PARTICIPATION OF FISHERS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES RESOURCES One of the problems that fisheries administrators confront is noncompliance with

conservation and management measures as well as continual rejection and poor acceptance of the norms that the institution proclaims is a product of the limited participation that fishers have in their formation.

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Nonetheless Law No. 44 (13) created by the Authority of Aquatic Resources establishes as functions, among others, in the fourth article:

8 - Promote the genuine and direct participation of interested civil society in the activities of fishing, aquaculture, and commerce of fisheries products and sub-products.

19 - Ensure the participation of fisheries, aquaculture and related activity-based producers in the creation of programs and action plans.

The Commission for Responsible Fishing, created by Law No. 44, is comprised of 17 representatives of which:

• 5 are employees of distinct agencies of the State

• 2 are academics and researchers

• 1 is from an environmental NGO

• 1 is from the Maritime Camera (organization dedicated principally to marine service activities

• 8 are representatives of the fishing sector, including 1 from artisanal marine fisheries and 1 from lacustrine artisanal fishing.

Despite the existence of legal framework to facilitate governmental management, one of the principal characteristics of the fisheries administration in Panama is its verticality. The decisions and plans come from the administration of the Authority of Aquatic Resources, located in Panama City. The model that permits participation of fisheries resource users in decision-making of fisheries administration, despite its deficiencies, was present in Panama until 1999 when the Panamanian Maritime Authority (PMA; 14) was created, which despite an Executive Order to establish the National Fisheries Committee, decided to not invite the Commission to form. In 2002, the Maritime Authority signed an Administrative Resolution, as solicited by fishers, to create a national fisheries commission that also never coalesced.

Since 2006, when the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP) was created and the National Commission on Responsible Fisheries was ascribed as a consultative body, which to date has not been convened. Article 25 of this law Act states:

Article 25: Creates the Commission for Responsible Fisheries ascribed to the Authority as a consultative body that aims to recommend initiatives to achieve sustainable development of the fisheries sector as well as the policies and measures necessary to regulate fishing in the territorial waters of the Republic of Panama.

The experience with the past National Fisheries Commission established by Cabinet Decree No. 368 of November 26, 1969 (15), the only functioning commission, leads us to think that although artisanal fisheries are represented, industry interests are more represented by the Commission. For example, of the seven members that composed the former Fisheries Commission, two were government officials, three represented the fishing industry, one represented small-scale fisheries, and finally one represented marine fishermen, which are strongly associated with industrial fisheries.

In general, although there is a reference legal framework, the participation of fishers, and much less so artisanal fisherman, has not been institutionalized due not only to the lack of specific guidelines for fisheries regulation, but also to the lack of political will for this to occur.

On the other hand, the artisanal fisherman, as one of the subsectors of fisheries in the country shows an organizational weakness that hinders their effective representation in the few forums oriented towards decision-making in which fishers can participate.

One of the problems particular to artisanal fisheries is the lack of stability in leaders or a tendency for leaders to act on behalf of their own interests. In addition, the presence of artisanal fishermen in these fishery commissions is generally seen only as a representative of the sector’s own interests, which is essentially the role for which they are elected, but not as a representative of a sector that can provide knowledge.

The participation of communities through their representatives in decision-making processes related to the use and management of fisheries resources and the goods they produce has not reached a sufficient level to be considered as participatory representation in the analysis or in the evaluation and selection of management alternatives, project design and development of activities corresponding to plans and projects. As a result, fishermen tend to consider all actions, plans or projects created by authorities as an imposition, creating situations of conflict with local communities whereby since they are not incorporated in such activities, they see them as threats.

Additionally, fishers’ knowledge of the resource, ecosystem, or fishing activity are generally not utilized. This situation creates an environment that fosters the failure of conservation and management measures as well as misunderstanding and apathy towards the activities of administrative bodies, ultimately generating externalities that hinder the sustainability of resources.

