MPAs Small-scale Fisheries Governance Toolkit

Meaningful engagement of local communities and resource users is key for the successful management of an MPA. The impacts of MPAs on different communities and users can provide scope for opposition and conflict, especially when tackling small-scale fisheries.

It is essential therefore, to adopt good governance principles and adaptive management strategies that engage local communities in a participatory way in all steps of the MPA process, so as to build trustful relationships that lead to shared decisions.

Aim of the tool

The overall aim of this Toolkit is to support the implementation of a co-management approach for small-scale fisheries. In this manner, decision-making is equitably and genuinely shared between all relevant actors, with the long-term goal of improving the overall governance of natural resource management in the Mediterranean region.

Main objectives

This Toolkit presents management measures and governance principles, which are intended to help improve MPA management effectiveness of small-scale fisheries, with a particular focus on increased stakeholder engagement.

Technological infrastructure

Technological requirements may be in place for specific tools, such as for the development of a database of infractions, the use of video and photo cameras to improve surveillance and patrolling, and the use of equipment and/or tools needed to carry out monitoring (e.g. logbooks, database creation).

Training

All stakeholder groups involved in co-management should be provided basic training on participatory processes to ensure more equitable participation and empowerment.
Moreover, specific training may be needed for implementing some tools, including surveillance capacities for rangers and fishers, data collection and/or experimental fishing and pescatourism.

Investment

For each tool, the costs and time required have been indicated as either low, medium, or high, based on the experience of pilot implementation.

Concept

This Toolkit is structured into four sections:

1. A synthesis of MPA challenges in relation to small-scale fisheries.
2. Based on this, MPA managers are invited to decide their preferred approach to address such challenges, including the example of co-management tested in the FishMPABlue2 project.
3. The 12 proposed management tools for small-scale fisheries are described and grouped into five categories:

• Involvement in decision-making (1 tool)
• Enforcement strengthening (3 tools)
• Knowledge and ownership (2 tools)
• Improvement of the environmental sustainability of small-scale fisheries (3 tools)
• Improvement of the economic profitability of small-scale fisheries (3 tools).

For each tool, there is a description of the problem addressed and of the implementation process including lessons learnt. Case studies provide additional details on challenging or successful tools and recommendations are provided to guide their implementation. Finally, a basic assessment of the feasibility of each measure is described, based on the results of the testing of these tools in 11 pilot MPAs.

Pilot areas

These interventions and techniques were tested in 11 MPAs from six countries in the northern shores of the western-central Mediterranean.

Implementation Dates

The phases and timeline of implementation are described for each tool included in this Toolkit, including also a quantitative indication of the time required for successful implementation (low/medium/high).

The establishment and effective implementation of co-management for small-scale fisheries requires a strong willingness of all parties involved. Parties should be involved in a long process to build trust, as well as a strong commitment in applying the shared decisions.

It is strongly recommended that the proposed management tools are not selected and applied blindly without first involving local stakeholders that may be affected by the identified measures. The process to identify both issues and potential tools should be done in a participatory way. This could be through pre-existing committees/working groups or through the creation of a dedicated “Local Governance Cluster”, which would include the MPA managing body and representatives of various stakeholder groups, to identify areas in need of strengthening and potential tools to improve small-scale fisheries management.

Quantitative results

By adapting the proposed approach and selecting the tools that can be applied in the specific context, it is expected that MPAs will effectively shift towards the co-management of the small-scale fisheries sector.

Key deliverables

Improved management plans at MPA level.

Transfer potential

The small-scale fisheries Toolkit addresses the most recurrent problems of Mediterranean MPAs and proposes a governance model that can be applied to any Mediterranean MPA.

• In the Egadi Islands MPA (Italy), local fishermen publicly signed a voluntary “Code of Conduct” that included guidance for monitoring the MPA, and was aligned with the FAO “Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing”.
  

• To raise the awareness of fishers and the local community, pilot MPAs adopted different approaches which included promoting invasive species consumption, showcasing the importance of small-scale fisheries, launching an underwater photo competition, producing outreach videos and taking the general public on-board fishing vessels to show fishers’ lives.