Small-scale managed marine areas over time: Developments and challenges in a local Fijian reef fishery

The ridge-to-reef approach on Cicia Island, Fiji

“…In addition to this fieldwork period on Cicia, this paper draws on the previous research experiences of the authors in Fiji. Elodie Fache carried out five months of fieldwork between 2016 and 2018 on Gau, Fiji’s fifth biggest island, located in the Lomaiviti Province (Fache and Breckwoldt 2018 ), as well as a short group fieldwork on Kadavu Island in 2019 (see Harding et al in this special issue). Simonne Pauwels has conducted regular fieldwork periods on Lakeba Island in the Lau Province since 2005, as well as five months of fieldwork, between 2014 and 2017, in diverse places on Vanua Levu, Vanua Balavu, the Mamanuca, and the Yasawa Islands as part of an interdisciplinary project on the marine worm Palola viridis (Pauwels, in press).…”

Tackling coastal “overfishing” in Fiji: advocating for indigenous worldview, knowledge, and values to be the backbone of fisheries management strategies

“…On Gau Island, Tugadra is the totem fish of Malawai village, where it is also a highly appreciated food. In 2003-2004 as well as in 2016 and 2018 (Fache & Breckwoldt 2018), fisherwomen of this village mentioned, in discussions and interviews, 9 periods of several years during which they only rarely caught this small pelagic fish. Community members gave Tackling coastal "overfishing" in Fiji: advocating for indigenous worldview, knowledge, and values to be the backbone of fisheries management strategies (Fache & Pauwels 2020) Preprint / Accepted manuscript version -Maritime Studies -https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-020-00162-6 The final publication is available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-020-00162-6 or https://rdcu.be/b0NLQ 6 several sociocultural interpretations of the sudden (near) absence of this fish in their customary fishing ground, such as:…”

“…The concept of overfishing is sometimes used in marine conservation awareness-raising contexts. For instance, a LMMA was established in 2001 in the coastal waters of Tikina Vanuaso, one of the three districts of Gau Island, to "protect marine resources and support better lives into the future" (Veitayaki et al 2007:289; see also Fache & Breckwoldt 2018). The "Draft Vanuaso Tikina Marine Resource Monitoring Plan" developed in 2001 mentioned, among the questions/problems to be addressed, "qolivi vakasivia ni qoliqoli" (Tawake, Fong & Veitayaki 2001:61), translated into English by "overfishing" (pers.…”

“…In our experience however, while multi-faith initiatives promoting the idea that humans are the stewards/custodians of God's creation are gaining momentum, 18 and the Methodist Church explicitly calls for Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the influence that religious leaders already have on existing marine management arrangements in Fiji and that might contribute to undermine (rather than improve) the sustainability of local fisheries. There are for instance cases where local churches encourage the establishment of a small-scale marine closure (tabu area) in a portion of a LMMA, not for conservation purposes, but with the idea of stockpiling resources therein for a few years, then harvesting and selling enough of these resources for the construction or repair of a church (e.g., Fache & Breckwoldt 2018). There are also cases where islanders decide to temporarily open their periodically harvested tabu area to raise funds for the periodic church contributions required of each villager (soli) (e.g., Jupiter et al 2012).…”

Seagrass Invertebrate Fisheries, Their Value Chains and the Role of LMMAs in Sustainability of the Coastal Communities—Case of Southern Mozambique

“…Establishing locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) [21] is a bottom-up approach branded as community-led conservation management and conservation [22,23] and the promotion of sustainable resource use [24], resulting in tangible outcomes such as an increase in fishery biomasses [25], strengthening community representatives and their interplay with stakeholders and other interested actors [26]. Community-managed no-take zones (delimited areas where any fishing activity is prohibited) and fishing closures within LMMAs can either be permanent or temporarily [27] and may rely heavily on the collective participation of other actors (such as NGOs, government), given underlying issues of resource depletion, a lack of alternative livelihoods, population growth [22], poverty, and low education levels.…”