The fostering of communication between these groups - the institution and the user - offers benefits to both parties, producing more knowledge of better quality to science and ultimately facilitating improved implementation and compliance regarding different conservation and management measures. Their knowledge that fishers have is holistic, encompassing various aspects, all of which are practical, and with them we can focus the way we manage resources as based on their underlying ecological knowledge.

The active participation of artisanal fisheries in the co-management of resources should be understood as a generating process that benefits both communities and marine resources, which must be understood by both managers and users.

CASE STUDy IN PANAMA

In 2011, the consulting agency Arden and Price of Panama developed a series of events, actions and research activities to propose a Plan for Integrated Marine Coastal Management to ARAP (ARAP-IDB Loan (CP-1724) / LPI-02-08) for the Southern Zone of the Azuero Peninsula. Among these activities were the characterization of fishing in this study site (1).

The coastal marine area surrounding the southern portion of the Azuero Peninsula has the oceanographic characteristics of open water and is influenced by seasonal variation in oceanographic conditions in the Gulf of Western Panama. These conditions are related to wind patterns that circulate seasonally across the isthmus from the Caribbean Sea. The region lacks natural harbors to facilitate the development of local fishing fleets.

Rather, winds creating frontal surges along coastal beaches, making the operation of smaller vessels difficult and the operation of industrial fishing vessels impossible. In general, there are very small landings for local subsistence fishing that provide access to a secondary road or river that reaches the coast. Only three sites: La Concepción (Pocrí District), El Arenal (District of Pedasí) and Bucaro (District Tonosí) have substantial groups of artisanal vessels, ranging from 13 to over 25 vessels per site (16).

With respect to fishing, the Azuero Peninsula is very important for the country because of its production of fish, particularly snapper and grouper. The almost oceanic characteristic of this region, together with the existence of large rocky outcroppings at great depths and areas of coral reefs and mass nesting (arribada) of turtles, contribute to its importance from a conservation perspective.

Problems among artisanal fishers exist in the Southern Zone of the Azuero Peninsula regarding, for example, the use of gillnets for fishing snapper and grouper by fishers not from the region, the use of driftnets (volantín), the entrance of industrial longline vessels into coastal areas, the large number of ghost nets, as well as the decrease in commercial fish catch and the threat of fishing to sea turtles.

Developments in real estate and tourism are also new competitors both with respect to availability of landing areas and human resources, but also may present an alternative as new job opportunities in sport fishing and local construction.

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The large number of ghost nets - nets lost or entangled in rocks that continue to catch fish in the deep seawaters - are a major environmental problem, forcing fisheries management to develop methods to recover these nets. The use of nets for fishing snapper is prohibited by law, but remain in frequent use in the region. Fishers in surrounding communities within the region do not use fishing nets to catch snapper, but those from other regions or those who have settled in the region but are originally from other regions, use this gear.

The consulting agency conducted a study to characterize artisanal fisheries in the region. The study was conducted in a traditional manner, supplemented by interviews with artisanal fishermen in their respective communities and by meetings that involved the participation of other users. To enhance participation of fishers and to present the results of the research, three workshops with fishermen and other users of marine resources were held and fishers were visited in their own communities. Face to face meetings with fishers were used to obtain information regarding their own experience, while large meetings served to validate the information with assistance from other users.

Empirical knowledge of fishermen provided valuable information for making suggestions for research. This information was only achieved in direct visits to the communities through meetings in small groups or interviews with fishers that were community leaders.

Examples of information provided fishermen included: first, the abundance of snappers at an average weight of half a pound by the end of February, a rare and surprising finding; and, second, the existence of a snapper located in deep areas where no fishing activity occurs and where, according to fishers, fish did not bite because they were frightened by the nets in the rocks.

From a methodological point of view, the information obtained through these interviews encourages further investigation and, based on certain evidence of scarce fishing of snappers in the region and the country, indicate the existence of an unexploited resource and potentially new recruits to the fishery. We thus ask ourselves, how can we make use of artisanal fishers’ knowledge to facilitate compliance with conservation and management measures, accepting that they are necessary for the sustainability of their activities?

