Scaling Up Community-Based Fisheries Management in the Pacific Region

Third SPC Regional Technical Meeting on Coastal Fisheries COMMUNITY-BASED FISHERIES: Scaling-up community-based fisheries management Watisoni Lalavanua Community-Based Fisheries Management Officer watisonil@spc.int Noumea, 7 November 2019

CONTENT Purpose Background National initiatives on CBFM Key challenges Recommendations Case Studies

Purpose Highlight the A New Song for Coastal Fisheries Pathways to Change: The Noumea Stratergy, as the framework for Community-Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) to be implemented at the national level in Pacific Island Countries and territories (PICTs) To stimulate discussion on the challenges/barriers faced and what are effective approches for scaling- up of CBFM in the Pacific region

Background Poorly-managed fisheries a) Fish needed by growing population Quantity of fish/habitat Fish habitat Coastal fisheries are important at the community level food security and livelihoods for small-scale fishers Fish available from coastal stocks stocks Fish available from Gap in supply of fish to be filled Time Well-managed fisheries b) 50-90% of animal proteins consumed comes from fish Fish needed by growing population Quantity of fish/habitat Fish habitat fish consumptions for many PICTs exceeds the global average of 16.5kg per person Fish available from stocks Fish available from coastal stocks Population of many PICs is growing but coastal fisheries resources is declining Time result in increase of gap between the amount of fish required for food security and sustainable harvest from coastal fisheries CBFM approaches have been identified as a viable tool that could contribute to reducing this gap

National initiative on CBFM Many partners have been working in this space across the region Communities, Government, NGOs, CSOs, Adoption of fisheries policies with key emphasis on CBFM PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands & Kiribati In-country national legislation that empowers local communities to actively participate in managing coastal fisheries are in place while others are in the processes of adopting it American Samoa, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau & Tuvalu Kiribati and Nauru

Key Challenges It is estimated that 90% of coastal communities do not have CBFM systems in place and large coastal fisheries are not under effective management Small pockets of effective coastal fisheries management is not sufficient to address wider national problems ways must be found to build on success and expand More effort is needed in providing adequate legal or regulatory framework that recognise community empowerment - this is crucial in scaling-up successful CBFM experiences at national and sub-national levels CBFM can be costly and difficult to implement in countries with long coastlines or scattered island or reef systems Sustainability of CBFM efforts after ceasing of externally funded projects lack or no proper exit strategy

Recommendations To note the implementation of the A New Song for Coastal Fisheries Pathways to Change: The Noumea Stratergy as a broad regional framework for the implementation of CBFM at the national level by SPC members To note the efforts taken by various partners including national fisheries and environmental agencies, NGOs, CSOs and local communities in implementing CBFM projects in the region To note the increasing support by donors in CBFM To note and discuss the challenges and barriers faced and to identify effective approaches to scaling-up of CBFM

Case studies Melanesian Scaling-up CBFM in Vanuatu Vanuatu Fisheries Department Polynesian Samoa CBFM Fisheries Division Micronesia RMI Reimaanlok Marshal Island Marine Resources Authority

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