Transcript A Case Study of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management

Outreach and Education Advisory
Panel (OEAP)
Report to the Council
157th CFMC Regular Meeting
Condado Vanderbilt Hotel
San Juan, PR
August 23 – 24, 2016
Activities update
• Consumer’s Responsible Fish and Seafood Consumption Campaign.
• Presentation at 13th International Coral Reef Symposium in Hawaii
• Consult restaurant owners, chefs and fish market administrators to
classify the species most demanded by their clients.
• Develop outreach materials about the species identified: biological
information, fishing areas, management measures in place, etc.
Objective is that the consumers, responsibly, get to know the
species in their plates and select substitutes for those that are
prohibited.
• Identify possible funding to design, print and distribute final
products.
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Activities update
• María del Mar López & Bill Arnold presentation at 13th International Coral
Reef Symposium in Hawaii: A CASE STUDY OF ECOSYSTEM-BASED FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT IN PUERTO RICO: THE IDEAL AND THE REAL on the lessons
learned from the Public Hearings on ABT decisions.
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A Case Study of Ecosystem-Based
Fisheries Management in Puerto Rico:
the Ideal and the Real
Photo: García-Sais et al.
2012/CFMC
María del Mar López-Rivera and William S. Arnold,
NMFS Southeast Regional Office
St. Petersburg, Florida
NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE
v
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Why it was not successful
Managing ABT within a broader ecosystem context required
socio-economic considerations, preventing managers from
achieving the ideal... had to go with the real
 Competing interests – multiple user groups
 Fear of loss of resource access
 Perception of lack of background information to justify
management changes
 Lack of interest to compromise or address trade-offs
within the ecosystem
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What to improve? Lessons learned
Science – ensure the scientific evidence supports the proposed management
actions; address lack of information
Examples:
- Conduct biological assessments of the performance of closures
- Spawning info: when, where, species, status of species
- Habitat use
- Gear-benthos interactions
- Enforcement
- Connectivity
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What to improve? Lessons learned
Communications - Science is essential but not enough.
- Communication is equally important.
− Address information disconnect with constituents (failure to get the
scientific information to them)
− Make sure we are communicating with ALL user groups
− Most improve cross-cultural communication
− How is information disseminated?
− Managers (we) are not getting their ideas across
Need to find a BETTER way to communicate complex issues
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What to improve? Lessons learned
Public Involvement
– Make constituents part of the process from the start.
– Enhance the existing mechanisms by which fishermen can contribute
their knowledge and perspectives into the science and management
process (Tonioli and Agar 2009).
– Support and encourage active leadership positions.
– Seek feedback.
Decision-makers should strive to better understand the
cumulative impacts of regulations on the socio-economics.
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Marine Resource Education
Program (MREP)
Caribbean Chapter
St. Thomas/St. John & St. Croix Town Hall
Meeting
Town Hall Meeting Conclusions
• St. Thomas/St. John
• 9 – 12 member steering
committee recommended.
• Best dates to hold workshop
would be during months of May –
July. (July has yearly registrations
for commercial fishers)
• St. Croix
• Not ready to hold a full MREP
workshop.
• Best to send one or two people to
mainland workshops or Puerto
Rico wokshops.
Puerto Rico
• Begin preparations for 2017 workshop
• Agenda will be kept the same, except for a few changes based on past
participants recommendations.
• Venue is planned to be the same, Hotel Villa Parguera in Lajas.
• Timing for workshop will likely be around the first two weeks of
February (before Lent).
Other issues for O & E:
Recommendations for Council’s
consideration
1. Orientation meetings with DAPs on
issues being discussed by the Council
before their regular meetings.
2. Council should consider having at least
a part time staff dedicated to
communications.
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Thank you
for your
support
11/26/13
Alida Ortiz Sotomayor
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