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Small scale fisheries are critically important for the provision of food security, livelihoods, and economic development for billions of people. Yet, most of these fisheries appear to not be achieving either fisheries or conservation goals, with respect to creating healthier oceans that support more fish, feed more people and improve livelihoods. Research and practical experience have elucidated many insights into how to improve the performance of small-scale fisheries. Here, we present lessons learned from five case studies of small-scale fisheries in Cuba, Mexico, the Philippines, and Belize. The major lessons that arise from these cases are: (1) participatory processes empower fishers, increase compliance, and support integration of local and scientific knowledge; (2) partnership across sectors improves communication and community buy-in; (3) scientific analysis can lead fishery reform and be directly applicable to co-management structures. These case studies suggest that a fully integrated approach that implements a participatory process to generate a scientific basis for fishery management (e.g., data collection, analysis, design) and to design management measures among stakeholders will increase the probability that small-scale fisheries will implement science-based management and improve their performance.

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Guatemala’s Maya Lowlands constitute one of the most biodiverse regions in Mesoamerica and include 35% of the total number of continental fish species estimated for the nation. From May 2000 through February 2001, we conducted the first long-term ichthyological survey of Lachuá Lake, a 4 km2, 195 m deep, karstic sinkhole located in the middle of Guatemala’s Laguna Lachuá National Park (LLNP), southern Maya Lowlands. Thirty-six native fish species were identified and Gobiomorus dormitor Lacepède, 1800 was collected for the first time in northern Guatemala. Greater number of species occurred in the rocky shore of the lake’s littoral zone, especially around the mouths of Lachuá’s tributary and effluent rivers, and close to the visitor center of LLNP. A hierarchical cluster analysis for classifying ichthyogeographically regional fish assemblages placed Lachuá Lake in the upper Usumacinta River drainage basin shared by Guatemala and Mexico, stressing the need for regional conservation and management strategies.

We examined patterns of habitat use by fishes and decapod crustaceans in a seemingly pristine tidal stream system that drains into southeastern coastal Louisiana, northern Gulf of Mexico. The study area centered on a relatively unaltered mesohaline saltmarsh nested within more heavily degraded conditions. Monthly sampling (February-November 2004) stratified along a stream-order gradient examined changes in nekton abundance, species richness, and community structure. Analyses were based on a microhabitat approach used to characterize nekton responses to spatial gradients of water depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, bottom slope, stream width, and distance to mouth. Thirty taxa were identified from 3,757 individuals collected in 82 seine samples. Seven fishes and three decapods constituted >95% of the community structure. Analyses detected the effects of stream order on fish community structure and associated environmental variables. Spatial differences of environmental variables across stream order were attributed to the geomorphology and hydrology of the study area. A factor analysis resolved eight environmental variables into four orthogonal axes that explained 80% of environmental variation. We interpreted factor 1 as a stream-order axis, factor 2 as a morphological axis, factor 3 as a seasonal axis, and factor 4 as a salinity axis. Differences in use of four-dimensional factor space by dominant species reflected habitat selection and species residency status.