Among other types of knowledge that artisanal fishers have is their experience and understanding of their environment. Fishers have submitted proposals and have reached consensus among them regarding use of fishing gear such as the use of nets under certain conditions as well as regulation during certain time periods.

Results

The consulting firm presented its findings to artisanal fishers so that they could validate information based on their own experiences (Figure 1).

The key findings were: The number of artisanal vessels had increased in Tonosí and Pedasí, but had decreased in the Pocrí community.

In the country, there is emigration within the agricultural sector, and more so in the construction sector. In Puerto Caimito, a predominantly fishing community, the women go out to sea to fish to help the men who are working in construction (Eric Ariel Montenegro, La Prensa 7/30/13). Pocrí fishermen in Azuero, are more engaged in agriculture and construction for income security. The largest number of fishermen in Tonosí corresponds to artisanal fishermen who have settled in communities like Búcaro, an important fishing site in Tonosí.

These movements are also the product of a fishing reality (Figure 2).

The largest number of fishing trips occur during the rainy months, in timing with the availability of the resource, trade winds (which are very strong in the dry season and hamper fishing operations), and the greater size of snapper and red grouper, the target species of these communities.

Fish size and abundance, in particular case of the red snapper, is greater during the rainy months, coinciding with what fishers have experienced, and is reflected by an increase in the number of fishing trips during those months. During the months of drought and resource scarcity, fishers tend to engage in farming activities and, more recently, in construction.

Another important information obtained was that during the months of resource abundance, i.e. the rainy season (the months of highest rainfall in Panama from April to December), the catch per unit effort is reduced by increased competition (given the experience of the sizes and abundance) attracts fisherman return to their activity.

These figures indicate that there is a limit to the number of boats and fishing gear that could be used in different locations after which, fishing efficiency decreases, creating an economic impact. What is relevant here is that the empirical knowledge of fishers permitted them to arrive at the same conclusions: How can fishing effort be reduced without affecting income?

To have a competitive advantage over the capture of the resources, fishers tend to do just the opposite by further increasing effort, resulting in the over-dimensionalization of the artisanal fishing fleet. Despite an awareness of the problem, there is no alternative for fishers facing the certain fact of income at these distinct locations within the riverside community.

  FIGURE 1

A) The number of fishermen in the village of 1 = Pedasi, 2 = Tonosí, and 3 = Pocrí. B) The total number of artisanal fishermen for all locations by year (16)

FIGURE 2

Seasonal distribution of fishing effort measured in percentage, which represents the monthly effort

measured in artisanal fishing trips on the total exerted on average in the region (16)

0%

Ene Feb Mar Abr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Porcentaje de los viajes totales de pesca anuales distribuidos por mes

Pargo rojo

Seasonality in the catch size of red snapper and rainfall Source of size data: ARAP; Source of rainfall data: ETSA; (16)

Artisanal fishers’ knowledge applied to the ecosystem-based approach for fisheries conservation: Panamá 157

The result of all the consultations and workshops and following presentation and evaluation of results to fishers was the recommendation to the Aquatic Resources Authority (ARAP) for a Coastal Southern Azuero Peninsula in Program Management Plan to create a zone fishermen designated the “Responsible Fishing Zone”. This zone, without limiting the existing rights of local fishers and other locations outside the river communities in the area, was to be regulated in compliance with appropriate norms that address local issues and provide answers to fishers, while providing opportunities to make decisions regarding government management of their activity. Fishers requested a census of all fishers in the area, whether craft, sports or industrial, declaring an exclusive area for research in which there can be no resource extraction activity, areas prohibited for longline fishing in order to protect turtles under conservation standards more stringent than those established under current legal regulations for conservation areas to protect the tortoise. Finally, fishers also requested to participate in business emerging from sport fishing and whale-watching.

The consulting firm also proposed in the Action Plan a Co-Management approach to fisheries, with the participation of artisanal fishers and other users of marine resources.

