Fisheries Newsletter No 154 (September–December 2017)

Editorial

The picture below was taken in Papua New Guinea. Would you like to know what this man is celebrating? Here’s the story.

This fisherman is coming ashore on a bay that is managed by two communities with the guidance of two older brothers and their middle-aged sons. One of the sons had been exposed to conservation methods from elsewhere and started advocating for using such methods 10 years ago, after a flood wiped out a village. The man was certain that the flooding was due to mangrove cutting in the watershed. He convinced the communities to implement a series of taboos on mangrove cutting and fishing within 30% of the bay. The communities also decided to set up a mangrove nursery – they have been planting mangrove seedlings – and to control how many people can fish and which types of fishing gear can be used.

When this picture was taken, eight years later, small pelagic fish had returned in abundance, together with other species that had not been seen for years. The communities now enjoy such an abundance of small pelagic fish that it is enough for one person – such as the fisherman here – to fish for one or two hours using a small-mesh gill net over the sandy bottom and come home with enough fish for everyone.

What the story shows is that very localised management can benefit communities. If you have heard of similar stories, please share them with us.

Jeremy Prince took the picture, and in this issue, he writes about how to provide communities with tools to manage their own resources. The topic was also discussed during the first SPC Regional Technical Meeting on Coastal Fisheries, which focused on data collection for coastal fisheries management.

Aymeric Desurmont
Fisheries Information Specialist