Consider The Fishermen When Saving Sharks

No-fishing zones should be implemented within a broader conversation strategy that takes fishermen’s livelihoods into account, a study says.

AsianScientist (Apr. 21, 2016) – Effective shark conservation in Indonesia only works when shark protection through no-fishing zones is combined with two factors: efforts to involve local communities in the management of their own fisheries, and alternatives to sustain their livelihoods. The study was published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

The world’s largest shark fin industry lies in the heart of the Coral Triangle—a region of the Indian and Pacific Oceans that is home to the world’s most diverse coral reefs; also known as the Amazon of the seas. This idyllic-sounding environment sustains an industry responsible for the deaths of over three million sharks a year. With a reported annual catch of 100,000 tons, Indonesia’s shark fishery contributes more to the international shark fin trade than any other nation.

Shark fins are tempting targets for fishermen from Indonesian island communities because they have high monetary value and shark fishing is one of the most lucrative livelihoods in these remote coastal regions. The finning industry presents the main livelihood for fishermen in this region and the enormous profits have transformed remote coastal villages to cash-based communities. But in recent years, shark populations have seen a worrying drop in numbers.

To protect both the sharks as well as the local economy, conservationists and scientists are urgently calling for better fisheries management. To study the effect of No-Take Zones (NTZs) that ban commercial and artisanal fishing of all sharks and reef fish, researcher Ms. Vanessa Jaiteh and colleagues from Murdoch University in Australia headed to the Raja Ampat regency of far Eastern Indonesia, the center of the shark finning industry and where sharks have high monetary value as a tourism attraction.

In the two well-enforced NTZs of a Marine Protected Area within a recently established shark sanctuary in Raja Ampat, the number of sharks was shown to be up to 28 times higher compared to areas open to fishing. The scientists propose that this significant difference is most likely due to continued fishing in the open zones while the NTZs are a safe haven for remaining sharks and their offspring by providing more food and refuge. Not only were the sharks shown to thrive in these closed-off areas, but other reef fish, too, were also much more abundant.

The scientists also set out to address the socio-economic side of the story. They looked at the impact of the closure of large stretches of ocean, due to the establishment of shark sanctuaries such as Raja Ampat, on the responses and behavior of shark fishers. Of the shark fishers interviewed, all of whom lost access to their primary fishing grounds, 88 percent knew that sharks were protected in Raja Ampat but many were unsure about the purpose of the sanctuary and few felt their livelihoods were considered by conservation agencies.

Talking to the fishermen and running surveys on catch data, the authors revealed that shark fishers adapted to the closures by moving to other fishing grounds, targeting populations in unprotected regions, or by finding other means of supporting their livelihoods, including illegal petrol transport.

“The fishers we interviewed were aware that sharks are important for marine ecosystems and tourism, but also expressed their dilemma in pursuing more sustainable livelihoods within the limitations of geographic remoteness, poverty, and debt with boat owners and traders,” Jaiteh explained.

“Some of their self-initiated alternatives involve high personal or environmental risk and are hardly more sustainable than shark finning, which undermines the broader benefits of locally successful conservation strategies.”

The findings of this study make it clear that the establishment of no-fishing zones will result in the protection of marine life only if it is embedded within a broader conservation strategy. Such strategies would include giving fishers incentives to leave the fishery by providing livelihood options that are legal and sustainable.


The article can be found at: Jaiteh et al. (2016) Higher Abundance of Marine Predators and Changes in Fishers’ Behavior Following Spatial Protection within the World’s Biggest Shark Fishery.

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Source: Frontiers; Photo: Elias Levy/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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