The Responsible Fishing Zone of Southern Azuero (Zone 5, Figure 7) extends from the coordinates north of the Mensabé village where the Special Management Area of Azuero (SMZA) begins, along an imaginary vertical line to the coast and twelve nautical miles out to sea, and maintaining twelve nautical miles from the coast, joins another imaginary line that runs vertically from the coordinates at end of the SMZA on land west of Búcaro village.

Special Areas within the Responsible Fishing Zone of Southern Azuero (Zone  2, Figure 7) include:

• All protected areas within the RFZSA are governed according to the norms by which they were created as well as management plans, when available.

When management plans exist, the competent authority (ANAM) is responsible for compliance with these standards.

Seasonal distribution of snapper catch data and fishing effort in Arenal, Pedasí (16)

0

Ene Feb Mar Abr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Lb/bote/día pesca

FIGURE 5

Monthly distribution of fishing yield per vessel per day over the year (15)

% botes operando del total de botes

Lb/bote/viaje

% Botes operando

FIGURE 6

The interaction between total fishing yield on the left y-axis and fishing effort on the right y-axis, measured as the percentage of operating vessels of

the total number of vessels available (15)

• An area of conservation and research was designated within which all extraction is prohibited under the responsibility of the ARAP.

• Regardless of existing legislation in each zone, two areas of absolute prohibition of longline fisheries were established to promote the protection of sea turtles in the following areas:

- From Punta Guánico to Zaina, including part of the Caña Island Wildlife Reserve.

- From Punta Guánico, traveling down 3 nautical miles at sea and, maintaining that distance, to a point perpendicular to Morro de Puerco Point, opposite the Reserve Zone of La Marinera Beach.

The following prohibitions are respected in the Responsible Fishing Zone of Southern Azuero:

• use of trammel and/or gillnets, except those used in lobster fishing in clearly defined coastal areas where an inventory of existing fishing gear and the number of fishers has been made .

• industrial fishing in all its forms

• use of seine nets

• extraction of corals and coral stones or coral fragments.

• use of chemicals and/or dynamite for fishing

• use of surface longlines with over 600 hooks.

Under the same regulations, the following activities are permitted:

• Artisanal and subsistence fishing by use of bottom and surface longlines with no more than 500 hooks.

• Marine aquaculture in all its forms

• Sport fishing and recreational fishing, limited to 3 fishing units per individual, exercising the release of peak fish caught.

• Sighting of marine mammals in compliance with the relevant existing rules and the safety of navigation, crew and passengers.

FIGURE 7

Map of the Responsible Fishing Zone. Source: Azuero Coast Management Plan Atlas, ARAP 2012

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• Scuba fishing with the use of spear, without the aid of oxygen tanks, with a retention capture three units per angler.

• Sailing and water sports.

CONCLUSIONS

We begin by acknowledging what we know and seldom recognize. Fishers have knowledge and experience adjusted to the reality of their marine and fisheries surroundings as a product of years of observations and oral traditions passed down from generation to generation that enrich their own experiences.

Prior to putting conservation and management norms into action, it is essential to consult and take into consideration the fisher and their knowledge, given that this ultimately mandates fisher behavior.

In general, fishers accept the enacted standards, but their behavior is usually governed by what they believe to be true. Thus to dismiss such knowledge, which is demonstrated to be effective in ensuring their survival via their activities, would be non-positive.

The effective participation of artisanal fisherman and, above all, the integration of their knowledge and judgment regarding their environment and their own needs, is amply demonstrated by the conclusions that emerged from this work, culminating in the proposal of a designated area of responsible fishing.

Our experience indicates that in order to achieve proper management of fisheries in a harmonious and efficient manner considering the scarce resources held by the state, it is essential to involve fishers, with particular inclusion of artisanal fishers in

Our experience indicates that in order to achieve proper management of fisheries in a harmonious and efficient manner considering the scarce resources held by the state, it is essential to involve fishers, with particular inclusion of artisanal fishers in