Creation | fishrefuge

In this second phase, facilitators will collaborate with local communities, resources users, and other invested parties to determine the placement, size, and boundaries of the reserves. Creating these boundaries includes integrating local knowledge, science, and stakeholder goals. Additionally, based on economic and social assessments, facilitators will aim to create a financial strategy to help impacted communities overcome short-term losses. Ideally, the reserves are strategically placed so each reserve enhances the success of the network.

Creation Phase

When creating a marine reserve and using a bottom up approach, many times initial scientific designs may not be met because communities may not be willing to set aside such an expansive space. However, it is important to note that initial movements towards marine protective actions are starting points to the greater goal and often take time. If the community, including all user groups, do not feel connected, responsible for, and in need of the marine reserve, the marine reserve will be ineffective (FAO, 2011).

Use a collective and participatory approach to create a marine reserve
Engage stakeholders, resource users, host communities, and other invested parties to agree upon goals and objectives of the reserve
Finalize reserve design within each of the participating communities
Ensure each reserve design will bring benefits to local ecosystem and economy
Ensure the final design of the network of reserves will provide regional ecosystem benefits

Toolkits: SeaSketch, Fish Forever Turf reserve

Key Questions:

Did you present the optimal placement and location of the reserve to the local community and resource users?
Did you incorporate new and participative designs into tools?
Was the process participatory and involving the members of the core group?
Does the participative design benefit the target species and resource users?
Does the design encompass key habitat for the target species?
Do the different individual designs still contribute to the success of the network? Meaning, do the participative designs still bring regional ecosystem benefits?

Establishing a successful marine reserve often take time. It is important to nurture the process along without compromising too much of the scientific basis, so resource users feel a tie to the project. If the community, including all user groups, do not feel connected, responsible for, and in need of the marine reserve, it is less likely that the reserve will be successful in achieving its goals.

During the creation phase:

Explicitly state and agree upon goals and objectives: may lead to compromises in marine reserve design but ultimately provide a more sustainable conservation plan. Through the integration of knowledge and science, the core group can decide on marine reserve size and location
Conflict resolution plans should be developed with community members and can be written into official marine reserve documentation and formal agreements.

Toolkit: MPA Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool (MPA MEAT), SeaSketch.

Key question:

Does the community had an active participation in designing the reserve?
Have the community agreed in the the goals and objectives of the reserve?
Did you develop a conflict resolution plan?
Are there proper incentives for the community to implement the marine reserve?

*NOTE: There are no distinctions for Governance in the “Network of Marine Reserves” section of manual. The above remains the same.

Four Basic Economic Strategies

In this section, you will find an in-depth description of four basic strategies that we suggest to be applied to overcome financial challenges and mitigate the economic impact of closing fishing grounds.

Fishing Efficiency Through Cooperation

Fisheries that work within concessions are capable of coordinating and organizing the fishing activity inside their jurisdiction.
Fishers can increase fishing efficiency by reducing gas consumption by fishing closer to shore, rotating fishing grounds, and concentrating the effort on the most effective fishers. This last tactic, however, must be analyzed carefully, as it can cause equity issues and oppose collective objectives of organized fishing communities.
We detailed these strategies below.

Recording, systematizing, and sharing information about catch, per fishing site, can help the community map the fishing area to identify productive fishing grounds and design a collaborative fishing strategy.
It can provide information about variability in abundance and composition of fishing spots, which can help to select the proper gear.
Additionally, it can reveal specific features of each site, such as recurrence of juvenile catch during certain times of the year or high probability of gear loss.

Fishing Ground Rotation:

Using the information from registered catch, fishers can apply fishing ground rotations.
This can include the closure of certain sites when they are least productive or when they show a high occurrence of juvenile catch— directing the effort to the more productive spots.

Reduce Effort:

Designing a collaborative fishing plan can help the community to avoid excessive pressure on certain fishing spots (i.e. preventing two vessels from deploying gear in them, the same day), which could lead to an increase in efficiency (i.e. higher catch per unit of effort).

Innovative Marketing Strategies:

The creation of a fish refuge is often associated with the idea that they create unique opportunities and conditions for certification in sustainable practices and increase the value of the product.
Strong market strategies must accompany the increased value of the seafood to increase benefits for the fishers. The strategy should, at least, include these components (click on the boxes to obtain descriptions).

Local System Analysis:

Characterize and understand the current economic and commercial setting of the local fishing industry.
Different settings as co-operatives or patron-client relations pose distinct opportunities and challenges.
Who owns the fleet and the gear? How are the fishing journeys funded (who pays for gasoline, oil and ice when required) and when (before or after)?

Value Chain Analysis:

Analyzing the components of the distribution chain for the selected product, and how investment and revenue is distributed can help identify opportunities and challenges to get more benefits from fishing.
For example, with a couple or only one buyer, long distances from urban areas, and weak logistic capacity, fishers are commonly obligated to sell at a low price.
Having a higher and more diverse demand at docks will rely on the product matching the demands of the market. Seafood caught, killed, stored, and handled in an environmentally-friendly way may create opportunities to attract buyers willing to pay a higher price. In some cases, co-operatives have managed to reduce intermediaries and trade its own products collectively, as the case of Tárcoles, in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica.
However, this strategy requires higher investment, logistic capacity, and knowledge. Recently, some small entrepreneurship have recognized this gap and started working closer to fishing co-operatives and communities, offering better prices for high quality products (Smartfish in Mexico, www.smartfish.com).

Alternative Source of Income:

As the creation of a Marine Reserve can reduce the income from fishing as a consequence of closing fishing grounds, other economic activities can complement livelihoods to mitigate the negative effect.
These commonly include tourism, fishing for other target species, and activities of monitoring and surveillance (when fishers are paid to carry them out).
As tourism is understood to be enhanced by conservation activities, here we present three basic steps that should be taken into account (click on boxes to get descriptions).

Identify Attractions:

Identify which characteristics or elements of the area may attract tourists and characterize where the value lies. Investigate how the touristic market values those attractions.
Learn about the attraction itself and compose a body of interpretation about it.

Leveraging Attractions:

Understand the current touristic attractions by learning about the types of tourism active around the area, their benefits and possible impacts.
Would they be easy to reach and attract to the area? Is that the type of tourism the local community wishes to attract? Can the local community compete in this market?

Infrastructure, Logistic, and Capacity:

Tourism activities imply basic infrastructure, logistic and technical capacity, including communication, safety, and group handling.
While these depend on the type of tourism and activity proposed, it is important to review them, as some activities require specific standards to be met to become a legal service provider.

External Financing:

Effectively financing conservation in coastal and marine areas is a challenge (OECD, 2017). In fact, the financial burden of achieving targets of conservation is generally overlooked (i.e. conserve 10% of the ocean by 2020 under Conservation on Biology Diversity and Sustainable Development Goals).
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s book (2017) on marine protected areas emphasizes the need for more comprehensive and diverse financing portfolios.

Implementation >

Decision Tree

Decision Tree

Creation Phase