additionally, this solution is currently under development in two neighbor communities where preliminary fisher consultations and sandfish stock assessments have already been conducted. Their global and sandfish fishing areas extend over about 23,200 and 2,300 ha respectively. A 13-minute documentary was produced in 2010 by the IRD to share and discuss this experience with other fisher communities, governmental and non governmental agencies, and scientists across the Pacific (www.ird.fr/la-mediatheque/videos-en-ligne-canal-ird/dans-un-esprit-de-cogestion). This film has already been used in some communities of Vanuatu as a tool to initiate and promote sustainable fisheries co-management. It was also presented by myself and the filmmaker Jean-Michel Bor?? in June 2011 at the ƒ??People in placesƒ? film festival in Halifax, Canada (www.coastalcura.ca/cap_follow2.html#Films).
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 3 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? Yes // My contribution as a fisheries scientist consisted in defining the local stock assessment-and- TAC approach to fishery management. This option has met local needs from the community and the provincial Fisheries Department to achieve sustainable harvesting. At the beginning of the co-management process, I defined a reliable and effective participating monitoring program based on an easy-to-use observation method and an appropriate sampling design. Then I have provided direct stock estimates and associated uncertainty based on statistical inference from 2008 to 2010. These results were given to the provincial Fisheries Department to define TACs together with the community. I suggested in 2010 to improve 1) the autonomy of the provincial Fisheries Department from outside agencies (e.g., the IRD) in terms of methodological and statistical assistance, and 2) its efficiency by speeding field data processing and the feedbacks to the community, to manage this system in the long term. To achieve these goals we produced a methodological guide for field observations and a user-friendly database to store and process automatically observation data. These 2 tools have strengthened the locally-based initiative which is today entirely self-managed. I’ve been currently promoting this approach to sea cucumber fishery management in other areas in the Pacific to up-scale its potential outputs in terms of local benefits, fisheries sustainability and biodiversity conservation.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
Our co-management system firstly aims to optimize sandfish harvest and secure monetary benefits to about 50 fishers’ households (~200 people). Today fishers find it very effective as resources have been increasing while their activity has become much more profitable. The number of fishers involved in the fishery has indeed increased from 50 to 80 as the annual sandfish TAC doubled between 2008 (22 t) and 2011 (45 t). Direct monitoring of sales has allowed to assess economic outputs of the system since its implementation. The average annual income per fisher was 2,400 EURO in 2010 (+20 % compared to 2008) and reached 5,000 to 10,000 EURO for regular fishers. Though this income may seem low compared to other salary jobs, fishing requirements in terms of equipment (sandfish are collected by hand) and time (e.g., the fishery was opened only 21 days in 2010) are limited allowing fishers to carry out social and non monetary activities as part of their traditional livelihoods. Sandfish harvesting is now perceived as a sustainable alternative to low qualified jobs from the mining sector in the area. Two neighbor communities have initiated such a management approach (see above) which has been consequently impacting an increasing number of people. // The governance system gives full control to the community. Importantly, all fishing rules (except legal size) have been suggested by local fishers, have no formal institutional recognition (they are therefore enforced only by the community), and were approved by consensus. Nevertheless the continuous support of the provincial Fisheries Department has been essential to strengthen the locally-based decision-process and to bring assessment results back to the community. Fishing regulations have been highly adaptive: this has promoted fishers’ participation in monitoring and decision-making during the 3-year co-management process and has resulted in a highly-controlled fishery. Management rules include TAC definition and short openings (1 to 3 consecutive days per month) followed by a single-day sale to allow for a careful monitoring of catch. The fishery is closed when the TAC has been reached (see § 5). Maximum TACs are derived from commercial-sized sandfish biomass estimates following a precautionary approach to account for uncertainty of estimations. Management success is measured by stock monitoring which has been given a high focus to ensure its relevance to local fishers. Fishers decided progressively to implement additional informal rules to share economic returns while maintaining attractive individual incomes: access to the fishery has been restricted through the licensing of fishing boats, all authorized fishers must register before temporary openings, and individual quotas per fishing period have been defined (200 kg per fisher).